Bees. our current "canaries in the coal mine"

There are many versions of the old adage about canaries as the harbingers of disaster,  but the most powerful one currently has been sounded by Friends of the Earth,  warning about the loss of our pollinators as the "Second"  Silent Spring.   This "imminent and frightening threat to our food" and our very lives is underscored about a revelation concerning Neonics/Neonicotinoids,  chemicals which come in many, many brands, and which are virtually unregulated. 

The losses of the world's bees is documented by the countless stories about massive bee die-offs,  something referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder earlier on.  To quote the Friends of the Earth brochure:  "Diseases, pests and climate change have all been implicated in the global bee die-off, but now a growing body of science points to the world's most popular pesticides as a key contributing factor."

I have noticed in the last few years the rarity of bees as pollinators on our plants.  If it wasn't for bumble bees I'm not sure what would have happened out there.  Luckily some relatively new neighbors have taken up bee keeping in the last two years and thus we see bees among our plants again.  There is no way we can fight this menace by ourselves,  we must band together with others,  and insist that the organizations (for example farm organizations) get into the fight for our pollinators.

So I suggest that you dial up Bee Action.org from Friends of the Earth.  Use their launching pad to  support a well thought out campaign to deal with this unbelievable crisis,  and encourage your friends and organizations* to do like wise.  The Friends of the Earth  campaign includes the passage of the Save America's Pollinators Act,  something which parallels the actions abroad,  for example the U.K. and the European Union. Employ their 5 ways you can help save the bees.

*  Especially farm organizations, including the USDA and FSA,  landscape and gardening organizations