A pesticide approved by the Bush era EPA has been removed from the market by a judge’s order.

A pesticide approved just 18 months ago must be taken off the market because it could be toxic to America’s honey bees, already in steep decline.

The order comes as an alarming multi-year die-off of honey bees has beekeepers fighting for commercial survival and crop growers wondering whether bees will be available to pollinate their crops this coming spring and summer.

In June 2008, the Bush-era EPA approved Movento for nationwide use on hundreds of different crops, including apples, pears, peaches, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, almonds, and spinach.

The approval process went forward without the advance notice and opportunity for public comment that is required by federal law and by the EPA’s own regulations.

Just goes to show once again that during the Bush years rules and regulations were for other people, and if they got in nthe way of some corporation’s profit, the heck with ‘em. Unfortunately for that approach, judges tend to like it when government agencies actually follow the rules and regulations that they’re supposed to. Guess they’re just funny that way.

And like the judge said, if testing shows the pesticide has no harmful effects, it can go back on the market. Until then, the bees need all the help they can get.