Alva Review-Courier -

BRUSSELS (AP) — Environmental groups are urging the European Union to take drastic action to protect insects, saying in a report Tuesday that more than 40% of the world's insect species are in decline because of pesticide use and industrial farming.

Friends of the Earth Europe and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, a think tank with close ties to the German Green Party, said the EU's strategy to protect biodiversity and develop organic farming is not enough, as one-third of all inspect species are threatened with extinction.

"The evidence is clear: pesticide use is wiping out insect populations and e...