To most of you bees may just be a pest, or something that you have to clean off of your car after driving on the highway, but they are so much more than that. 

The bees are an extremely underrated in the survival of humanity. Not many people know just how much the common honey bee does for us. The honey bees are pollinators for one third of our crops world wide. Their contribution to agriculture has been valued at $14 billion dollars in the United States alone - imagine what it might be globally. 

The honey bee population worldwide plummeted 44% in 2015-2016. This is a massive problem that effects each and every one of us.Without the bees you and I will lose the many fruits and vegetables that we enjoy on a daily basis and currently access with ease. Without bees some of these will become scarce or even non- existent. This issue is not getting better. Unfortunately,  several species of bees have recently been added to the endangered species list. 

You may have seen campaigns or organizations calling for help, we need to see action. You can make a difference by growing purple or yellow flowers, sage, lavender, or other bee friendly plants. You can also help by providing bees with shelter such as bee blocks or supporting local bee keepers. 

We all need to do our part to stop the extinction of bees. We need to stop the use of pesticides as it harms the bees who integral to our survival. We need to prohibit the use of neonicotinoids, if we did so we would save about 500 bees in each hive per day. Banning this substance would also increase honey production by about 33%

This is a large problem that is often ignored. If a change isn't made soon life will be hard, grocery stores won't have nearly as many options for consumers and  the world will struggle to feed its population of over 7 billion people.

We must encourage people to get over their irrational fear of bees and see all the good that they do for our planet. They silently help our planet to thrive and in return we kill them with pesticides and destroy their habitat. 

I am motivated to see a change as I worked as a beekeeper. During that time I learned the importance of their existence, and I hope after reading this you are just as motivated for change as I am. 

Imagine a world where your grocery stores fruit and vegetables section is next to empty, a world where you have to spend obscene amounts of money to buy most foods, a world where the air quality is poor at best, a world that is silent, dead and without beauty, a world without honey, and cheerios.

Is that a world that you want to live in?

We need to prevent such a tragedy from happening. With small changes on your part we can make a difference. 

Thank you for your consideration. Together we can save the bees and better our world.