MONSANTO CAUSING EXTINCTION OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY

 

 

By Frosty Wooldridge
March 3, 2014
NewsWithViews.com

Before I write this column, I thank all the readers who caught the error in last week’s, “Empty chair in the White House more apparent daily” 2/28/14. I apologize for this mistake: “Here’s a bright idea: give every American citizen; all 319 million of us, a whopping $2 million each so we could take care of ourselves.” That would give only $2 per person. I should have said something like, “If we stopped 10-year wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan, we would save close to $1 trillion that could be passed on to our citizens to take care of our health-care needs.”

As you may know, I bicycled for a year in South America, top to bottom. I enjoyed the Amazon jungle, the wildlife and especially the insect life. I took pictures of tens of thousands of butterflies dancing on an endless canopy of flowers. Many of my columns deal with saving the natural world such as an international 25-cent deposit-return law for all plastic, glass and metal containers. We must keep plastics from destroying our fellow creatures—especially in our oceans.

Today, I appeal to you to use the links provided to send the chemical giant Monsanto a letter to demand they stop marketing “Round-up” ; “Weed-b-gone” and other poisons that threaten the extinction of the Monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterflies vanish faster with each passing year -- and all signs point to Monsanto as the main culprit.

Major press outlets worldwide reported last month that Monarchs face "grave danger", with their population reaching the lowest numbers ever recorded. Now, an independent study linked the monarch's decline with Monsanto’s "Round-up" herbicide.

One of the most beautiful phenomena in the natural world -- the annual mass migration of 60 million monarchs from Canada to Mexico – stands on the verge of being a relic of history. We need to fight this now, before it’s too late for the butterflies.

Join me and tell Monsanto to pull its butterfly-killing herbicide before it’s too late.

“This corporate giant knows what it's doing,” said a spokesperson for Sum of Us. “But Monsanto says we should balance the butterfly's survival with what it calls "productive agriculture" (read: Monsanto's bottom line equals money not nature).

Tell Monsanto to pull its butterfly-killing herbicide before it’s too late.

The annual mass migration of 60 million Monarchs from Canada to Mexico represents one of the most beautiful phenomena in the natural world. I know because on one of my many cycle trips along the coast of California, I saw millions of Monarchs hanging from trees during their rest stops.

But Monarchs stand on the verge of being a relic of history, and a key link in our food chain.

“The monarch butterfly is in a serious, decades-long decline,” said the spokesperson. “The World Wildlife Fund reported that this winter, the monarchs are only occupying an area of 1.7 acres in Mexico, down from 45 acres in 1996. An evolutionary strategy based on eating a common weed seemed smart -- until Monsanto came along. Just one state along the monarchs' migration route, Iowa, is reported to have lost 98 percent of its milkweed.”

Monsanto products like Roundup dominate the agricultural market worldwide. This corporate giant sells matching genetically-engineered plants resistant to its pesticides -- and encourages factory farms to douse fields with gallons of Monsanto's herbicides.

“But sprayed over vast areas, these poisons effect the entire ecosystem,” a spokesperson said. “Monsanto's Roundup wipes out the monarchs' primary food source -- a plant called milkweed. Scientists have linked the monarch's rapid population decline to the spread of Monsanto's pesticides. Losing these butterflies means wiping out insects, birds and small mammals that rely on the monarch and its place in the food chain.”

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Take a few minutes to visit the website and send in your letter to Monsanto. Tell Monsanto to save the monarchs by pulling its ecosystem-threatening herbicide.

Every second wasted nails another spike into the butterfly’s coffin leading to extinction. Let’s harness that awareness to save the monarchs from Monsanto!

[Join me, Frosty Wooldridge, with Dave Chaffin, host of the Morning Zone at 650 AM, www.KGAB.com, Cheyenne, Wyoming every Monday 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., as we discuss my latest commentaries on www.NewsWithViews.com about issues facing America. You may stream the show on your computer. You may call in at: 1-888-503-6500.]