The Latest Buzz on Bees

 Essential to the pollination of crops and wild plants, honeybee populations have been plummeting in recent years, and scientists have linked their disappearance to the use of the pesticides and to the destruction of bee habitat. Environmental groups, the chemical industry, farmers, scientists and politicians have been at bitter odds over the continued use of neonicotinoids, with Britain's Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, criticized for failing to support a ban on three types of pesticides definitively linked to dramatic declines in bee populations. The effort to save the bees was joined by millions of members of Avaaz, the global civic organization that promotes activism on a wide range of environmental and social issues. Activists across Europe joined together in a two-year effort culminating in a petition with 2.6 million signers, and by inspired protests led by huge inflatable bees, impassioned beekeepers, and protesters dressed as bees who staged mass “die ins" at chemical companies' headquarters. 

Bees pollinate two thirds of human crops, as well as countless wild species essential to global ecosystems. The EU ban is in place for just two years pending further review, and bee-killing pesticides and habitat destruction continue to endanger bees and other pollinators across India, the United States, and much of the globe. For a Sanctuary feature article on bees and the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, go to: http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/magazines/conservation/1764-whither-apis-mellifera.html