Bee-yond Saving: The Silent Collapse of Our Buzzing Backbone

War, plastics, and porch lights, humanity’s chaos parade

Can we talk about bees? The plight of the bees? Our buzzing little allies in the grand scheme of keeping this planet functionally habitable for all of us? According to the University of Reading, we’ve got a dozen new threats for our tiny winged friends. The icing on the global chaos cake includes war zones, microplastics, streetlights, and, to top it off, the ever-diligent chemical cocktail. It reads like the world’s worst party invitation, but hey, at least it’s BYOB, Bring Your Own Bee.

First up, war zones. Because nothing says “emerging threat” like ongoing conflict. Turns out, war isn’t just bad for humans. Who would’ve guessed? The report goes on to highlight the war in Ukraine as a culprit. Crops get diversified less, bees starve, and suddenly, our breakfast cereal becomes more metaphorical than nutritional. Not to say bees should be grateful, but at least they’re not dealing with artillery fire. Yet.

Then you’ve got microplastics. Remember when we thought they wer…