Bees in the German state of Baden-Württemburg are dying by the hundreds of thousands. In some places more than half of hives have perished. Government officials say the causes are unclear -- but beekeepers are blaming new pesticides.

Meanwhile, Germany's beekeepers were pointing fingers at one of Germany's largest companies, blaming a popular, recently-introduced pesticide called clothianidin for the recent die-off. Produced by Monheim-based Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of German chemical giant Bayer AG, clothianidin is sold in Europe under the trade name Poncho. It's designed to attack the nervous systems of insects "like nerve gas," says Hederer. The chemical was used last year to fight an outbreak of corn rootworm, and its success against the pest led to a much wider application this spring up and down the Rhine.

No shit Sherlock; spray with pesticides that are "highly toxic to honey bees" and then play surprised once your bees drop dead to the ground. We're so short sighted that we're neglecting the context of our decisions. This mirrors all of our other problems in society, where we spend all the energy on symptoms while the root causes are left behind in the mess we've created for ourselves. The symbolic action looks good on TV, but it's not effective nor is it in tune with reality. Back to square one!