It was late September, and my husband and I were just getting back from a cross country trip with our two small kids. We were tired and rumpled and relieved to be home. The breeze coming off the ocean and the sight of our yard, full of nasturtiums in bloom, were a sweet antidote to the exhaustion we felt after...
Always wanted to keep bees but just don’t have the space? Want to do something to help stop colony collapse disease? Already have a hive but want to get off the chemicals? Join the Honeybee Conservancy at Rodale Institute!The Honeybee Conservancy at Rodale Institute was started in 2012 in response to the major health problems that have decimated the honeybee...
Last week, the European Commission announced its position against the use of bee-harming neonicotinoid insecticides, urging nations within the European Union (EU) to impose a two-year suspension on their use. Great news for bees across the pond.But here in the U.S., policymakers aren't stepping up. EPA officials are continuing to ignore the emerging body of science that point to pesticides,...
Earlier this week the European Food Safety Association issued a report concluding that neonicotinoids ("neonics") pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, and that the industry-sponsored science upon which regulatory agencies' claims of safety have relied are fatally flawed. ...
“We’re facing the extinction of a species.” That’s what one Midwest-based large-scale commercial beekeeper told me last week at the annual gathering of the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA). And he meant it.Bee losses have been dramatic, especially in recent years. And beekeepers are feeling the sting. According to many who manage hives, commercial beekeeping won’t pencil out in the...
Across the pond, the buzz is all about the impacts of pesticides on bees. Both the U.S. EPA, and its British counterpart, Defra, have been slow to act on the growing body of scientific evidence that would protect bees. But a series of important hearings may signal important changes afoot in that country.For the past 30 years, bee populations have...