Bees dying off in record numbers

by Rod Weston

March 27th, 2008 in Bees, Environment, Legislation, Natural Resources

You know what scares me environmentally? No, it is not global warming. It’s not pollution and it is not desertrification. What scares me is bees. You’ve probably read a few things about bees dying off in record numbers. There’s more detailed reading on this subject here.

The state of California is about to set aside $20 million dollars to look further into what is happening with the bees. Where is our federal government with this? If any of you are thinking “oh, this will blow over and the bees will come back,” think again. This is an unprecedented die-off that beekeepers have never seen before. Bees pollinate most of our food. Some things wouldn’t be able to be grown without them. If the bees die, we starve. It is that simple. As much as all the other environmental problems scare me, nothing has me this worried.

Take a minute to find your US rep and send them a quick email that you are concerned about this and you feel your tax dollars should be put into this. This is how change happens—when our reps are informed of the needs and desires of their constituents. We need to figure this out and figure it out fast.

Comments

ccommisso writes:

March 27th, 2008

Thanks for the post. I usually only think of bees as annoying pests at picnics, but it’s amazing to think about how one kink in the supply chain can bring the whole thing down.

Did you catch this news story a few weeks ago about the 8 million honeybees that were unleashed in Sacramento when a truck carrying hives flipped over?

Without their hive, most of those bees are going to die. What a shame.

Rosenkranz writes:

March 31st, 2008

Thank you for bringing this issue to light. People need to truly understand the impact this has and become active participants in stopping it.

I am allergic to bees…one sting will kill me (thankfully I carry an EpiPen to prevent such an unfortunate event). Most of my friends wonder why I would promote saving the very insects that could so easily bring my life to a halt. I tell them…it’s simple math…with bees, I am at risk (as well as others who are allergic) but we have a medical remedy to counteract the effects. Without bees all of our lives will be brought to a halt and there is no remedy for that.

Rosenkranz writes:

March 31st, 2008

One more thing…Albert Einstein once said: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man,”. Some say this is alarmist…is it?

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