Beekeepers in the United Kingdom are asking for £8 million ($16 million) to fund research into identifying and eliminating threats to the country’s honeybee population, which they say could be wiped out in the next 10 years. Still struggling to ward off the colony destroying effects of the Varroa Destructor, an aptly named mite, the British Beekeeping Association hopes to avoid large-scale Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which is threatening hives around the world.

While the causes of CCD are not entirely understood, the disappearance of bees is considered a major threat to the world’s food supply. There are three major theories about the cause of CCD: Pesticides, Parasites, and Pressure (stress caused by poor nutrition, nectar scarcity, contaminated or limited water supplies, overcrowding and excessive migratory demands). Many small-scale beekeeping operations have reported no signs of CCD, most likely because the stresses on the bees are far fewer and the apiarist is able to keep a much closer watch on the health of the hive.

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We write a lot about bees here on TakePart... So it only seems appropriate to post this movie trailer:

I have to say, despite my Queen Latifah reservations, it looks pretty good. The bees look great, as do Alicia Keyes, Sophie Okonedo, and Tristan Wilds (aka Michael from The Wire - he’s everywhere these days). It also looks to be a simple, well told story about folks coming together - and you usually can’t go wrong with that formula.

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Watching grown men breakdance while dressed up as honeybees is fun. Especially when it’s for a good cause.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Necklacing Returns to South Africa, Tutu Calls for Peace, and History Repeats Itself

Ted Kennedy’s Malignant Brain Tumor: Sad News, But the Work Goes On

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Nicole Hughes:

Bush’s Food Aid Package Promotes Use of GMOs

Gas Prices Exceed Those of 1973 Oil Crisis

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Andy Kondrat:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Cost US 38 Trillion Annually

USDA Budget Squeeze Forces Agency to Stop Tracking Pesticide Use

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Jon Popham:

Brooklyn Bridge Birthday Celebration!

Smokey the Bear: Environmental Icon

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Giulia Rozzi:

Suicide Tourism in New York City

Kristin Davis and Her Solar Powered Home

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Gina Telaroli:

Media That Matters Film Festival Premieres on May 28th

Top 10 Ways Indiana Jones Saved the World: Part #1

Films can change the world - this is one thing the folks at the Media that Matters Film Festival know. From their website:

“We no longer have to rely on major corporations for things to be seen — we have Media that Matters to distribute new material and new voices and new points of view.”
-Tim Robbins, Actor

The Media That Matters Film Festival is the premier showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Media That Matters engages diverse audiences and inspires them to take action.

Each year the MTM folks curate an amazing group of short films that all inspire action and dialog and they put them online and bring them to tons of places around the world. Here’s a trailer for one of the films in the fest (made by awesome Meerkat Media Collective - which I’m in!)

The premiere of their 8th festival is less than a week away. The screening takes place at New York City’s IFC Center and is followed by a ton of great NYC events celebrating the fest:

Every Third Bite - Coming soon! from meerkatmedia on Vimeo.

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US honeybee deaths are on the rise as a result of colony collapse disorder. A startling survey released this past Tuesday revealed that 36.1 percent of the nation’s commercially managed hives have been lost since last year.

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Beekeepers are feeling the sting of bee thieves in a rash of hive heists being carried out in California. An inexplicable disease that causes bees to abandon their colonies has made hives an increasingly valuable and sought after commodity - subsequently making them a target of bee banditry.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. We brought you some excellent top 10 lists this week on art, technology, director Errol Morris, and naughty celebs who should rethink their eco-lifestyles. Don’t forget to catch up with some of our other most popular articles of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Bush’s War: PBS Frontline Brings the War to a Computer Near You

Inverted Areola, Asymmetrical Breasts, & the Miss Bimbo Game

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Nicole:

Where the Wild Things Are: Top 10 Art Blogs

Dark Water: Artist Explores Consequences of Three Gorges Dam Project

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Giulia:

A Pregnant Man?

Is the Lebron / Gisele Vogue Cover Racist?

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Gina:

Top 10 Technology Blogs

Errol Morris’ Top 10 Films

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Kerry:

Top 10 Celebrities Who Need a New Cause

Dead Bats Flying: Mysterious Fatal Illness Alarms Scientists

America suffers from a collective case of do-gooder deafness: we have a hard time hearing a message when it’s delivered by a dorky academic or an unattractive activist. We’re all ears, though, when celebrities speak out about their pet causes, or their pets, or whatever. So, in acknowledgement of the fact that I, as a mere blogger, can only hope to influence so many people, I’d like to enlist the aid of some of our most oogled and Googled celebrities to help America combat climate change and overconsumption:

1. Britney Spears: Britney’s evidently on the road to recovery after some much needed r “˜n’ r. Here are three more “r’s” I’d love to see Britney promote: reduce, reuse and recycle. Our landfills are overflowing with post-consumer crap and the oceans are clogged up with plastic; what better time for Britney to redefine white trash! Recommended reading/viewing: Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte; The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard.

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Move over, colony collapse disorder; the new mystery plague is “white nose syndrome.” Yes, I know it sounds like a disease involving celebrities and cocaine, but it’s actually attacking bats in New York and Vermont, where they’ve been dying in droves.  Researchers are calling it “the gravest threat in memory to bats in the U.S.,” according to the AP:

“This is definitely unprecedented,” said Lori Pruitt, an endangered-species biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bloomington, Ind. “The hugest concern at this point is that we do not know what it is.”     

A significant loss of bats is chilling in itself to wildlife experts. But “” like the mysterious mass die-offs around the country of bees that pollinate all sorts of vital fruits and vegetables “” the bat deaths could have economic implications. Bats feed on insects that can damage dozens of crops, including wheat and apples.”

Without large populations of bats, there would certainly be an impact on agriculture,” said Barbara French of Bat Conservation International of Austin, Texas.

You may not be crazy about bats, but I bet you’re even less fond of mosquitos. Fewer bats equals more bugs, and that could have devastating consequences for our own health, too.

Scientists are trying to figure out whether it’s a virus, a bacteria, or some toxin in the environment that’s killing the bats. The white fungus that appears on the dead bats’ noses has never been seen before, and may only be a symptom, not a cause. “Whatever it is,” the AP reports, “afflicted bats are burning through their winter stores of fat before hibernation ends in the spring, and appear to be starving.”  Learn why bats are beautiful and beneficial creatures at Bat Conservation International.