Dear President,

There is a lot of responsibility that comes with being president. Lots of people are shouting their ideas and opinions at you, and you have to take those into consideration alongside keeping a sense of identity about your own views. I personally find it extremely hard to form my own ideas and opinions, in a society that is so clouded by judgment and bias. Many individuals would consider topics that surrounded money to be the most important issues. Money and power is often viewed as the two most important factors of being successful. I however think this is a superficial and cynical perspective on our world. If you were to strip our society down to its core, you would see we are all just human beings, fighting for the same survival that every other animal hopes for. In this fight for survival, we often get caught up in the petty distractions of our own made up society. To continue to stay alive and prosper, our biggest concern should be our food source. Our food source is in great jeopardy, because of the rapidly decreasing population of bees. Honey bees, which pollinate 80% of our fruits and vegetables, have recently made a debut on the endangered species list. We, as a human race, need to put more of a focus on helping the bees, and finding ways to aid their declining population.

The first issue that should be addressed is the causes of the dramatic decrease in the bee population. Although there isn’t a direct correlation to the endangerment of bees, there are speculations about what could be causing this decline in numbers. EndangeredSpeciesInternational.org, a website that reports on all endangered species around the world, says the possible causes of the honey bee endangerment could include “pesticides, poor nutrition, viruses, parasite varroa mite, and stress”. Most of these causes could be prevented or stopped altogether. First of all, pesticides play a huge role in the endangerment of honey bees. All over the world, big corporation farmers spray harmful pesticides on their crops to make them more resilient. These damaging chemicals hurt and weaken our local honey bees. Animals.mom.me, an informative website for mothers, explains that “Pesticides known as neonicotinoids were banned in Europe because of their possible link to CCD.” Pesticides like these are still being used in the US, which in my opinion is incredibly wrong, and corrupt. The corporations that use these chemicals would easily argue that these pesticides are important, and allow them to produce more food for our society by protecting the crops against harmful bugs and parasites. However, if the pesticides are killing the bees, and the bees make up for 80% of the pollination that takes place, how will you be able to distribute food if there is no pollination to produce it? By eliminating the use of pesticides, we will in turn increase the honey bee population.

Another factor that we could contribute to is the parasites that are killing off much of the bee population. Our government has tried to help the bees recover from this parasite, only to weaken them even more. GlobalResearch.ca, a website that focuses on global research and problems, explains the government’s struggles in an article about the honey bee endangerment “In a vicious cycle, since 1987 when the Varroa mite was first discovered in the US, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer and other large chemical manufacturers aggressively glommed onto the bee industry selling genetically modified insecticides and herbicides as the quick and easy fix to remedy the parasitic invasion, only to weaken the bees’ natural genetic defenses to fight off the parasite.” I think the government should revisit the problem, and put in more time, money, and research to further investigate this parasite that is harming our beloved bees.

America needs a wake up call. Bees are often not thought of as important creatures, because they are so small, but they make up such an important part of our ecosystem. Many people see honey bees as pesky insects that should be cautioned because of their stinger, but it is really quite contrary. With your help, you could show people that bees are extremely significant. You could also exhibit ways that we could help our bee population to grow in numbers, and remain off of the Endangered Species list. America and the honeybees need your help.

Sincerely,

Sophia W.

Works Cited

"Bees in Trouble and Agriculture Decline." Endangered Species International. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

“Death and Extinction of the Bees.” Global Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.

"What Are the Causes of Endangered Honey Bees?" Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.