Bees

This morning, 38 Degrees members handed the world’s most-signed greetings card - signed by a whopping 125,000 of us - to the new environment secretary, Liz Truss MP. In it, a clear message: protect our bees. [1] Together, 38 Degrees members asked Truss to do everything in her power to protect bees. Including championing the EU ban on harmful pesticides. The card looked really impressive as it was carried into the Department for Environment! Here’s a pic: Truss’ predecessor, Owen Paterson, wasn’t a friend of the bees. [2] Instead, he stood up for pesticide companies and big agribusiness. He made his views clear in an article he wrote for the Telegraph newspaper last week when he brushed aside people calling for a sustainable environment as the ‘Green Blob’. [3] Now Liz Truss has his job - and she'll be under pressure from the same pesticide companies. But with our record-breaking card, she also knows that she’s bee-ing watched by thousands of ordinary people. A sobering prospect for any politician in the year leading up to an election. The likes of Syngenta and other pesticide businesses are waiting in the wings to put in new applications to use pesticides that harm bees. [4] But together, we’re ready to pull out all the stops to make sure protecting our bees is at the forefront of Liz Truss’s mind. Thanks for everything you do, Rebecca, Maddy, Megan, Becky and the 38 Degrees team PS: What do you think 38 Degrees members need to do together this year to make sure bees are a top priority for Liz Truss? Please share your thoughts on Facebook or comment on the blog: Facebook: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bees-card-facebook Blog: http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/07/24/bees-liz-truss-mp-receives-our-giant-card/ PPS: 38 Degrees is funded by thousands of people chipping in what they can. That’s why we can stay independent of big business and government. If you’d like to chip in too, please click this link: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bees-card-donate NOTES: [1] 38 Degrees blog, Bees: Tell the new environment secretary to protect them!: http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/07/15/bees-tell-the-new-environment-secretary-to-protect-them/ The previous record for most signatures on a card: https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2014/04/17/ford-mustang-celebrates-50th-birthday-with-guinness-world-record.html [2] The Guardian: Owen Paterson set to scupper EU plans to ban pesticides linked to bee harm: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/mar/13/owen-paterson-ban-pesticides-bees [3] The Telegraph: Owen Paterson: I’m proud of standing up to the green lobby: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10978678/Owen-Paterson-Im-proud-of-standing-up-to-the-green-lobby.html [4] Daily Mail: Banned pesticide withdrawal welcomed: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2679731/BANNED-PESTICIDE-WITHDRAWAL-WELCOMED.html

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