Today’s Solutions: November 22, 2024

Birds, Bees, & Bugs

The week of June 23, 2019 - We explore the solutions helping our environment's most productive and important little creatures.

New solar farm provides clean

New solar farm provides clean energy and a refuge for pollinators

The town of Logansport, Indiana is trading their last coal power plant for an 80-acre, 16-megawatt solar farm. In addition to the investment in green, renewable energy, the town is also investing in the health of its insect populations with pollinator habitat taking center stage in the new Read More...

American honeybees are bouncin

American honeybees are bouncing back after a bad year

When it comes to beekeeping, the number of winter deaths within a bee colony is a crucial indicator of the colony’s health. Colonies will always see a percentage of the population wiped out by colder temperatures and less abundant flowers, but what’s most important in this case is how many Read More...

Bee house made from LEGO bricks.

Irish beekeeper constructs colorful LEGO hive in his backyard

From cleaning out the basement to taking up bread making, people around the world have taken up new hobbies to fill their quarantined time. One creative bee-lover in Ireland decided to use the time to create an elaborate home for bees out of LEGO blocks. Ruari O Leocháin, a school teacher and Read More...

New agreement helps protect mi

New agreement helps protect migrating monarch butterflies

Every year millions of monarch butterflies migrate from northern and eastern U.S. and Canada to spend winter in southern California and Mexico. Now, these threatened species are getting a little more help along the way, thanks to an agreement between The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Read More...

Ikea bee home.

Forget dressers, IKEA wants you to build a bee house

The task of building IKEA furniture has been challenging newlyweds and college students for years. In 2020, the company started offering a new challenge to customers: building bee habitats. IKEA’s research and design lab, SPACE10, has partnered with European design studio Bakken & Bæck, Read More...

EU commission drafts pollinato

EU commission drafts pollinator-protecting pesticide regulations

Agricultural pesticides pose a serious threat to pollinator populations, including bees. To save these species, The European Commission is seeking to halve the use of pesticides by 2030.  The potential new rules to decrease pesticides include especially reducing the use of chemical and Read More...

Rare blue calamintha bee spott

Rare blue calamintha bee spotted for first time in four years

Until this past March, the blue Calamintha bee had not been seen for four years and was thought to be extinct. But recently, a researcher with a keen eye spotted the blue bee while installing bee condos in Central Florida's Lake Wales Ridge area. Its sighting is a beacon of hope for Read More...

Pakistan’s Billion Tree proj

Pakistan’s Billion Tree project is bringing the bees and honey back

In 2018, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the Billion Tree project, a lofty country-wide effort to plant 10 billion trees over a 5-year span. The project has already led to the planting of hundreds of thousands of trees, resulting in a huge boost in bee populations. Apparently, Read More...

How animals understand and use

How animals understand and use numerical skills

Animals may have a more complex understanding of our world than we thought. Specifically, they may be able to understand numbers and counting. No, they don’t practice arithmetic, but researchers have found that most animals have what they call “numerical competence.” For example, honeybees Read More...

Scientists are engineering bac

Scientists are engineering bacteria to save bees

Researchers at the University of Texas have reported in the reputable scientific journal Science that they may have developed a new method to save bees from colony collapse. The new method is unique in the sense that it requires genetically engineered bacteria to work for us.  Once inserted in Read More...