Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
There's an interesting conversation about saving bees over at the New York Times opinion page today. Entomologists and beekeeping experts weigh in on what we now know about the recent honey bee decline. Their general message on the status of...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
Huffington Post blogger Joseph Freeman highlights this video celebrating honey bees from five brothers in California. Ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs commissioned the work as part of its ongoing efforts to raise awareness and funds to fight the honey bee crisis. (We're told that "The dancing...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has produced its long awaited Colony Collapse Disorder Progress Report as mandated in the 2008 Farm Bill. This is a positive sign after previous confusion and a lack of clarity about what USDA was doing...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Last week Michelle Obama put in a new, organic garden on the White House grounds. But that’s not all. White House carpenter (and hobbyist beekeeper) Charlie Brandts provided the impetus to include a working bee hive. The presidential hive fits...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
Pollination by insects, mainly bees, is worth $217 billion worldwide each year, according to a study recently published in Ecological Economics and highlighted in Business Week. That's equivalent to 9.5% of the world's crop production. (And two-and-a-half times as much...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
Listen, I like a good mystery. But not when it comes to my food. Mystery meat? Bad. The continuing colony collapse disorder mystery, threatening the bees that pollinate our crops? Even worse. If government agencies have information that could...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
Honey bees are critical to U.S. agriculture. And with no solid solutions to Colony Collapse Disorder, U.S. hives continue to dwindle. This spring, beekeepers lost an estimated 29% of their bees to Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. You’d think that...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
A national survey released this week shows honey bee losses on the rise this year, prompting the state of Pennsylvania to pump money into colony collapse disorder (CCD) research. The Apiary Inspectors of America's annual survey indicated 36.1 percent of commercial...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A few weeks ago I wrote about a rash of honey bee thefts in California, triggered by a shortage of bees and commensurate rise in their dollar value as pollinators. Now it looks like bee theft is moving east. Some...continued→
Posted by Melissa Waage in Health and the Environment
If someone offers to sell you a beehive out of the back of a truck this spring, do not buy it, even if it’s a really good deal. Because those bees may be hot.That’s right—the law of supply and demand...continued→
