The EU on Friday backed an almost total ban on insecticides blamed for killing off bee populations, in a move hailed by environmentalists as a “beacon of hope”.
Bees help pollinate 90 percent of the world’s major crops, but in recent years have been dying off from “colony collapse disorder,” a mysterious scourge blamed partly on pesticides.
EU countries voted for a ban on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides in fields, the European Commission said, meaning that they can only now be used in covered greenhouses where they cannot get into the environment.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
The EU brought in a partial ban in 2013 but decided on more drastic action after a major report by European food safety agency said in February that the chemicals posed a risk to honey bees and wild bees.
Opposition from chemical giants
But two chemical giants whose products are affected — Switzerland’s Syngenta and Bayer of Germany — opposed the ban.
Photo: AP
照片:美聯社
Bayer said in a statement that it “will not improve the lot of bees or other pollinators. The decision will further reduce European farmers’ ability to tackle important pests, for many of which there are no alternative treatments available.”
Why ban neonicotinoids?
Unlike contact pesticides — which remain on the surface of foliage — neonicotinoids are absorbed by the plant from the seed phase and transported to leaves, flowers, roots and stems.
They have been widely used over the last 20 years, and were designed to control sap-feeding insects such as aphids and root-feeding grubs.
Past studies have found neonicotinoids can cause bees to become disorientated such that they cannot find their way back to the hive, and lower their resistance to disease.
Fears have been growing globally in recent years over the health of bees.
Pesticides have been blamed as a cause of colony collapse disorder along with mites, pesticides, virus and fungus, or some combination of these factors.
The United Nations warned last year that 40 percent of invertebrate pollinators — particularly bees and butterflies — risk global extinction.
(AFP)
歐盟上週五通過一項禁令,幾乎全面禁用會殺死蜂群的農藥,此舉被環保人士譽為「希望的明燈」。
世界上百分之九十的主要作物是藉蜜蜂之助來授粉,但近年常發生的「蜂群崩壞症候群」,讓蜂群接連死亡。「蜂群崩壞症候群」的成因不明,但部分歸咎於農藥的使用。
歐盟執行委員會表示,歐盟國家投票決定,禁止在田野施用三種類尼古丁(又稱新菸鹼)農藥,這也就是說,這些農藥只能在有遮蓋的溫室中使用,以防止農藥進入生態環境。
歐盟已於二○一三年實施部分禁令,但在歐洲食品安全署二月發布一份重要報告,指出化學藥劑對蜜蜂和野生蜂所造成的威脅後,歐盟決定採取更嚴厲的措施。
化工巨頭的反對
然而,產品受到影響的化學藥劑兩巨頭──瑞士的先正達公司和德國的拜耳公司──反對這項禁令。
拜耳在一份聲明中表示,這個禁令「不會改善蜜蜂或其他授粉昆蟲的命運,這個決策將更降低歐洲農民防治主要害蟲的能力,因為要除這些蟲害,很多是沒有其他替代方法的。」
為何要禁用類尼古丁農藥?
與接觸性農藥(留在葉面上以發揮作用)不同,類尼古丁農藥在植物仍為種子階段時即被吸收,並輸送至葉、花、根和莖。
類尼古丁農藥在過去二十年中廣泛使用,用來抑制蚜蟲等吸取植物汁液的昆蟲,以及啃食植物根部的幼蟲。
過去已有研究發現類尼古丁可能會使蜜蜂迷失方向、找不到飛回蜂巢的路,並降低蜜蜂對疾病的抵抗力。
近年來,蜂群的健康狀況在全球都愈來愈令人擔憂。
農藥連同蟎蟲、殺蟲劑、病毒和真菌,或這些因素的某種組合,都被歸咎為蜂群崩壞症候群的肇因。
聯合國去年警告說,全球百分之四十的無脊椎動物授粉者──尤其是蜜蜂和蝴蝶──正面臨滅絕的威脅。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too