By Peyton Hall
The phrase is pasted on billboards. It’s printed on t-shirts, buttons, and stickers. What does it mean, and more importantly, why do we need to “save the bees”?
There are many causes for the recent “‘Save the Bees” campaign. To begin, the pesticides that people are using in the agriculture industry weaken the immune systems of pollinators. This leaves them being more vulnerable to parasites and diseases. In addition, the increase of industrial agriculture, the threat of urban sprawl, and soaring intensity of conventional farming have led to a loss of biodiversity in bee species and a destruction of habitat for wild pollinators.
Without bees, our own economy would take a heavy toll. In fact, these pollinators contribute over $24 million to the United States economy. Honey bees alone are responsible for more than 90 commercially grown crops, such as apples, broccoli, melons, and almonds, in North America. Claiming that people would suffer from the extinction of bees is quite the understatement. No, the human race would not go extinct, but our diets would have to be majorly altered, as prices for certain foods would skyrocket and our dinners would become significantly less diverse.
From April 1, 2018 to April 1, 2019, the bee population decreased by 40.7%, and the government struggled to devote research to the matter. Shortly after statistics on the decrease of honey bees was released, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that for budgetary reasons, they were no longer collecting data for their survey on honey bee colonies. Fortunately, the halt on the research was only temporary, and months later, the survey began to collect data again. This reinstatement was key, because the survey also records data on Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, in the honey bee colonies. Colony Collapse Disorder is a phenomenon that is well known within the bee keeping community. It occurs when the majority of worker bees from a colony disappear and leave behind their queen, food, and a few bees to nurture the remaining immature bees. Though the number of CCD cases nationwide has decreased over the past five years, bee deaths by pesticide use has been a major cause in the population decrease.
Conclusively, the bee population is currently enduring many harsh factors, such as pesticide use, the intensification of the industrial agriculture industry, and colony collapse disorder. However, there are many ways we can help. First, we can decrease herbicide and pesticide use, as it leaves the bees weakened and more vulnerable to disease. In addition, plant a garden with a variety of native flowers that will bloom at different times throughout the year. This helps bees by providing a steady supply of nectar and pollen. Another way to support the bees is by buying honey from local beekeepers, which can help keep local colonies alive and healthy. Lastly, staying informed on the effort to save the bees is a simple way to bring awareness to the issue.
What are your thoughts? How do you think we should “save the bees”? What are some potential ways to bring awareness to the bee crisis?
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27 comments:
I do think that the dwindling population of bees is an issue that does need to be addressed. Knowing that bees are responsible for the pollination of such a large amount of crops, including crops that make up a large part of my own diet, make the issue even more imminent. I completely support the encouragement to buy locally grown honey, because not would one be supporting local beekeepers, but I have also heard that consuming honey helps build resistance against allergies since one would be ingesting small amounts of pollen in the honey. Planting wildflowers to increase the bee population also seems like a good idea, although it is one I haven't tested out myself. I have seen campaigns online that distribute free wildflower seeds which not only gives bees a source of nectar and pollen but would also spread awareness of the issue.
One major method of bringing awareness to the bee crisis would be through the use of films and other popular media. The Bee movie, despite not being scientifically accurate at all and honestly quite disturbing, is an example of a method through which we could spread awareness on the danger of ignoring this issue to a broader audience. I also think encouraging and supporting local beekeepers could be another way by which we alleviate this issue.
I agree that we need to be aware of the decline in the population of bees. These pollinators play a major role in the production of food crops and other plants. Due to parasites and climate change, the population of bees is diminishing and we need to do something about it. Without awareness, we can not get anything done. We need to plant the right crops. With our modern culture, gardens are dwindling, which means less food for the bees. Like said in the post, we can also stop the use of pesticides and herbicides. These contain harmful chemicals, so we should try to use natural ways to substitute them. Getting the word out through beekeepers or even in grocery stores about how important bees are to ecosystems can help bring awareness.
Saving the bee population is absolutely crucial to our environment’s health, as well as our own. Though how to go about it seems complex, as this article stated, there are smaller ways in which individuals can help. By taking these steps as well as demanding regulations on certain pesticide usage, decreasing industrial agriculture, and regulating the effects of urban sprawl, we can help this crisis. In reality, it seems as though much in the way of what we can do leans on what the government must do. If they do not begin to fund more research on protecting bees and fund the actions it takes to do so, there likely will not be much more we individuals can do.
Bees, as small as they may seem, play a vital role in our ecosystems and survival. Therefore, it is extremely crucial we ensure that the bee population remains healthy and far from endangerment. Bees provide a support system as the pollinate a variety of plants necessary for the health of the environment and the human population. If bees were to go extinct, there is nothing humans can do to replace their role as pollinators. The "Save the Bees" campaign often brings honeybees into the spotlight, but I think it is important to maintain a variety of bee species. It is easy to forget that honeybees aren't native to the Americas and were introduced by the Europeans. Diversity within the bees species also ensures that if something were to happen to one species, other would still be present to maintain the pollination system. The support of local beekeepers, as you mentioned, allows native species to flourish. Awareness to the crisis and education about native bee species could definitely prevent a huge disaster.
This “save the bees” campaign has been going on for a couple years, yet I feel nobody really takes much action to stop them from declining. Over time, there has been less awareness for these innocent insects as eventually “more important” events and circumstances come up and the bees slowly become forgotten. I feel like we should take a stand and revamp the campaign to “save the bees;” to do so, we should make it popular, maybe release new merchandise with the slogan. By creating t-shirts, phone cases, water bottles, or bags it can generate more awareness and revenue to help fund the campaign. I feel ignorance is a big part of why the bees are declining as people don’t know or understand the vital role they play in the ecosystem as a keystone species. Without their tireless efforts, many plants we see and love would not thrive, and by the time people realize this, it may be too late. We can create social media accounts to spread awareness and make it popular to support the tiny creatures that determine whether humans will continue to thrive and flourish in a climate changing world.
I didn’t realize how important the bee population was to the American economy. The extinction of bees would mean no more apples, which is an important fruit for any diet. One way to “save the bees”, would be to decrease the amount of pesticides occurring in these bees’ habitats. Additionally, we can promote bee reproduction in the same way that we make other organisms reproduce. One way to bring awareness to the bee crisis would be to make commercials explaining how no more bees would result in the economy falling and a lack of apples, broccoli, melons, and almonds. The U.S Department of Agriculture can also make billboards and promote their website in order to raise awareness for bees. I think saving the bees will be integral to the economy and agriculture, so it is an important thing to raise awareness for.
I 100% agree with the “save the bees” message. I think it is important that we preserve the instrumental values of nature. As if now, we only know that the destruction of bee colonies will, ultimately, worsen the economy. However, it is unclear as to the extent of which the economy will falter. Therefore, it is important that we make every effort we can right now and attempt to maintain a steady economy. One way in which we can bring awareness to the bee crisis is by introducing and popularizing the message onto new platforms, such as social media, billboards, and posters. In contemporary times, social media can have a significant impact on how fast and how far a message can spread, thus it is imperative that we take advantage of the technologies that we are given in order to spread a positive and impactful message.
I think that the decreasing bee population needs to be brought to our awareness since humans are one of the main causes behind it (heavy fertilizer use). Also, as stated in the article, the fact that our economy and just the dependence of the human population on the role of bees makes this a more pressing issue. We could save the bees by encouraging more people to buy honey from local keepers. This can be achieved by making honey from local beekeepers more accessible and affordable than other products. In addition, governments can pass legislature that would encourage the planting of large varieties of flower to help support bee populations. Obviously, the U.S. Department of Agriculture should continue their research on the matter to keep track of any changes in bee populations. We could bring awareness to this topic by having public service announcements about it during commercial breaks, while also continuing the billboards, t-shirts, buttons, etc.
I think it is horrible how populations of bees are declining because they are necessary to our ecosystems and our lives. If we lose the bees we won’t be able to support ourselves. I don’t think that anyone should be allowed to kill bees and that they should be treated as an endangered species. We should avoid pesticides that harm bees and put up more hives and plant flowering plants around our houses. If you see a bee that looks sick, give it some sugar water to help it so that the species can continue to grow. I think that everyone can do their part to help. However, real change needs to start with pesticide regulation. The media should focus on the bee crisis to help bring attention to it, and the government should make legislature around protecting them. I think saving the bees is really important because of how vital they are to us and the world’s ecosystems.
Undoubtedly, bees are a crucial part of our economy and our own lives. The loss of these pollinators could mean trouble in many ways. However, the difficulty lies in informing the everyday citizen on how to combat this issue. I do not believe the average citizen tries to break another beehive everyday. Thus, this problem must be rooted in a broader issue. The only way to truly combat this issue is by creating environmental regulations. It is difficult to advise the owner of a new home to not build their house there. But if the land is protected in order to save these bees, the home would not have been permitted in the first place. Rather than a specific issue, this problem is rooted in a much broader one. Unless this broad issue is recognized, improvement cannot occur: for the bees or the humans.
I am all for saving the bees, but I really do not have any idea on how exactly to do it. As mentioned in this blog, many bees are becoming weakened from pesticide usage, but we cant just stop spraying pesticides on our crops because insects and rodents would just eat them away. Although, I do know many ways we can bring awareness to our issue. One way we can do this advertising posters located in grocery stores. Many people go to different grocery stores every day, and lots of their produce wont even be there if it weren’t for bees, so by creating these posters, more people would be aware about what is happening to bees, so there is higher chance that someone can come up with a solution.
Bees play an extremely important role in our environment. They help crops and plants reproduce, and these plants are the backbone of nearly every ecosystem. Without bees, life could not thrive as it does. I believe changing what pesticides farmers use, or making them not harmful to bees may be one solution. Additionally, we can plant wild flowers around town and start buying local honey. To encourage people to buy local honey, honey sellers can give out free samples at grocery stores in order to entice consumers. Another thing that people can do is stop seeing bees as evil creatures. Usually when a beehive is found in or near a home, the owner of that home calls pest control and destroys the hive. A better thing to do would be to call a beekeeper to safely remove the hive and have the bees transported to a place where they can thrive and not bother anyone.
Bees are definitely an extremely important aspect of our ecosystem. Even though I’ve always know this, I’ve never heard the statistics about how bees personally affect us. The fact that $24 million worth of commercial crops can be grown efficiently due to pollinators like the bees emphasizes the importance of pollinators, pollinators that we are rapidly losing due to our own mistakes. We should begin by planting more flowers across towns to provide more food. Creating community gardens would be especially effective. Personally, I think having bee exhibits in area like arboretums and botanical gardens could be a way to bring awareness. People generally go to these places to view beautiful flowers. Informing them of the potential loss of these flowers would push them to contribute to the cause.
This is a very interesting topic that deserves to bee addressed. Pollination is a critical stage for agriculture and most plants as a whole that is very easily taken advantage of. However, I believe the campaign to “Save the Bees” could, however, use a bit of revision. The slogan conjures up the image that the honeybee, a fuzzy and cute insect, is on the verge of extinction. However, honeybees are essentially domesticated animals brought to the Americas by Europeans hundreds of years ago — an invasive species. Other species of bees and wasps which are not in public favor are kept out of the spotlight, even thought it was they who are facing endangerment and extinction. There are also many other non-bee pollinators which bear niches just as important. These include hummingbirds, bats, flies, ants, beetles, butterflies, and some mammals and birds, to name a few. So with this in mind, I would love to save the bees, but the slogan I want on a T-shirt is “Save the Pollinators.”
After reading this post, I realize that bees are more important than I previously thought. Especially with their crucial role in our economy, the issue that you bring up is quite serious and needs to be addressed as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. One way to bring awareness to the issue is to advertise to the public in grocery stores. I believe that as people are shopping for their everyday groceries, the advertising could have a major impact on them as they may realize that the goods they plan on purchasing may not be as affordable as before. Furthermore, I believe that the government can put regulations on what kind of fertilizers and pesticides are allowed to be used on farms. Essentially, the most important thing to do is get people on board with your cause in order for them to be able to contribute to it. To do this, you have to attract the masses, and one possible way to do this is through the grocery store example used above.
I have always know that bees are important, but this blog comment made me realize just how important bees are to humans. It’s really scary to think that bees are endangered, because I know that we as a human race would really struggle. I honestly have no idea how we could go about saving the bees. It seems like too big of a problem to tackle. I think that a lot off people are already aware of the bee problem. there are a lot of small businesses that seek “save the bees” tshirts and jewelry.
Wow! I never really understand the total gravity behind saving the bee population or ever thought how the lack of bees would threaten our way of life drastically. In this article, I think it's the point how basically the majority of our diets would no longer exist if bees were gone. I think we should "save the bees" by enforcing stricter laws and acts that would maintain and protect these bee colonies. I think we should bring awareness to the bee crisis by putting them on advertisements because this crisis would attract the attention of many people since it would significantly affect nearly every person's lifestyle. However, although protecting these bees are really important, I also wonder if there are other pollinating insect species populations that may be threatened as well. If so, I also hope their crisis is made known, too, because pollinators in general (not just bees) are important to our way of life.
It’s really interesting hearing solutions for saving the bees. I feel like I always hear about this in the abstract without any concrete ideas being proposed. I think that getting honey and other produce and goods from local sources would be really beneficial and increase biodiversity. I also think that we should spread awareness of the impacts and help that pollination does for the world because we tend to take it for granted, and won’t realize its necessity until it’s gone.
I think we have to act now to save the bees. Change is extremely difficult to adapt to, especially on a scale as large as the world. If bees were to disappear, we may have to face that change. Some ways to save bees could be to genetically modify them to either reproduce faster, be resistant to pesticides, or be stronger. There is a lot of controversy behind genetically modifying organisms, but I think that with enough research, the idea can be passed and a solution to the bee problem will be found.
I know how important bees are to the environment because of their role as pollinators, but I had no idea how crucial they are to the economy. I think the best way to raise awareness would be to educate people on how essential bees are, as many people may see them as cute little insects who just make honey. If people were aware of their importance, they might be more inclined to implement measures such as reduced pesticide use.
I never really thought about the huge impact bees have on the economy. The graphic really shows how significant bees are to the agricultural sector of the economy and how important they are on everyone’s diet. Truthfully, saving the bees may seem difficult as the primary reasons for bees disappearing will be hard to avoid, such as the use of pesticide, which is commonly used to protect crops from organisms such as mosquitoes, ticks, and rats. However, more people are promoting organic foods without pesticides so there is a gradual decrease in the usage of pesticides. Spreading awareness through methods like infographics is a great choice as it illustrates the harmful scale the decline in bees can potentially cause.
I agree that saving the bees is very important. Yet many people don't understand the increasing awareness and necessity of it because of the fear of bees that media has put in ones mind. Yet when we learn about the role of bees as pollinators, our perspective changes. They are no longer viewed as the pesky insects that sting us when we come close, but this is just their way of protecting themselves. One way to help them out is to leave them alone and not try to invoke a response from them. That way humans don't get stung and bees don't die from the sting. Also raising awareness about these bees is a essential solution and lets the people know how much bees matter.
Saving the bees would be very beneficial to the ecosystem it flourishes in, though we come into conflict on how we spread that idea to those who impact them (the everyday human). Without taking anything to perspective, the average Joe may view bees as inferior to our lifestyle, as they can get into our backyards and onto the sides of our homes; while that is inferior and should be treated, that doesn’t mean they are only here to pester us in our daily lives. Even for me, I hate bees, as I often do get scared of them. Though, I treat them with respect by staying away from them and letting them do their thing. When they’re on the side of my house, we will have to eventually knock down their nest, but hopefully they can find a better and more healthy place to live than on my house. So although bees may be inferior to us, we still have to treat them with respect and take into perspective the impact they play on the environment by avoiding the use of pesticides to kill a large amount of them.
Bees are arguably the most important species for the ecosystem. They help with pollination, which in turn helps with the reproduction of plants, and food webs are formed. Without bees, our ecosystems would fail, and it would affect the human race significantly. For this reason, we need to reduce the use of pesticides on our crops, or find alternative ways to sustain our crops rather than using pesticides. Also, if people help raise awareness for CCD on social media, people will contribute to “saving the bees”.
I agree that there is a need to be aware of the population decline of bees. As pollinators, bees play a major role in the production of food crops and other plants. However, due to parasites and climate change, the population of bees is decreasing at a fast rate and there is a need to do something about it. Without bringing awareness to this issue, we can not get anything done. We need to plant the right crops, but unfortunately with our modern culture, gardens are dwindling, which results in less food for the bees. Some solutions to this issue may be to stop the use of pesticides and herbicides. These contain harmful chemicals, so instead, there should be new ways to substitute them.. Getting the word out through beekeepers or even in grocery stores about how important bees are to ecosystems can help bring awareness and ultimately save the dwindling bee population.
I think it is very obvious that saving the bees is an extremely relevant issue that would harm many ecosystems and many different industries if left alone. The bee population has been continuously decreasing and it is very important to establish clean and safe practices for farming in order to prevent pesticides from killing bees. Raising awareness is helpful, but this issue needs to be taken into legislation and there needs to be a relevant shift.
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