The Bees and their Business

I have decided to follow up on the post that began with the question about paper or plastic because I actually took that over to GRS and started a comment thread provoked further interest in seeing what else I might have to say about this small is beautiful idea.

The bees are dying. Myth versus reality. Mites could be the cause. So could humankind. Colony Collapse Disorder 2007, Disappearing Disease 1915, Dwindling Disease 1960. The first is world wide and appears to have affected 70 to 90 percent of the honey bee population. Less bees, less beekeepers, more crops genetically engineered. Apparently there is a cross-continental migratory bee industry wherein the hives are moved to the crop area. Google yielded the usual 1 million are so hits on the topic. The flower crops are being bred to be scentless, no scent no bees, no pollination, bees have fly past the point of no return in order to find a nectar source especially in urban growth areas which means just about everywhere. However, I didn't find any mention of plastic being a causative factor. Now I'm planning on referencing Bill Mckibben's Deep Ecology and referring to several blogs: The Compact