Dear Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe:

If we don't act now to save Earth's honey bee population, we could reach a critical point of no return. You see, the planet's honey bees have been in steady decline for several years now — climate change, parasites, habitat loss are all contributors. Some of these issues are going to be difficult to tackle, but there's one catalyst that humans can act on right now.

Bees are dying in large numbers as a result of the use of certain neonicotinoids to treat our crops over the past decade. Previously thought to be non-toxic to these precious pollinators, more recent peer-reviewed studies have linked the proliferation of neonicotinoids to a decrease in queen production and an increase in "disappeared" bees, the ones that never return to the hive from their foraging trips.

While insect pests are detrimental to our crops, the loss of our honey bees would be catastrophic. We can handle some less-than-ideal produce. But we can't handle a total decimation of our food supply as a result of lack of bee pollination.

You have the power to save our nation's food supply. Don't let this opportunity slip away: outlaw the use of the neonicotinoids killing our honey bees.