for national public health, proposed a ban on almost all outdoor uses of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, saying it is seeping into Canadian waterways at levels that can harm insects and the ecosystem. (19) The President’s budget for fiscal year 2018 cuts funding for pesticide review programs of the Environmental Protection Agency by 20 percent delaying reviews of new, potentially safer pesticides as well as reviews of older, more dangerous pesticides such as neonicotinoids. (20) In 2018, the European Union permanently banned outdoor uses of the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam after the European Food Safety Authority confirmed their risks to honey bees and wild bees. (21) In August 2018, Health Canada, proposed a ban on almost all outdoor uses of clothianidin and thiamethoxam similar to the proposed ban on imidacloprid, citing concerns that the chemicals are seeping into Canadian waterways at levels that can harm insects and the ecosystem. (22) Worldwide, insects are experiencing population declines twice as high as those of vertebrate species, with a rate of local species extinction eight times higher than that of vertebrate species. About one-third of all insect species are threatened with extinction, with 1 percent added every year. Such declines result in an annual 2.5 percent loss in biomass, which threatens the overall functioning and stability of ecosystems worldwide. (23) Insect biodiversity is essential to the proper functioning of ecosystems, and declines are disrupting pollination, natural pest control, food resources, nutrient recycling, and decomposition services provided by insects. (24) Major declines in insect populations can be traced to the expansion of intensive, industrial agriculture, including the systematic and widespread use of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers. (25) Because insects constitute the world’s most abundant and speciose animal group and provide critical services within ecosystems, such event cannot be ignored and should