Help Save the Monarch Butterfly -- email/petition from my Rep Chellie Pingree

[magical thyme]

https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/help-me-save-the-monarch-butterfly?akid=11098.3008867.LI4WuA&rd=1&suppress_one_click=true&t=4

Dear MT,

The widespread use of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide has wiped out milkweed, the primary food for Monarch butterflies, in many parts of the country, which has led to the widespread collapse of the species.

And now it's about to get even worse. Dow Chemical is seeking approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for a new toxic cocktail -- glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, and "2,4-D," a component of Agent Orange -- to go along with Dow's GMO corn and soybean crops.
The EPA is expected to make a decision on Dow Chemical's application soon, so we must act now to convince it to reject this dangerous new toxic cocktail. That's why I started my own campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which is to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, says the following:

Monsanto's Roundup has already contributed to the widespread collapse of Monarch butterflies, a major pollinating species. Now Dow Chemical wants to start selling an even more toxic herbicide and GMO corn combination that will be more devastating to this important species. We urge you to not to approve the use of this new herbicide.

Tell the EPA: Protect the Monarch butterfly and reject Dow Chemical's new toxic cocktail.

There are numerous human health risks associated with this new herbicide that are being debated -- but the damage that glyphosate has already done to Monarch butterflies is staggering.

In 1996, an estimated 1 billion Monarch butterflies migrating to a pine valley in Mexico covered nearly 50 acres. Last year they covered the area about the size of a football field. This rapid decline in migrating Monarchs closely follows an increase in the use of GMO crops and the accompanying increase in the use of Monsanto's herbicide Roundup.

Some experts believe if Dow's new herbicide product is approved, we could see a 25-to-50 fold increase in use of this milkweed-destroying chemical. This would be simply devastating to the remaining Monarch population and to our entire ecosystem.

Will you join me and add your name to my petition urging the EPA to deny Dow's application and help me save the Monarch butterfly?

Thank you for your support.

Rep. Chellie Pingree

[CountAllVotes]

1. K&R

[Peacetrain]

2. I am on the Monarch Migration Path

i have only had this happen once, but it was so magical, I felt like I had traveled to a different planet.. The monarch overnighted in my yard.. thousands upon thousands in the trees.. And that evening the trees looked alive, as those orange and black wings went back and forth in the leaves, along the fence.. It was just beyond descriptions.. That was 25 years ago..and every year we see fewer and fewer monarchs.. I was blessed with magic, that I do not think my 27 year old son will get to see, if we do not start to change things NOW..

[magical thyme]

3. kicking for exposure

When I first moved up here, I used to get them all the time. I filled my garden with butterfly food.

Every year fewer. This year, thankfully, I'm see more than last year. I saw one today feeding at one of my stray valerians. I've been mowing around my milkweed, which is getting ready to bloom shortly.

They need all the help we can give them.