EcoWatchexplains why it's critical to protect endangered species, citing, for example, the rusty patched bumble bee species that has declined by 87 percent in the last 20 years, disease, climate change, pesticides, habitat loss and intensive agriculture.
“We launched the Give Bees A Chance campaign because kids are often taught to be afraid of bees, but the role they play in our ecosystem is imperative and deserving of our respect and protection,” explains Nona Evans, president and executive director of Whole Kids Foundation. “One of the best ways we can teach kids about bees is through educational beehives at their schools, where they get an up-close look into the world of pollination.”
American artist Blake Little’s show ‘Preservation’ is at LA’s Kopeikin Gallery until April 18, 2015. Moving away from photographing the ‘beautiful people’, Little is focused on skin and the human body in a vast array of subjects covered with buckets of honey. This diverse crowd of human shapes and skin colors evokes both sensuality and drama, as if frozen in time by the sweet goo.
IndieGoGo: Flow Hive Honey On Tap Directly From Your Beehive
Aussie father and son team — Stuart and Cedar Anderson — are revolutionizing honey harvesting with their new invention described as a ‘beekeepers dream’. The revolutionary new hive allows beekeepers to harvest honey without opening the hive, making it much easier for people and very much better for the bees, who are no longer disturbed during the harvest. The IndieGoGo film is very educational.
Although the campaign won’t close until April 5, it is already the most successful crowdfunding campaign launched outside the US on any platform. Today the campaign has raised $6,135,833 against a goal of $70,000.
Beekeepers Bob Redmond, John Woodworth and David Feinberg examine a hive at the Sea-Tac Airport in Washington state.
Bob Redmond, a beekeeper and executive director of the nonprofit The Common Acre, helped bring the idea to Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport after reading about a similar project at Chicago’s O’Hare. Sea-Tac helped get things going with a small grant and a 50-acre space. Redmond and his team now oversee 25 hives.
Redmond explains that the airport honey tastes ‘wild’ and ‘kind of woody and grassy’ compared to backyard honey that is typically ‘sweeter and more fruity’. The Common Acre beekeepers run an art exhibit in the airport terminal and sell honey in a shop. With all the focus on honeybees, Redmond reminds us that there are 4000 different species of bees.
For Redmond, the project isn’t just about bees, but is representative of how cities can best use their empty spaces to support urban agriculture as a whole.
We’re looking at increasing urban development and decreasing land availability, so we have to say, what is available? And are we really going to plant it all with grass?” he said. “Or are we going to plant something that can make a difference? via
Aerofarms Vertical Farm Comes To Newark, NJ
A superb new business is coming to Newark, NJ’s ‘Makers Village’ redevelopment project. Located in Newark’s ‘Ironbound’ neighborhood in a converted steel factory, AeroFarms will open the world’s largest vertical farm with plans to produce two million pounds of pesticide-free baby leafy greens and herbs each year.
In Jewish folklore, from the 8th–10th century Alphabet of Ben Sira onwards, Lilith becomes Adam’s first wife, who was created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same earth as Adam. This contrasts with Eve, who was created from one of Adam’s ribs. The legend was greatly developed during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th century writings of Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she coupled with the archangel Samael. The resulting Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror. via Wiki
Following on the New York Times’s decision to continue its critical coverage of China, despite the Chinese government’s retaliation against it, Dan Gillmor calls on journalists and news organizations to abandon the pretense of “neutrality” and take a partisan stand for free speech in questions of censorship, surveillance, net neutrality, copyright takedown, and other core issues of speech in the 21st century.
Canada’s Partisans Design Group brings a curvaceous sensuality and organic beauty to traditional sauna design with this 800-square-foot structure nestled on the shores of Lake Huron. Health and wellness permeate every cedar tile segment, inviting us to sink deeply into the nurturing environment and splendid views. View more images at My Modern Met.
Filmmaker Callum Cooper and Ana Tiquia are raising money on Kickstarter for 1,000 Bees, a free interactive app that examines 1,000 bee species. The effort hopes to inform and educate us about the world of bees and also discuss their threatened status.
