A new theory why bees are dying off

The summary of the article linked to below is this. It’s not one thing. It’s a great number of toxins from chemicals and beeenvironmental disruptions humans are creating that are wiping out bee populations. The solution in the USA by the federal government so far has been to stall and repeatedly say “We’ll look into it”. Germany and France have banned nicotine based pesticides and that has helped some but that is not enough. China’s version of chemically driven agriculture has made bees extinct in some provinces.

The solution will probably be easy in concept but extremely hard for synthetic chemically driven economies to accept. Many chemicals that make it easy for us to destroy pests, weeds and bacteria, many chemicals are used in manufacturing processes will have to stop being used. Alternatives that are biologically compatible with the flora and fauna of the world will have to be used instead.

As a punch line to this, if bees go extinct or become so rare that they cannot pollinate our crops on any significant level, it’s projected that many fruits and vegetables could not be grown at a price people could afford to buy.  For those people who say “If the fresh produce runs out, I’ll just buy the frozen or canned variety”, we won’t be able to rely on them for support to address this problem.

Here is the link to the article. It is worth reading.
http://www.vox.com/2015/3/9/8174949/bee-decline-parasites-pesticides-flowers


How a tulip teaches us resilience and other big life lessons from Mother Nature

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/03/18/how-a-tulip-teaches-us-resilience-and-other-big-life-lessons-from-mother-nature/


Dr Jane Goodall argues supporters of GM food ignored evidence of harm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2979645/Senior-academic-condemns-deluded-supporters-GM-food-anti-science-ignoring-evidence-dangers.html#ixzz3VWxqsaDD


Perma-planning: Workshop held for permaculture park

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/616148/Perma-planning–Workshop-held-for-permaculture-park.html?nav=5211


FEEDING THE WORLD WITHOUT GMOS

http://www.ewg.org/research/feeding-world-without-gmos


Food security: Where do we stand?

http://www.saugertiesx.com/2015/03/23/food-security-where-do-we-stand/


Is Blue the new Green?

A radical new way of thinking about business – The Blue Economy – may soon be making its way to Asia, as resource scarcity becomes a reality and sustainability, a necessity.

http://www.eco-business.com/opinion/is-blue-the-new-green/


The Systems View of Life: A Science for Sustainable Living (Fritjof Capra)

This is the full transcript of Dr Fritjof Capra’s keynote address at the International Forum organized by Earth Charter International and the University for Peace on the theme of “Finding Synergies and Building Bridges: Reorienting Education towards Sustainable Development, Sustainable Consumption, and Global Citizenship” held in Costa Rica on March 20, 2015, under the framework of the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development and the Earth Charter.

www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=1082


Cradle-to-cradle design – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle-to-cradle_design‎


Introduction to Cradle to Cradle (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMsF1P-_vWc


The Natural Step – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_Step‎

The Natural Step and Sustainability explained in 2 minutes (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFCNCQleCuk


Groundbreaking Permaculture Film Offers Bold New Solution in Regenerative Agriculture

https://ecowatch.com/2015/03/17/inhabit-permaculture-perspective/


Integrated living

Chicoans create harmony between home and nature through permaculture

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/integrated-living/content?oid=16455062


Green Life: Helping Rebuild Lives Post-Incarceration

http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/green_life


Book review: “Practical Permaculture” a deep well of tips, philosophy

http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyle/ci_27708207/book-review:-%22practical-permaculture%22-a-deep-well-of-tips-philosophy


Cities Could Be Ideal for Utility-Scale Solar Plants

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/urban-areas-ideal-for-utility-scale-solar-18782


Efficient use of land to meet sustainable energy needs
www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2556.html


Circular Economy Reports

http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/business/reports


The Politics of Extinction An Introduction to the Most Beautiful Animal You’ll Never See

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175968/tomgram%3A_william_debuys%2C_a_global_war_on_nature/


Questions raised on authorship of chemicals bill
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Questions-raised-on-authorship-of-chemicals-bill-6137823.php


Weak Tea in a Chipped Cup

Why the new Vitter-Udall industrial chemical legislation isn’t just “not good enough.” It’s not good.

http://saferchemicals.org/2015/03/11/weak-tea-in-a-chipped-cup/


GMO Weed Killer’s (Glyphosate) Cancer Risk

http://www.ewg.org/agmag/2015/03/gmo-weed-killer-s-cancer-risk


GMO Science Deniers: Monsanto and the USDA

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kimbrell/gmo-science-deniers-monsanto-and-the-usda_b_6904606.html


The Failure of Modern Industrial Agriculture

http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2015/0315ikerd.html

Cyclone Pam: 24 confirmed dead inVanuatu

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/16/vanuatus-president-blames-climate-change-for-extreme-weather


Possible New Continental Heat Record for Antarctica

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=323


Beware of the Corporate GMO Spin Doctors
http://foodtank.com/news/2015/03/beware-of-the-corporate-gmo-spin-doctors


WHO declares glyphosate probable human carcinogen

http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=29cbc7e6c21e0a8fd2a82aeb8&id=c58fe01d66&e=1f4e16d7d6


To Solve California’s Water Crisis, We Must Change the Nation’s Food System
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/headline_to_solve_californias_water_crisis_
we_must_transform_20150319


San Diego Sues Monsanto for Polluting Bay With Banned Carcinogenic Chemicals

Lawsuit says toxins manufactured by agrochemical giant ‘have been found in Bay sediments and water and have been identified in tissues of fish, lobsters, and other marine life’

http://sandiegofreepress.org/2015/03/san-diego-sues-monsanto-for-polluting-bay-with-banned-carcinogenic-chemicals/


Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans

http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/publications/docs/plastic_ocean_report.pdf


OCEAN PLASTICS POLLUTION: A GLOBAL TRAGEDY FOR OUR OCEANS AND SEA LIFE

www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/


Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913


We buy, the sea pays! Let’s change the Way We consume

http://oceaninitiatives.org/en/docs2015/cp/CP_IO_2015-ENG.pdf

and (includes 1 1/2 min video)

blog.surfrider.eu/en/2015/03/09/2015-ocean-initiatives-4-main-types-of-litter-under-the-spotlights/

and Let’s Reduce Waste at the root cause.

www.initiativesoceanes.org/en/dossier2015.php?id_dossier=15


Businesses must ‘think outside of the box’ with sustainability strategies, says Carlsberg

http://www.edie.net/news/5/Businesses-must–think-outside-of-the-box–with-sustainability-strategies–says-Carlsberg/


What Will Come First: The Sharing Or Circular Economy?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewcave/2015/03/29/what-will-come-first-the-sharing-or-circular-economy/


China moves forward in developing circular economy

http://www.ccfgroup.com/newscenter/newsview.php?Class_ID=800000&Info_ID=20150320132


Ecodesign can drive a circular economy

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/sustainable-dev/ecodesign-can-drive-circular-economy-313114


An Airbnb for washing machines? How to achieve a circular economy

http://theconversation.com/an-airbnb-for-washing-machines-how-to-achieve-a-circular-economy-37254


How to bust the biggest myths about the circular economy

Tired of being told the circular economy is just a fancy term for recycling that will cause profits to slump? Here’s how to fight back

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/12/circular-economy-myths-busted-reality-check


A tenth of Europe’s wild bees risk extinction: report

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/19/us-environment-bees-idUSKBN0MF2C820150319