Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Who Will Save The Honey Bee? EU Mulls Pesticide Ban While US Set to Approve More



There are a number of grave ecological crises nagging at the status quo of modern life. Though the corporate media prefers not to cover the enduring impact of events like Fukushima, the Deepwater Horizon or Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder, the truth remains that these issues are vastly more important than most of the things we concern ourselves with.

The honey bee is unique in the animal kingdom for its critical importance to both the environment and the economy. Without the bee, the variety and amount of food for human consumption would drop dramatically and the many industries built around bee products would collapse.

The global decline in honey bee populations is attributed to a varying combination of 6 primary factors:
  1. Viruses and infections
  2. Attacks by parasites and invasive species
  3. Genetically modified plants
  4. Poor nutrition
  5. Environmental change and habitat fragmentation and loss
  6. Intensive use of agricultural pesticides
Right now worldwide bee colony collapse is accelerating at alarming rates, and beekeepers are expecting one of the worst years ever.

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