Kindle Edition
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Bless the Bees on Amazon
Category:
Nature
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
ISBN-10: 1492794163
Pages: 116
Copyright: September 3, 2013
ISBN-13: 9781492794165
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
#1 Best Seller describes the importance of bees, their dwindling numbers, what that means to the environment and what you can do about it.
Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer, Grady Harp says, "this is a very important book and one that belongs in the hands of everyone who cares about ecology and the preservation of the bee population, and that in turn means the preservation of life as we know it on this planet."
Albert Einstein said, "If the bee disappears from the earth, man would have no more than four years to live."
This beautifully illustrated edition is meant to educate the reader about the potential extinction of the bees as an indicator of a mass extinction, the last one of which was 65 million years ago. It explains what pollination is, who does it, why its essential to us, what things are threatening our pollinators and what we, as individuals, can do about it.
They have been in existence for over 100 million years, but it has taken us less than 30 years to kill almost all of them off. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating 60% of the world's food supply. Without them, the human race would face starvation. A worldwide epidemic, it has been called the bee apocalypse by Russia's president, but it is worse in the United States than any other country. Since 1972, feral honey bees in the United States have declined 80% to near extinction, and domestic bees in the United States are down to 60%. Since 2006, the epidemic has been referred to as colony collapse disorder, describing the disappearance of entire colonies of bees.
Among the causes cited for this disaster of epidemic proportions are parasites, the decrease in abundance and diversity of wildflowers, insecticides and genetically engineered foods (GMO's) that create their own synthetic pesticides which kill bees as well as other insects. But one thing is for certain-- mankind is responsible for the drastic decline in bee population and the United States government is doing nothing about it. On the contrary, the government has taken measures to make the problem worse.
There is more to this delicate 100 million year old evolution of pollination that just honey bees, who were not native to the United States, but imported from Europe and probably originally came from Africa. At least 4,000 species of wild bees are known to exist in North America alone. All of them are at risk, and this book will show you how you can make a difference in saving them, our food supply, and our planet as we know it.
50% of the royalties of this book will be donated to Bee Bay, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of bees and the environment.
Excerpt
What Einstein meant is that the bees are an indicator species. Their loss could signal that we are facing a “mass extinction,” something biologists fear may be upon us now. If they are right, this would be the sixth mass extinction in world history, the last one being the dinosaurs, and, instead of a meteor hitting the earth, which is suspected to be the cause of their demise, we (mankind) are the cause of it this time.
The bees have survived over 100 million years of evolution, but it has taken us less than 30 years to kill almost all of them off. Bees
are responsible for pollinating 60% of the world’s food supply and 90% of all flowering plants. Without them, the human race would face starvation. One of every three bites of food comes from plants pollinated by honeybees and other pollinators. Without bees to pollinate our food we would have a worldwide food and economic epidemic. It has been called the bee apocalypse by Russia’s president, but it is worse in the United States than any other country. Since 1972, feral honey bees in the United States have declined 80% to near extinction, and domestic bees in the United States are down to 60%. Since 2006, the epidemic among honey bees has been referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD), describing the disappearance of entire colonies of bees. Many native pollinators, such as native bees, bats, birds, wasps and flies, also face extinction due to habitat destruction, climate change, lack of biodiversity and the use of pesticides.
Among the causes cited for this disaster of epidemic proportions are parasites, the decrease in abundance and diversity of wildflowers, insecticides and genetically engineered foods (GMOs) that create their own synthetic pesticides which kill bees as well as other insects, and have been shown to be harmful to humans as well. But one thing is for certain-- mankind is responsible for the drastic decline in bee population and the United States government is doing nothing about it. On the contrary, the government has taken measures to make the problem worse.
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