For some of them, as they grow older, compassion and common sense will enable them to see the wisdom of honouring nature as best they can, and how co-operation rather than control brings great rewards. This viewpoint is not shared by the majority of individuals in our world and, as I reflected on this, this morning, I saw man rather like that ignorant child in that he makes many mistakes in his treatment of the planet but, hopefully, will learn from them and find a better way, one day. Sadly, the lessons often come at a price and can be too late to rectify what has been done.
It astonishes me still that so few people understand the perfect but fragile balance of nature that is in place to enable all the inhabitants of our planet to survive, including you and me, and that interfering with the balance affects everything. Bees are an excellent example of what I am saying: as pollinators they are essential for enabling our food to grow and without them we will starve, but only enlightened farmers and legislators see this.
The causes of the failing bee populations are clear and are known but not publicly acknowledged yet because of commercial pressure, but they are down to the encouragement of extensive use of pesticides and herbicides on our lands, GM crops, and the destruction of wildlife habitats in the name of progress. Man can use bees cruelly, and I have heard of farmers who crate up hives and fly them thousands of miles in an attempt for them to pollinate crops which have lost their natural pollinators due to the use of chemicals. Bees can only work and live within a small radius of their hive, and so taking them away from the place they know will disorient them and they will die.
I have heard many distressing stories of thriving hives which have died simultaneously after crop spraying has taken place nearby. The chemicals harm the land and humans too, and I wonder how far they are in the food we consume so thoughtlessly. It is not all bad news, however: the work done recently by the BBC and gardener Sarah Raven to highlight the importance of helping bees and other pollinators by careful planting in towns and gardens has raised awareness in the UK wonderfully, and in time I am sure destructive pesticides will be phased out - but it needs to be soon.]]>
