Monthly Archives: August 2023

Bees

Bees and Our Health

I have been thinking a lot about bees, and our food supply.  As you may know, our supply of fruits, vegetables and nuts is linked to the health of the bee population.  The bee population has been in sharp decline, especially because of neonicotinoids which are the most widely used insecticides in the world.  Unlike traditional pesticides, which are typically applied to plant surfaces, they are absorbed and transported through all parts of the plant tissue.

Neonicotinoids are modeled after nicotine and interfere with insects’ nervous systems, causing tremors, paralysis and eventually, death.  Neonicotinoids are so toxic that one corn seed treated with them contains enough insecticide to kill over 80,000 honey bees.

So what can you do?  Write to the EPA to ban these pesticides.  You can also refrain from using heavy chemicals on your lawn and create gardens that attract bees and support their health, and ultimately, our own.

Carbon Footprint Reduction, Dolphins

Circularity

I just read an interesting article, “Iceland Makes Circularity Look Effortless”  by Sarah Golden.  You may be wondering “what is circularity?”.  It an economic model that emphasizes reduce, reuse and recycle; and transforms the way we think about what goes into the garbage.  It challenges manufacturers to consider what happens to products after they land in the hands of consumers.  In a nutshell, it is about not creating waste.   99% of the things we buy end up in the trash within 6 months.  And we have already dumped 10 million tonnes of plastic into the ocean.  It would be better for humans, as well as wildlife, if more businesses and all of us adopted a circular model.  No one likes to swim in plastic, neither do the dolphins