Italy has been a busy bee trying to save the bees on their land. News is that the government has banned several pesticides that are believed to have caused the deaths of millions of honeybees. Neonicotinoid pesticides like clothianidin and imidacloprid are used in sunflowers and sweet corn but not anymore. These chemicals attack the nervous system of insects and can also get to the pollen and nectar, thereby damaging beneficial insects like bees.
Italy is not the only nation to be taking such stringent steps. Germany and Slovenia had introduced a similar ban early this year while France had done its bit way back in 1999. Clothianidin and imidacloprid are produced by the famous German company Bayer CropScience that has made profits to the range of 800 million in 2007. And now the German Coalition are after Bayer to stop marketing harmful pesticides after thousands of hives were lost due to poisoning.
Via enn

The fish are dying. It may be shocking but the truth is, 25% of the world’s known fish species, especially tuna and cod, are at the brink of extinction. The oceanic ecological balance has gone berserk and as a last minute preventive measure, governments have banned fishing in certain areas. Apparently, EU pays 61 million dollars to Greenland every year so that Germany can continue fishing in its waters. Incidentally, Germans like their fish frozen thereby giving fisherman a lot of time to fish and ruin the ecological system even in far off areas.
Most developed countries and third world nations are to be blamed for this. The European Union’s strategies have been one of hypocrisy. In the garb of being green and environmental friendly, it has been allowing governments and industries to undertake large-scale fishing in foreign seas as well. This probably could be due to the free trade policies and also due to globalization that fishing companies have brazenly continued to exploit the oceanic populations. They need to be put a check on. Rising sea temperatures themselves have done a lot of damage to oceanic fauna.
Via greendiary

Knut mania if here to stay! Celebrity polar bear cub Knut has become a pop-star in his own ways. The cuddly cub was born in captivity at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin aka Berlin Zoo. The media-savvy bear cub now gets its own music video! Being a popular tourist attraction and a craze among millions of school children makes him hot enough to get listed as an iconic animal who receives human adoration in form of an exclusive music video.

The cub also happens to be the latest symbol of climate change and global warming concerns. Single handedly, this furry creature has made Berlin Zoo a must see among international tourists thus bringing in the largest number of visitors to the zoo premises ever in its 100+ year old existence!

If you haven’t viewed Knut’s music video so far then you are surely lacking something in your life! And for those of us wanting enough but for whom a visit to Berlin Zoo is like a pie in the sky, this video is just the thing to be watched, enjoyed and grooved at! Halo Knut, Kleiner Eisbär.
Knut, Kleiner Eisbär: Knut\’s own German music Video!

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