Friends of the Earth (FOE) is just one of the anti-science groups now claiming that bees are dying all over the world as the result of the use of pesticides in agriculture and by people protecting their gardens.
But it's nothing new. The attack on the use of pesticides began in 1962 with the publication of Rachel Carson s Silent Spring, which combined a little bit of science with a lot of anecdote and became the most successful environmental public relations win ever. Various groups have tried to duplicated it - Natural Resources Defense Council convinced "60 Minutes" they were getting an exclusive on the next DDT when they manufactured a controversy on alar and apples, but culture had matured by then - and the American Council on Science and Health existed to debunk that myth.
Now it is neonicotinoids and bees and Canada Free Press wants to know what the science is behind the hype - we were happy to help.