Fact: People benefit much from other living things in many different ways. Thus, harming the environment can bring out negative impact on people as well.
As years pass, the number of detrimental substance and toxins polluting the environment has amplified. Obviously, this results into damaging the natural habitat of animals and other wildlife including insects like bees. Speaking of which, we all know that bees play important role not only in the ecosystem but for us too.
Bee Colony Destruction
Today, bee colonies are suffering from a huge crisis. According to many reports, the colonies have rapidly decreased in number due to several factors, such as harmful pesticides, climate change, pests and radiation. The implications of this problem are truly alarming.
- Negative Impact on Food Supply
As we all know, many of us make use of honey in the kitchen. Some include honey in their recipes just like dessert and dish. Of course, honey comes from the bees. Just imagine, for 1 tablespoon of honey, the bees need to make approximately 60,000 flights to gather nectar. And so, if there will be less supply of honey, the demand will definitely go up alongside the prices.
Bees have also notable contribution to plant’s fertilization as well as seed production (not only the butterflies). Remember that they are the one responsible for pollination of several kinds of plants. Lots of fruits and vegetables will no longer be available to us without these pollinators.
- Bad Implication on Household Products
We might not know this, but there are so many products that we used in our daily routines which become available because of the hard working bees. For instance, cotton plants need bees to be pollinated, so without them cotton products will be unavailable. This means we can’t use cotton clothes, towels and bed sheets. Undeniably, cotton is very comfortable to have on.
Additionally, bees produce wax to build cells inside the hive. And the wax is an essential component of many home products such as floor wax, candles and inks.
- Unfavorable Impact on Cosmetics
Surely, many women will be affected by this crisis. The beeswax that comes from the honeycomb are widely used in wide array of beauty products. Just like in the home products, the beeswax has become a primary ingredient of several cosmetics, including lotion, skin cream, lipstick, lip balm and soap.
So, can you even think of having these products without the existence of the bees? Some might not care since there are so many alternatives. However, with this component in your product, it is way too different.
- Effects on Health
Okay, let’s admit it. Many of us have tried using honey to cure acne breakout and scars. In addition to that skin condition, there are some other skin issues wherein we could utilize honey. The propolis collected by the bees has been employed in medical industry because of its remarkable properties. It can be used as antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal to name a few.
Many people have used bee pollen to treat ailments, like asthma,indigestion, constipation, anemia and a whole lot more. However, studies are still conducted to justify the efficacy of the substance.
These are just some of the possible impacts of bee extinction. A lot of solutions could be carried out; but, perhaps the best of them all is being aware of the importance of this specie. Then, we can do on our own little ways to preserve the so called “environment”.
About the author. Based in San Diego, California, Ashley O’connor is a professional blogger. She writes environmental-related articles for various companies such as Bees Frees, a technology firm that develops solutions for the beekeepers communities worldwide. When she is not writing, she sleeps and reads books.
- Image courtesy of flickr.com )