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Earth Focus
Neonics: Driving Declines in Biodiversity
British bumblebee ecologist Dr. David Goulson, professor of biology at U.K.'s University of Sussex, discusses the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on biodiversity declines in farmlands. His pioneering research on the impact of neonicotinoid exposure on bumblebees shows that treated nests produce 85 percent less new queens than control nests.
"We essentially have somehow been railroaded by agrochemical companies into relying entirely on their products," he says. "We depend on bees to pollinate our crops and worms and other organisms that live in the soil to keep the soil healthy. If we wipe them all out, then ultimately we will wipe ourselves out."
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