When you think about the beautiful things in Nature, what comes to mind?

Trees? Flowers? Fresh fruit hanging from the vine, luscious vegetables emerging from rich soil? Can you imagine a world without plants? It’s a pretty scary idea that the plants of the world might disappear. But how will they continue to grow if there are no bees?

It’s estimated that the “Apis mellifera,” the Western honeybee, is responsible for pollinating “1 in every 3 of the mouthfuls that you eat.” It seems bees are currently in real danger -- and the culprit is clearly identified as the chemical pesticides used in big agribusinesses.

There has been a massive ‘die-off’ of over 40% of bee colonies throughout the U.S. The loss of the bees is already impacting farmers and the prices of fresh foods in the U.S. and Europe. There are going to be real consequences to us all if something is not done – fast!

Why is this happening? Well, scientists have isolated the major killers – pesticides and insecticides.

A study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has labeled one pesticide, called clothianidin, as completely unacceptable for use, and banned it from use entirely. Meanwhile, the U.S. uses the same pesticide on more than a third of its crops – nearly 143 million acres!

The U.S. lags behind Europe in spite of many efforts by concerned groups to bring the situation to the FDA and other authorities. Groups like “Beyond Pesticides,” have worked hard to advocate for bee protection. Now “The Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2013” is under consideration by Congress.

What can be done? We need governments around the world to control and restrict the big corporations that operate the giant farms in order to save the bees and other wildlife. But we each can do our part.

Here’s some tips I’ve learned recently:

• Stop using chemicals on your lawn or garden!
• Vinegar is an effective and non-toxic weed killer
• Cultivate ‘bee-friendly’ plants – they especially like blue, purple and yellow flowers
• Don’t use plastic or heavy layers of wood mulch in the garden because bees and worms need to burrow
• Speak out and take action within your community to advocate for common sense solutions to pest controls.

It seems to me just plain common sense to stop adding more pesticides and insecticides to our environment. Who wants more of these man-made chemical pollutants in their homes and bodies?

Let’s save the bees – for the plants and the planet…

* Note: Just as we were about to publish this blog, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally took steps in the right direction to ban the use of the pesticides killing the bees!

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid /FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of zirconicusso/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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