Vote Blue For the Bees!
Environmental legislation is the key to saving the planet...and the butterflies
Neonicotinoids are the most ecologically damaging pesticide since DDT. They’re responsible for the catastrophic decline of honeybees and other pollinators. They kill hummingbirds, decimate butterflies, destroy bumblebees, murder fireflies. They’re driving more than two hundred species towards extinction. Oh, and they’re really bad for humans.
And in 2023, we voted them out of New York State.
In 2023, the New York State Senate passed S.1856-A/A.7640. also known as the Birds and Bees Protection Act, which will ban 80 to 90 per cent of all neonicotinoid use in the state. It was ground-breaking environmental legislation. A huge environmental win. This bill was sponsored 100% by Democrats.
This is why elections matter.
Now I love butterflies and hummingbirds—who doesn’t, right? For years I’ve been planting bee balm and coneflower and other native plants that attract pollinators. I put up bird feeders, garden organically, and do my best to help our imperiled little buddies. But I really think that all those years of weeding and feeding were not as effective as making three calls to my state senator. It was a coalition of groups like the Sierra Club and the NRDC that pushed the bill across the finish line, spurred on by people like you and me calling and writing and posting on social media and calling again.
And even more important: the bees got the good news because of all of us who voted in the 2018 election that flipped the NYS State Legislature blue.
If we really want to benefit the environment, getting out the vote for environmentally aware candidates beats picking up litter, changing your light bulbs, or recycling. Not that those are bad things to do, of course we can all live more sustainably. But real, meaningful, lasting environmental change will be made by getting out the vote for Democrats.
Trump was a disaster for the environment during his four years, rolling back more than a hundred climate policies and rules on clean water, air, wildlife, pesticides, and toxic waste. But worse is coming our way if he wins again. And no one is talking about it.
According to political analyst Michael Podhorzer, (former political director of the AFL-CIO), most voters “know next to nothing about what Trump has said on the campaign trail and what he will do if elected again.” Who wants to listen to one of his rants? But he’s got plans.
A Republican administration under Trump would:
-end the deployment of billions in federal funding for clean energy
-gut the EPA
-weaken emissions rules for cars, trucks, and power plants
-withdraw the U.S. once again from the Paris Agreement
-nullify Biden's electric vehicle plan on Day 1
-open the floodgates for oil and gas companies to "drill, baby, drill…"
Okay, I’ll stop, I know, it’s too depressing.
But the next time someone says, aw, Trump, Biden, what’s the difference? Don’t like either of ‘em, why bother to vote? It doesn’t matter anyway…
…ask them how they feel about hummingbirds and butterflies.
Dear Friends,
Are you more than a little worried about the election of 2024 and wondering what to do about it? I hope you’ll continue to check out The Optimistic Activist.
Every Tuesday I post some ideas for doing something. How to get out the vote, spread the word, and support progressive candidates. Ideas for simple but effective activism. As easy, as practical, as do-able as I can make them.
Together, I think, we could really make a difference.