Bees, those industrious pollinators of our world, play an indispensable role in sustaining our ecosystems and food supply. In the United States alone, the USDA reported $15 billion worth of crops are pollinated each year thanks to honeybees and (alongside other pollinators) $200 billion in ecosystem services like pollinating the plants that wildlife then eat. However, pesticide use, parasites, and habitat loss due to urbanization and herbicide use have caused unprecedented threats to domestic honeybee and wild bee colonies. An analysis conducted in 2017 by the Center for Biological Diversity reported that 1 in 4 species of bee was at an increased risk for extinction, and with the highly publicized phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder, public attention has turned toward the plight of the pollinators. Yet, conservation efforts often encounter an unexpected stumbling block: people’s fear of bees.
Why You Never Hear About the Dying Ozone Anymore
I was in grade school at the time. Our teacher brought in a big box TV on wheels and sat it at the front…