Causecast

by AARON HORWITZ, Contributing Writer

Remember that scene in M. Night Shyamalan’s awful film The Happening, where Mark Walhberg mentions the sudden disappearance of millions of honeybees all over the planet? Well, turns out there was some truth to that statement. A lot in fact. And it’s a happening that could be much more devastating than the reviews for Shyamalan’s next box office train wreck.

Jeremy Simmons’ new documentary, The Last Beekeeper, sheds a bit of light on this bizarre and critically important phenomenon, known as CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder). Curiously, the film chooses to focus more on the effect that the decline of bee populations is having on the business of beekeeping, focusing on 3 sets of American beekeepers, among the last in the nation, as they prepare to make the trek to California to help foster the annual almond pollination.

The film is shot with some beautiful imagery of honeybees and the American landscape, and sheds a bit of insight into the interesting lives of beekeepers and the relationships they share with their winged employees. Along the way, some shocking statistics are dropped about the alarming rate at which honeybees are disappearing. What is perhaps most surprising is that most aren’t simply dying- many are just vanishing en masse. In 2007 alone, 30% of all American bee colonies were lost.

So, why is this such an important event? For starters, a staggering one third of the world’s agriculture depends on bees for pollination. Sadly, the film doesn’t delve into possible reasons for the collapse, provide info on the importance of honeybees, or offer possible solutions on how to fix the epidemic, (to be fair, no solutions have yet been found). But nevertheless, the film is a crucial piece of infotainment, and hopefully will help raise awareness on the current epidemic.

Meanwhile, scientists are hard at work on the issue, and have offered up several possible explanations, including poor farming practices and the increased usage of harmful pesticides. A recent breakthrough may have pinpointed one in particular.

There are a wealth of stories and websites devoted to the issue. To find out how you can do your part, check out Help the Honey Bees, strangely brought to you by Haagan Dazs.