In het winternummer van Natuur Bij Huis, het blad van De Ruige Hof, staan twee artikeltjes over het belang van bijen in onze natuur. De bij is bedreigd, maar men heeft aanwijzingen dat het mogelijk is de bijenpopulatie in stand te houden door het verbieden van een aantal pesticiden die schadelijk zijn voor bijenkolonies. Sommige landen hebben hierin al het voortouw genomen.
AVAAZ: "Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But a global ban of one group of pesticides could save bees from extinction.
Four European countries have begun banning these poisons, and some bee populations are recovering. But chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep all killer pesticides on the market. A global outcry now for a ban in the US and EU, where debate is raging, could provoke a total ban and a ripple effect around the world."
Soil Association Bee Briefing.
Guardian: "A cocktail of chemicals from pesticides could be damaging the brains of British bees, according to scientists about to embark on a study into why the populations of the insects have dropped so rapidly in recent decades. By affecting the way bees' brains work, the pesticides might be affecting the ability of bees to find food or communicate with others in their colonies."
Treehugger: "Following France and Germany, last year the Italian Agriculture Ministry suspended the use of a class of pesticides, nicotine-based neonicotinoids, as a "precautionary measure." The compelling results - restored bee populations - prompted the government to uphold the ban. Yesterday, copies of the film 'Nicotine Bees' were delivered to the US Congress explaining the pesticide's connection to Colony Collapse Disorder."