Bees: Sulfoxaflor: Nicotine

 Sulfoxaflor is a systemic insecticide which acts as an insect neurotoxin. 

It is a derivative of Nicotine, which is highly poisonous: 

"Nicotine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the chemical. For other uses, see Nicotine (disambiguation).

Nicotine

Toxicology See also: Nicotine poisoning NFPA 704 1 4 0 The LD50 of nicotine is 50 mg/kg for rats and 3 mg/kg for mice. 30–60 mg (0.5–1.0 mg/kg) can be a lethal dosage for adult humans.[5][62] However the widely used human LD50 estimate of 0.5–1.0 mg/kg was questioned in a 2013 review, in light of several documented cases of humans surviving much higher doses; the 2013 review suggests that the lower limit causing fatal out-comes is 500–1000 mg of ingested nicotine, corresponding to an oral lD50 of 6.5–13 mg/kg .[7] Nevertheless nicotine has a relatively high toxicity in comparison to many other alkaloids such as cocaine, which has an LD50of 95.1 mg/kg when administered to mice. It is unlikely that a person would overdose on nicotine through smoking alone, although overdose can occur through combined use of nicotine patches or nicotine gum and cigarettes at the same time.[6][unreliable source?] Spilling a high concentration of nicotine onto the skin can cause intoxication or even death, since nicotine readily passes into the bloodstream following dermal contact.[63] Historically, nicotine has not been regarded as a carcinogen and the IARC has not evaluated nicotine in its standalone form or assigned it to an official carcinogen group. While no epidemiological evidence supports that nicotine alone acts as a carcinogen in the formation of human cancer, research over the last decade has identified nicotine's carcinogenic potential in animal models and cell culture.[64][65] Nicotine has been noted to directly cause cancer through a number of different mechanisms such as the activation of MAP Kinases.[66] Indirectly, nicotine increases cholinergic signalling (and adrenergic signalling in the case of colon cancer[67]), thereby impeding apoptosis (programmed cell death), promoting tumor growth, and activating growth factors and cellular mitogenic factors such as 5-LOX, and EGF. Nicotine also promotes cancer growth by stimulating angiogenesis and neovascularization.[68][69] In one study, nicotine administered to mice with tumors caused increases in tumor size (twofold increase), metastasis (nine-fold increase), and tumor recurrence (threefold increase).[70] N-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN), classified by the IARC as a Group 1 carcinogen, is produced endogenously from nitrite in saliva and nicotine. The teratogenic properties of nicotine has been investigated. According to a study of ca. 77,000 pregnant women in Denmark,[citation needed] women who used nicotine gum and patches during the early stages of pregnancy were found to face an increased risk of having babies with birth defects. The study showed that women who used nicotine-replacement therapy in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy had a 60% greater risk of having babies with birth defects compared to women who were non-smokers.[citation needed] Tobacco use among pregnant women has also been correlated to increased frequency of ADHD. Children born to mothers who used tobacco were two and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.[71] Froelich estimated that "exposure to higher levels of lead and prenatal tobacco each accounted for 500,000 additional cases of ADHD in U.S. children".[72] Effective April 1, 1990, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of the California Environmental Protection Agency added nicotine to the list of chemicals known to cause developmental toxicity.[73] In the Central Nervous System Effect of nicotine on dopaminergic neurons. By binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, nicotine increases the levels of several neurotransmitters – acting as a sort of "volume control". It is thought that increased levels of dopamine in the reward circuits of the brain one of the major contributors of the apparent euphoria and relaxation, and addiction caused by nicotine consumption. This release of Dopamine induced by Nicotine is thought to occur via a cholinergic–dopaminergic link, mediated by a neuropeptide, ghrelin, in the ventral tegmentum.[88] Nicotine has a higher affinity for acetylcholine receptors in the brain than those in skeletal muscle, though at toxic doses it can induce contractions and respiratory paralysis.[89] Nicotine's selectivity is thought to be due to a particular amino acid difference on these receptor subtypes.[90] Tobacco smoke contains anabasine, anatabine, and nornicotine. It also contains the monoamine oxidase inhibitors harman and norharman.[91] These beta-carboline compounds significantly decrease MAO activity in smokers.[91][92] MAO enzymes break down monoaminergic neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. It is thought that the powerful interaction between the MAOIs and the nicotine is responsible for most of the addictive properties of tobacco smoking.[93] The addition of five minor tobacco alkaloids increases nicotine-induced hyperactivity, sensitization and intravenous self-administration in rats.[94] Chronic nicotine exposure via tobacco smoking up-regulates alpha4beta2* nAChR in cerebellum and brainstem regions[95][96] but not habenulopeduncular structures.[97] Alpha4beta2 and alpha6beta2 receptors, present in the ventral tegmental area, play a crucial role in mediating the reinforcement effects of nicotine.[98] In the sympathetic nervous system Nicotine also activates the sympathetic nervous system,[99] acting via splanchnic nerves to the adrenal medulla, stimulates the release of epinephrine. Acetylcholine released by preganglionic sympathetic fibers of these nerves acts on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, causing the release of epinephrine (and noradrenaline) into the bloodstream. Nicotine also has an affinity for melanin-containing tissues due to its precursor function in melanin synthesis or due to the irreversible binding of melanin and nicotine. This has been suggested to underlie the increased nicotine dependence and lower smoking cessation rates in darker pigmented individuals. However, further research is warranted before a definite conclusive link can be inferred.[100] In adrenal medulla Chemical Identification Nicotine was first isolated from the tobacco plant in 1828 by physician Wilhelm Heinrich Posselt and chemist Karl Ludwig Reimann of Germany, who considered it a poison.[103][104] Its chemical empirical formula was described by Melsens in 1843,[105] its structure was discovered by Adolf Pinner and Richard Wolffenstein in 1893,[106][107][108][clarification needed] and it was first synthesized by Amé Pictet and A. Rotschy in 1904.[109] As an Insecticide Tobacco was introduced to Europe in 1559, and by the late 17th century, it was used not only for smoking but also as an insecticide. After World War II, over 2,500 tons of nicotine insecticide (waste from the tobacco industry) were used worldwide, but by the 1980s the use of nicotine insecticide had declined below 200 tons. This was due to the availability of other insecticides that are cheaper and less harmful to mammals.[4] Currently, nicotine, even in the form of tobacco dust, is prohibited as a pesticide for organic farming.[110][111] In 2008, the EPA received a request, from the registrant, to cancel the registration of the last nicotine pesticide registered in the United States.[112] This request was granted, and after 1 January 2014, this pesticide will not be available for sale." Read the Eentire article at:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine

Pull the Plug on Palin

Terrible TV

Nearly 180,000 Defenders supporters have sent messages to Discovery Communications urging the network to drop Sarah Palin’s misleading new show on Alaska’s outdoors.

But that’s just the beginning of our campaign. Now we’re taking our message to Discovery’s management, employees, advertisers and shareholders with a powerful new ad campaign right outside their front door.

You can help: Please donate now to help us blanket the area outside Discovery's headquarters with hard-hitting ads.

If you haven’t already, tell the president and CEO of Discovery Communications to pull the plug on Sarah Palin’s new show.

Protect Our Wildlife & Oceans

Dear Wildlife Supporter,

Today, the Obama administration announced a plan that could lead to the opening of vast new areas along America’s coasts to harmful offshore oil and gas drilling…

• Endangering polar bears, walrus and bowhead whales in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska;
• Threatening highly endangered North Atlantic right whales along the eastern sea board; and
• Jeopardizing commercial fisheries and vital habitat for threatened sea turtles along North Carolina’s Outer Banks and the southeast coast.

Please call the White House right now at 202-456-1111 and deliver this important message:
 

My name is  [your first name] Friend of Defenders and I am calling from Tujunga, California. As someone who cares about wildlife and the environment, I am extremely disappointed in today’s White House announcement on offshore drilling.

It does nothing to curb our dependence on fossil fuels and threatens the health of coastal waters. Endangered North Atlantic right whales, polar bears and other precious wildlife rely on these waters for their survival.

Now, more than ever, it is urgent that the president supports comprehensive climate and energy legislation to address harmful climate change and meet America’s energy needs in a clean and sustainable manner… without sacrificing our ocean waters or furthering our dependence on dirty drilling and fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.

Please click here to let us know that you’ve called. We will be tracking opposition to the worst parts of this proposal in preparation for the long fight to protect our coasts.

The announcement isn’t all bad news: We are pleased that the Obama administration has decided to protect Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay and the California coast until 2017.

But we’re extremely concerned about the administration’s efforts to expand offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic coasts.

The administration’s desire to expand oil drilling risks the health of marine wildlife, fisheries and coastal economies. It continues to expand our dependence on fossil fuels at a time when we need to reduce our dependence in order to address the harmful impacts of global warming.

President Obama needs to hear from you today! Please call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 and let the president know that you OPPOSE industrializing our coasts.

With Gratitude,

Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. To learn more about the potentially devastating impacts of increased drilling off our coasts, please visit our website.

Obama Risks
Ocean Wildlife

The endangered North Atlantic right whale is just one species threatened by President Obama’s call for expanded offshore drilling. New seismic testing for oil and gas deposits off our coasts could disrupt the migration and reproduction of these critically endangered whales.
Speak out for America’s marine wildlife! Call the White House now….

More Wildlife in Peril

• Expanded drilling increases the risk of catastrophic oil spills that can decimate commercial fisheries, wreck tourist economies and destroy vital habitat for shore birds and sea turtles. 

• Oil spills also kill sea birds and other marine life directly through oiling and poisoning by ingestion as animals try to clean themselves and toxins are absorbed from the fish birds eat.

Angeles National Forest Wildfire

I always take action, however today I face a bigger threat than the polar bears. My neighborhood is on fire. I live in Tujunga...we have a multi-thousand acre wildfire.

Why not take action by protesting the governments incessant use of "chem-trails"?

Here they spray the chemicals in the air and use large radio frequency discs in order to stop the rain. They have been totally successful, so much so that we live in extreme drought conditions....now the Angeles National Forest is ablaze... Had the government not worked so hard to stop the rain (to alter the weather) with their poisonous chemicals and radio frequencies our forest would have had the necessary snow cap that would allow it to withstand a fire.

Because the trees and the Earth are so thirsty, there is not enough water within to survive what might have otherwise been a brush fire. We do not even have enough free standing water resources to use for the much needed water drops. Countless lives of our non-two legged relations have been lost due to the selfish, self-serving interference of the government.

This has Nothing to do with Mr. Obama, this has everything to do with Bush/Cheney...for this is when the weather changers increased their activity....up to 4-5 planes twice daily spewing as many as 40-50 chemtrails per mission.

If you think you can afford not to speak out on behalf of our National Forest wildlife...then you are a part of the problem, not the solution.

Mi Takuye Oyacin

More Environmental Good News: May 16, 2009

Regarding Mountaintop Removal Mining

Thank you for writing to express your support for the "Appalachia Restoration Act" (S. 696). I share your concerns about the environmental impacts of mountaintop removal mining, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

As you know, the practice of mountaintop removal mining - which involves removing mountaintops to mine coal seams within the mountain - has been found to have damaging effects on nearby streams as large quantities of excess rock and dirt may cause the deterioration of the watershed and the filling of streams.

On March 25, 2009, Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced the "Appalachia Restoration Act" (S. 696), which would amend the Clean Water Act to prevent the disposal of mountaintop mining waste into streams and rivers. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Although I am not a member of this Committee, I will keep your support in mind should S. 696, or similar legislation, come before the full Senate.

You may also be interested to know that on April 27, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior (DOI) is taking action to rescind a Bush Administration rule that eased restrictions on mountaintop removal mining to allow discharges of coal mining waste within the 100-foot buffer zone surrounding streams. Secretary Salazar has asked the Department of Justice to file a motion in U.S. District Court requesting that the rule be set aside and sent back to DOI for further review. DOI will draft a new rule and seek public comment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also taken action to address concerns about mountaintop removal mining by suspending permitting for mountaintop mining projects until the EPA can assess the impact of this practice on water quality and aquatic life.

Again, thank you for writing. If you have additional questions or comments, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Regarding Health Care Reform

Thank you for writing to me about the need for health care reform. I am committed to enacting comprehensive health reform that controls rising health care costs and ensures high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Congress recently passed a budget that lays out some basic principles for health care reform: making health care coverage affordable, guaranteeing Americans a choice of health plans and physicians, investing in prevention and wellness, improving patient safety and quality care, and making health care reform fiscally sustainable.

As the number of uninsured Americans grows rapidly, more people are suffering and forgoing needed care. It is estimated that more than 45 million Americans are without health insurance, including 6.7 million people in California.

Escalating health care costs are hurting our families and our economy. In order to put our economy on a sound path to recovery, we must address the costs and inefficiencies of our health care system. As we move forward in the debate on health care reform, I will continue to fight for common goals of constraining costs, expanding access, and improving quality.

I look forward to working with the Obama Administration and my colleagues to enact legislation that will put these principles for health care reform.

Again, thank you for writing to me. Please feel free to contact me again about this or other issues of concern to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator


Win for the Polar Bears

Please take a few seconds out of your day to thank the 38 members of the California legislature who stood up for polar bears.

Last year, both houses of the California legislature adopted a joint resolution, authored by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (Torrance), calling on the Bush administration to stop stalling protections for polar bears and penguins threatened by global warming. This year, 38 state senators and assemblymembers joined Assemblymember Pedro Nava (Santa Barbara) in a joint letter urging Secretary Salazar to restore these essential protections to the polar bear.

The joint letter from the legislature states: "The people and the state of California cherish our wildlife and natural habitats, and we are committed to protecting our natural heritage and imperiled species from the impacts of climate change."

By last Friday, Salazar had restored some protections, but unfortunately announced that he would continue the Bush-era policy of denying full protections to polar bears.

California's legislators deserve our praise and support for standing up for polar bear protections. So often we ask you to call or write to urge your elected representatives to do more to protect the environment, and they need to know we appreciate it when they do.

Click here to find out more and thank California's legislators.

Save the Yellowstone Bison from Slaughter: May 7, 2009

Right now, newborn wild bison -- better known as buffalo -- are grazing under their mothers' watchful eyes on the lush Horse Butte peninsula near Yellowstone National Park in Montana.

But on May 15, this pastoral scene could turn ugly if the government begins hazing the buffalo back into the park with helicopters, horses and ATVs, as they did last year at this time.



If this operation proceeds, some buffalo could die, including young calves and pregnant cows.

Please speak out immediately to stop the government's annual hazing operation.

This wildlife tragedy replays almost every year on Horse Butte -- a birthing ground for the buffalo.



First, a helicopter invades the stillness, circling low to scare wild buffalo out of the woods, so that government agents on ATVs and horses can chase them back to Yellowstone.

With no time to rest or nurse during this relentless chase, some calves collapse and even die of exhaustion before ever reaching their grazing grounds deep within the park.

The saddest part? This senseless tragedy is unnecessary. The justification for hazing and killing buffalo is that they could spread the disease brucellosis to domestic cattle. That is why buffalo are generally not welcome outside Yellowstone Park in Montana -- and why thousands have been slaughtered or hazed back into the park in recent years.

But the fact is, there has never been a documented case of brucellosis transmission from buffalo to cattle in the wild.

More to the point, there are no cattle at all on Horse Butte, so there is absolutely no reason to haze and endanger Yellowstone's wild buffalo.



So please, help us give newborn buffalo a better chance at survival this spring.

Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to intervene right away and prevent the hazing of wild buffalo in the weeks ahead.

As living links to the great herds that once thundered across America's plains, Yellowstone's buffalo are a national treasure. Please join me in urging our government to protect them -- instead of subjecting them to needless suffering.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

A Letter From Senator Diane Feinstein: April 17, 2009

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about changes that may weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA). I appreciate the time you took to write and welcome the opportunity to respond.

As a strong environmental advocate, I share your belief that the conservation of America's land and wildlife is important and I have consistently voted to protect and strengthen the ESA. I am deeply troubled by actions taken by the Bush Administration to undermine certain protections granted under the ESA, one of our nation's core environmental laws. More than 300 species classified as endangered or threatened under the ESA reside in California, which is more than are in any other State.

I am pleased to inform you that the Omnibus Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009 included a provision to allow the Obama Administration to quickly reverse two rules finalized by the previous Administration in December 2008. As you may know, these two rules denied polar bears the full protections of the ESA and excluded independent wildlife experts from the ESA decision making process.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) offered an amendment to the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that would have required a 60 day public comment period before the Bush administration rules could be lifted. On March 5, 2009, I joined 51 of my Senate colleagues in voting to defeat the Murkowski amendment. This Omnibus Appropriations bill, signed into law on March 10, 2009 by President Obama, retains the provision allowing his Administration to rescind the ESA rule changes without requiring a new formal rulemaking process.

Endangered species must continue to receive adequate and effective protections such as those provided under the ESA. Please be assured that I will continue to vote to protect our wildlife.

Once again, thank you for writing. For your review, I have included my floor statement in opposition to the Murkowski Amendment to the Omnibus Appropriations bill. If you have any further questions or comments, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.