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Protect Pollinators: Take the Honey Bee Pledge!
Final signature count: 20,543
20,543 signatures toward our 50,000 goal
Sponsor: The Rainforest Site
Honey bees are responsible for 90% of flowering plants and more than a third of all crop production. They must be protected!
In the United States, pollinating insects are responsible for more than a third of all crop production. Without them, we could be facing severe food shortages and skyrocketing costs on produce we might otherwise take for granted1.
In short, we are highly dependent on bees, and it’s time we take better care of them.
A century of heavy pesticide usage has not been kind to the honey bees of North America. In the last few decades a new class of insecticides called neonicotinoids have contributed in no small measure to hive collapse, but it is climate change that is now wiping bees out in record numbers2.
Bees have been losing hives in key habitats ever since the 1970s. It’s estimated that their geographic coverage worldwide is contracting by 5 miles each year3. And at least 4.6 million hives have collapsed since 1947, according to U.S. National Agricultural Statistics, a 60 percent drop that continues to this day4.
The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is looking at ways to improve bee colony health and stem the threat of the Varroa mite5. Treatments for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) are being studied, and a bee gene bank has been set up to help researchers understand more about the particular traits that could protect future insects from CCD. University of Nevada researchers are experimenting with a virus that attacks a bacterial disease that affects honey bees, and Michigan State University scientists are developing sustainable pollination strategies such as enhancing the effect of bee-friendly wildflowers.
Teams of scientists around the country, and the world, are taking the disappearance of the honey bee seriously, and you can, too. We can all take the Honey Bee Pledge and promise to make decisions that help this important pollinator thrive.
Native pollinators like bees play an essential role in maintaining a healthy environment. They are also an indispensable part of our agricultural system, and human life. Take the pledge and sign below. Future generations depend on it!
