Several environmental groups today filed a lawsuit intended to block the State of California from approving the use of pesticides suspected of killing bees. Paul Towers is with Pesticide Action Network, one of the groups that filed the suit.
"We took officials to court today," says Towers, "to ensure that they finish an evaluation of the harms of these pesticides and install the necessary protections so that bees are not effected by these pesticides."
The case was filed in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland against the state Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and two companies that make a class of pesticide called neonicotinoids.
DPR did not respond to our request for comment before this story was filed. Some farmers are opposed to a ban on neonicotinoids and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it's not convinced a ban would keep bees alive.
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