Starting about 10 years ago, the honeybee population begin to decline due to unknown reasons. Colony Collapse Disorder (CDD) in which the bees abandon their hive without warning was first suspected as a contribution to the decline. Recently, beekeepers have seen fewer cases of CDD however honeybees continue to die. This is bad for out food system as bees are responsible for at least $15 billion in crop value through pollination. While scientists still don't know that exact reasons for CDD, pesticides, biological threats and lack of food may be some of the contributing factors to the decline in the bee population. Banning things such as pesticides to save the bees may not be easy considering pesticides such as neonicotinoids are used because they are safe for mammals, including humans. Some scientists say that in the future bees may become feedlot animals such as pigs and chickens, raised for the purpose of food. I think that this is an issue because even though bees can be bred in captivity, wild bees are still in danger. No mater how small they are, they still contribute to our ecosystem so something should be done to protect them. Technology is wonderful these days, and such a pesticide that doesn't harm bees can be created. Once that is done, that is one less environmental issue we have to worry about.
Source: http://science.time.com/2013/08/09/the-trouble-with-beekeeping-in-the-anthropocene/
$15 billion dollars in crop value is a lot. I also think that this is a huge issue because I don’t want bees to continue to die; they are a part of the planet to. They provide nectar to our flowers and certain plants. Victoria is right that technology has grown so much in the past several years and i think scientists can solve this problem if they really put their mind to it. I do think that there will be able to be a pesticide that will not continues to kill the bees, if the scientists of today can figure it out we will have another problem solved. Our environment has proven to be digressing over the past couple of years but in the future it needs to improve. Thus starting with the bees and saving their lives so that it becomes a greater, better, and stronger environment.
ReplyDeleteHoneybees are such crucial animals in our environment and it’s sad to hear that over the past ten years their population is slowly declining. I had no idea that bees are responsible for $15 billion in crop value through pollination. I think it’s sad that nothing has been done to help protect them. Although, they don’t impact our environment in a so-called “big” ways they still impact it and should be protected. I agree with Victoria that scientist should create a pesticide that doesn’t harm bees but of course money is always a huge barrier. Scientist need to start working on improving the environment with little situations like this because they often have the most impact and outcomes in the long run.
ReplyDeleteVictoria I completely agree with your solution. Technology in the modern world is very high-tech and advanced. Scientists could take the time and create a pesticide that not only keeps mammals safe but bees safe too. Pesticides today are able to kill the insects that feed on the crops to eat. The death rate of the bees has been increased recently because of the pesticides used. A bee’s extinction would cause the world to go out of whack. 15 billion dollars in crop population is too much to risk. This solution may be hard to complete and/or expensive to reach, but it would be worth it in the end. The new pesticide would be worth its time and expenses because it would save 15 billion dollars in the future.
ReplyDelete