For the past few years, you've probably seen stories and headlines about bees disappearing from their hives. The hives have plenty of honey, there's ample food in the surrounding area, and no dead bees are found -- they've simply disappeared. Many people might consider this a good thing, especially with the outdoor eating season upon us, but the continued decline of bees would be nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for life on earth. Why? Because bees pollinate 90% of the commercial plants humans use, from cantaloupes to cotton, not to mention flowers and countless wild plants that rely on pollination by bees to survive. If these plants die, the animals that rely on them (including humans) will also die. It's claimed that Albert Einstein once said, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." And this disappearance seems to be happening right now.
No one is sure exactly what is causing colony collapse disorder, but it is being found across the globe and may be a greater threat to life on this planet than climate change. The award-winning documentary Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? looks at possible causes of colony collapse disorder as well as the millennia-old relationship between bees and humans that had been so mutually beneficial for so long. Watch the trailer for Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? below.
I spoke with two of the makers of Queen of the Sun, Taggart Siegel (director, co-producer, co-editor) and Jon Betz (co-producer, co-editor), when they brought the film for a week-long run in Los Angeles. You can watch part one and two of my ReThink Interview with them below. To find out if Queen of the Sun is playing near you or to organize a screening, go here.
Part 1
Part 2
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