What's wrong with the bees?
"Believe it or not, you have a bee to thank for every one in three bites of food you eat." -greenpeace
Bees are immensely important for our ecosystem. Both wild and domestic honey bees are responsible for about 80 percent of the world's pollination - the other twenty is performed by wind. In fact, just one bee is able to pollinate up to 300 million flowers in a single day. Hence, fruits, nuts, and vegetables would not be as prevalent without the pollination of bees. Bees are so important to our ecosystem, that about seventy out of the top 100 human food crops, which supply nearly 90 percent of the world's nutrition, are pollinated by bees.
What is killing the bees? Scientists say that the honey bees are being killed by a variety of factors, which include pesticides, drought, habitat destruction, nutrition deficit, air pollution, global warming and more. Sadly, humans are can be blamed for the two leading causes: pesticides and habitat loss.
What can we do? The best way to save the bees and protect our fruits, vegetables, and nuts is to transition towards ecological farming. More specifically, we need to ban all bee-harming pesticides, protect the bees health by maintaining their wild habitats , and promote ecological (organic) farming.
What can you do? Plant native wild flowers and flowering shrubs in your backyard as they are excellent food sources for pollinators. Stop mowing some portion of your lawn and see what type of flowers will grow naturally. Let the dandelions live! Plant a bee hive in your yard, they're relatively low maintenance and a great hobby.
"The value of pollination of food crops by bees in the U.S. alone is estimated at $16 billion..."
Research Plans: Find out if Clemson University, Clemson, SC, and Charleston, SC are doing anything to save bees.
Bibliography:
[asapSCIENCE]. (2015, March 25). What happens if all the Bees Die? [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JilYBVrFiLA
Save Bees • Pollinator decline and how to help. 20 February 2017. Retrieved from https://savebees.org/
Save the Bees. 20 February 2017. Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/save-the-bees/
The Bees in Decline. 20 February 2017. Retrieved from http://sos-bees.org/
**All images from Creative Cloud and Adobe Spark**
Credits:
Created with images by PollyDot - "honey bee buckfast" • moreno0101 - "watermelon" • geishaboy500 - "Pistachio" • JeepersMedia - "Broccoli" • Greencolander - "pesticide use" • frankieleon - "Explored: i hope she likes them" • byrev - "pollution smoke stack" • ansonberries - "turning blueberries green blueberries" • Allagash Brewing - "Allagash Bee Hive has a new queen!" • Dan Zen - "Dandelion" • depaulus - "macro bug nature" • Jordan - "Bee eggs" • katja - "bee pollen nectar"