Bees Are So Important: How Do We Save Them?

Bees are dying and we should be worried. Around 33 percent of honeybee colonies in the US died last year.

There are multiple factors causing their deaths (such as global warming and depletion of resources), but a big and easily fixable factor is the usage of neonicotinoids or neonics.

This type of pesticide works when it is sprayed on the seeds of plants and the works its way into the tissue of the entire organism, including its pollen and nectar. It is extremely toxic to bees and other pollinators.

Everyone knows how important bees are to our food and ecosystem as a whole. Without them, we would loose much of the food we love, not to mention the devastation their extinction would have on the global ecosystem.

Margie Alt, Environment America’s executive director, had this to say about bees and pesticides:

“Honeybees, monarch butterflies and other pollinators are critical to a healthy planet and a healthy food supply. Bees alone pollinate 70 percent of the world’s most common crops. We should all be alarmed that colonies are dying off in record numbers... We can’t save the bees unless we ban the pesticides that are killing them.”

In the US, we are using chemicals to protect our food. But that protection is killing bees, which are a big part of how we get food. This doesn’t make sense.

Pesticides don’t just harm bees. Farmworkers are exposed to these pesticides just as often.

Jeannie Economos, pesticide health and safety project coordinator of the Farmworker Association of Florida points out that this exposure, for both bees and farmworkers, impacts their health and the health of their offspring.

“The risks and consequences of pesticide exposure are experienced first and foremost by the men, women and even children working in agriculture, planting, harvesting, cultivating, and packing the products that the rest of us use and consume,” she said. “We must work together to protect the health of farmworkers, pollinators and the planet.  We all depend on it.”

So why are we still using these pesticides if they’re so bad? Big agrichemical companies are fighting hard to prevent banning of harmful pesticides. Some governments have fought back, like the European Union imposing a partial ban on certain neonics.

The US had not had as much success. While the Environmental Protection Agency opened assessments for public comment last year, neonics are still legally used on plants throughout the country, leading to the deaths of millions of bees.

People in the US food industry, from restaurant owners to chefs, are trying to have a say and change this. The Bee Friendly Food Alliance is a group of those in the food industry

coming together to speak up to decision makers for the bees.

Of the 65 members of the alliance, two restaurants in Colorado are currently members of the group: duo Restaurant in Denver and Taste Local in Loveland. Other restaurants can sign up and join the voices fighting for the lives of bees.

The alliance is just a small start to saving the bees. There’s a lot more to be done if we really care about them and everything they do for humans.

Colorado is Behind in Recyling Plastic

Colorado Springs from Cheyenne Mountain.

I’ve written previously about the UK’s approach to plastic waste, but I wanted to look more into what Colorado has been doing about this crisis.

Before I do, I think it’s interesting to look at the geographic differences between Colorado and the UK. Great Britain is an island surrounded by water and almost 94,000 square miles in land area, while Colorado is more than 104,000 square miles and entirely landlocked. Because of this, these places have very different relationships with plastic in the ocean.

There is not currently a governmental effort in Colorado on a federal or state level to reduce plastic waste. In fact, it is one of the most wasteful states in the country, only recycling 12 percent of its waste (compared to the national rate of 34 percent and Britain’s 43 percent).

I think this has a lot to do with proximity. People in Colorado don’t really see how much plastic ends up in the ocean.

But there are movements calling for a more serious approach to our plastic footprint: Environment Colorado is pushing for a statewide ban of Styrofoam, one of the worst plastics for the environment.

Comparing my experience of recycling in the UK to that in Colorado shows me just how far behind the state is in environmental protection. It’s definitely something that needs to become a priority.

Why Americans Don't Walk

“Why don’t Americans ever walk anywhere?”

This was a question I constantly heard when I was in England. I tried to defend my own walking habits, but now that I’m back in America I realize how much more often I use my car.

For most Americans, it didn’t matter how nearby somewhere may be. Driving is always the preferred method of transportation.

I decided to challenge this yesterday and walk to the 0.6 miles to a nearby Walgreens instead of driving there. Before I left, I invited my brother to walk with me. He looked at me in horror and said, “I’ll go with you if you drive maybe.”

It reminded me of an article I read that pointed out the way people seem to have forgotten that walking is a viable and environmentally-friendly option for nearby destinations.

So, I went on my trek alone and realized another dilemma with walking in America. The roads were horrifying.

Once I was out of my neighborhood, I had to cross a six-lane road with cars speeding by at almost 50 miles per hour just to get to a store less than a mile away.

Maybe the reason Americans don’t walk anywhere is because the way our roads are set up make us fear for our lives. Either way, I’m trying to remind myself to walk when I can. Not only is it good for my health, it’s good for the environment as well.

The six lanes of traffic I had to cross.