Yesterday, I was stunned by news of the sudden death of massive numbers of bees in Dorchester County, South Carolina after parts of the county were sprayed from the air with the insecticide Naled in an effort to kill disease-carrying mosquitos. This is what happens when there is no public discourse, no systemic thinking about how to address complex problems and no regard for the overall health and integrity of our ecosystems. Making our ecosystems less complex by killing off ‘bystanders’ actually increases our vulnerability to pests and diseases.
