Time Is Running Out

I don't mean to alarm you, but we've all only got a few years to live. We're doomed. And the reason? It's not what you might think – it won't just be global warming, or a nuclear holocaust, or collision with a massive meteorite, or even the arrival of unfriendly aliens that will cause our demise. No, it's far simpler than that. It will be something known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that will eventually wipe us human beings from the face of the earth, and a lot sooner than we thought possible. It's all about bees.

Albert Einstein predicted this years ago. He said: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Frightening isn't it? Apparently, bees are disappearing faster than ever before - in some areas of the UK, honeybee numbers have dropped by as much as 80 per cent, while bumblebees across the country have declined by 60 per cent since 1970. And it's not only in this country that this is happening; the disappearance of bees and the associated CCD is taking place on a world-wide scale.

At the moment, scientists have no single theory as to why this is happening – loss of natural habitats maybe; a massive increase in parasites perhaps; even (and this one sounds horribly plausible) the impulses from the millions of mobile phones causing interference with the bee's signalling system. The one thing they all agree on is that the decline of the bee is more rapid, and seemingly more unstoppable, than anyone could have predicted.

So, what is the government here doing about it? Well, as you'd expect, it's taken action – yes, it has slashed bee research budgets and caused world-class bee experts to be laid off from UK research institutes. How very timely. The British Beekeepers Association has publicly slammed Defra's current allocation of £180,000 for research, calling it "paltry". And yet it has been estimated that the economic contribution bees make to agriculture in the UK each year is £1 billion (globally it's thought to be between £20 - £50 billion). This country (and the planet) needs our bees!

Everyone should be concerned about this. You can help: You can join the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (see link opposite), and you can write to your MP to urge for more pressure on the government in support of the British Beekeepers Association. Do something now! If we take the humble bumblebee for granted, they will take their business elsewhere and abandon the planet completely.

Four years left. You have been warned.