Discussion reply environmental (mod 3)

Reply to student’s discussion on pesticides  (What is the impact of pesticide resistance on the environment and subsequently human health?)

Hello class!

In the (Nature Video 2012) the buzz about pesticides. A study was conducted to about how just two of the world’s numerous pesticides were tested on honey bees. The results of this study showed that there was an adverse effect on the bee’s pollen making ability which was greatly reduced when exposed to small limits of these pesticides. This is alarming for human health as well because bees pollenate multiple sources of food from plants. It is counterproductive to try to eliminate pest from our food source by negatively effecting insects that help plants produce food and oxygen that we need to survive.

Are there alternative strategies to pesticide use for controlling pests/vectors of disease? (Nile et al. 2019) provided a possible solution in horticultural oil. Horticultural oils are extracted naturally by plants. These oils will still kill pests that interfere with crops and cause disease but they are safer for the plants and do not harm honey bees unless directly sprayed to them. While they are not perfect, they are a better alternative than spraying toxic pesticides that kill everything without discrimination, disrupt pollen generation and cause diseases in human.

Nature Video (2012). The buzz about pesticides . Accessed at       

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-fXYR9FTfM

Nile, A. S., Kwon, Y. D., & Nile, S. H. (2019). Horticultural oils: Possible alternatives to chemical pesticides and insecticides. Environmental Science and Pollution                      Research International, 26(21), 21127-21139. doi:10.1007/s11356-019-05509-z

250-275 words, APA format, scholarly source required