Albert Einstein said that ‘if the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would have only four years to live.’ That’s pushing it, but plants can’t have sex alone – and some need bees. Almost one third of our food wouldn’t exist without them. No bees means no more nuts, melons and berries, and hard times for citrus fruits, apples, onions, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, coffee and more. Right now a mystery plague is wiping out honeybees. Is the cause overbreeding, pesticides or parasites? Or a deadly combo of all three? Summer’s blitz of apocalypse movies has nothing on this bee doc. It’s heartfelt, a little on the quirky side, with amazing (or skin-crawling if you’re phobic) footage inside hives. The message to take home: put a pot of lavender on your windowsill. Save bees!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
More Than Honey
Albert Einstein said that ‘if the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would have only four years to live.’ That’s pushing it, but plants can’t have sex alone – and some need bees. Almost one third of our food wouldn’t exist without them. No bees means no more nuts, melons and berries, and hard times for citrus fruits, apples, onions, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, coffee and more. Right now a mystery plague is wiping out honeybees. Is the cause overbreeding, pesticides or parasites? Or a deadly combo of all three? Summer’s blitz of apocalypse movies has nothing on this bee doc. It’s heartfelt, a little on the quirky side, with amazing (or skin-crawling if you’re phobic) footage inside hives. The message to take home: put a pot of lavender on your windowsill. Save bees!