I used to be a beekeeper.

I still look at my world through a beekeeper's eyes. It's late winter and the elm and maple tree buds are plump with the pollen that used to feed newly hatching larvae. Dead nettle and other cool weather wildflowers that once lured out the first foragers of the year are beginning to bloom. Now their efforts, as mine, have grown useless in the life cycle of the honey bee. 

I had just hit my stride as a beekeeper when the end started. After years of learning and building up my apiaries, I had almost more hives than I could handle. The spring air hummed with the sound of bees coming and going from their hives. It took me all summer and fall to market all of the extra honey the bees produced. The rest of the year was filled with repairing woodenware, cleaning out old frames, driving to, mowing around, and caring for hives in the apiaries maintained away from my farm.

In the early years, it seems all I did was look for mites. I did sugar rolls to count Varroa mites. I dissected bee trachea and counted tracheal mites under my microscope. I spent years, choosing mite-resistant queens to make new hives from and built my bee yards slowly and without chemicals. I was rewarded with healthy hives that produced strong nucleus hives that were in demand by other beekeepers trying to built mite-resistant stock.

The bees were strong and were good foragers, needing no help from me. Without being fed sugar syrup, they foraged on the abundance of wild flowers and produced pure honey that reminded my customers of "what honey used to taste like."

And then after years of very few hive losses, I began to lose 30 to 50 percent of my hives each year. Even with making new hives from the survivors, this level of loss becomes unsustainable in a few years. Today, I have only three endangered hives. What happened?

The "experts" spout whatever opinion they get paid to spout, but I know what changed for me. Big Ag. Before the losses started, all of the land around my farm was in pasture and none in row crops. Within one year's time, three farms around me sold, and the new owners all rented out part of their land to row cropping and exposure to all the chemicals that come with it: pre-emergent spraying, chemical burn downs and desiccants, pesticides, and even the crops themselves that have to be regulated as pesticides and antibiotics because of the way they are genetically engineered.

So springtime is a little quieter without the honey bees, and I turn my attention to what I can control--planting and caring for an organic garden, watching this year's goat kids play king on the mountain as their mothers clean up my fence rows, and learning to appreciate the insects that still live around me and their importance to our welfare.

Part of me still listens for the bees, hopes to see them again. Part of me hopes that humans will do what they have never done before--stop themselves before they do the irreparable damage, stop making poison and calling if food, stop destroying all that is here to nourish us.

When I think of the honey bees I recall how they are the only creature that I know of that feeds itself without harming another living thing. On the contrary, in the act of harvesting pollen and nectar for their food, the bees cause the plants to fruit and to produce even more! I am thankful that I got to know something of these amazing creatures before they were gone.

​The earth's population is approaching 8 billion. People are moving to and concentrating in the world's cities. So it absolutely bumfuzzles me that loneliness is a modern-day problem, among all age groups. We find ourselves starving for what we really need amid a sea of plenty and too-muchness.

Too-muchness invades every minute of our days with the ever presence of the cell phone, burping and chirping for instant attention from our sea of "friends." Too-muchness invades our workdays, where quality of life, enoughness, and human scale bow to the corporate mantra of "more."

I am wary of the new wave of articles warning us that loneliness  and social isolation are the new "tobacco" as far as our health is concerned. They tell us that if we want to be healthy and live long, we'd better get out there amongst 'em. Really? Fucking really? Couldn't we all be just a little bit hungry for some quiet time?!

My life span began in the age of analog, but I was one of the first of my friends to have a computer--an IBM-compatible 336. I know, the Stone Age, but I and my computers have evolved through the years and, even without a cell phone, I am right here with you in our digital world (after all, I'm writing this on my MacBook Pro). 

So way back in analog time, people spent many hours in their homes "disconnected" from the outside world. If you had a home phone, you shared it with the whole family and ofttimes with other families in the form of a party line. Each household had it's own combination of long and short rings so you would know when to answer and when to ignore it. When you were at home alone, you were at home alone! 

As kids, if we wanted to communicate with someone, we simply went outside. I had no choice about this really--my mother, like other Ozzie & Harriet generation parents, sent us outside early in the morning and warned us not to come back and show our faces until called in for a meal. When we went outdoors, we always found other kids--even in the country. (After all, there was nothing more interesting going on inside our houses--what with the only screen being a black-and-white, 3-channel TV, which our mothers had commandeered to watch General Hospital.) Outside was always more interesting, and I don't ever remember feeling lonely as a child. 

For a time, I characterized my need for human contact based on my level of introversion. Popular wisdom is that extroverts recharge their batteries by being around others and that introverts need solitude to recharge. Bolderdash! (Translation, Bullshit!) There are people who can suck the life out of even the most extroverted person, and other blessed souls who can infused life into even the most introverted. It's about quality, not quantity. But some of us do thrive on a bigger quantity of quality and others do prefer a little quality and then just savor the marrow out of it. Viva la difference! 

Modern life floods us with quantity and starves us for quality.

In my research, I've come across two interesting bits of information. One is from studies that point out that the more time that "smart" people spend with their friends, the unhappier they are. Intriguing but a bit elitist?

The other bit of information comes from scientist E.O. Wilson, who said, "If the benefit from group membership falls below that from solitary life, evolution will favor departure." Ok, let's go with that one--it's not so elitist. And it just might explain the direction we are headed.

Guest article by reader Neil Stawski

While climate change may be a hotly debated issue in our government, we can take it upon ourselves to help preserve the planet by making simple, environmentally friendly changes in our homes and communities. Here are some actions you and your family can take to slow the course of climate change.

Begin by making your home more energy-efficient. The good news is that this can save you money, and that’s an idea you can share with your neighbors, too! There are a number of things we can change in our homes to accomplish that. 

Efficiency Indoors 
Begin by making sure you have proper insulation and air flow. Green Home Guide recommends ensuring that your walls and attics have effective insulation that slows heat flow out of the home in the winter and blocks it from coming inside in the summer. If your windows are old, they might not seal properly, and that can leave gaps that let in air. You can replace these with energy-efficient models or take steps to update them so they seal properly. 

Next, take stock of sinks and appliances. Install low-flow sinks, showers, and toilets to save water. You can also put a timer in your shower to keep your family from using up too much water while showering. Try to avoid taking baths, which waste much more water than showers. 

Buy all energy- and water-efficient appliances. To determine which energy-efficient appliances are best, check out Energy Star’s post on the most efficient appliances. 

You should also switch to CFL or LED lights and light bulbs. Traditional incandescent light bulbs use about three times more energy than a CFL bulb, and LED bulbs can have five times the lifespan of incandescent bulbs. Even though they are more expensive, you’ll compensate with energy savings. 

Efficiency Outside Your Home 
Use gardening and landscaping as a way to green your home. We don’t often think of our gardens in this way, but strategic planting can provide shade, both indoors and out, and protection for our bee populations. 

If you have a garden, consider composting. This is a great way to help the environment and creates nutrient-rich soil for your plants. Learn more about the process at Rodale’s Organic Life. 

Consider installing solar panels. Solar energy is cost-effective and can even increase the value of your home. Today, there are lots of options for financing this upgrade. Use a solar water heater to help save on your monthly heating bills. The investment will pay off in the long run with energy savings. You can either install an active system to completely replace your current water heater or a passive system, which requires you to keep it as a backup. 

Greening Everyday Tasks 
You can make small changes in your regular routines, too. Give your kids waste-free lunches. Exchange paper lunch bags and products for lunch sacks, canvas napkins, and a bottle to make your child’s lunch waste-free. Many companies make environmentally friendly, plastic-free versions of these products. 

Eliminate plastic bags and paper towels. While we can’t eliminate every product in our homes, we can start with the basics. Find a good reusable cloth for the kitchen rather than paper towels. Do your shopping with reusable grocery bags. 

Changes in Your Community 
Changes begin in your home, but you can also spread these ideas to your community. In addition to encouraging friends and neighbors on how to save money with environmentally friendly home updates, you can also effect change on a larger scale. 

• Support local conservation efforts with donations and volunteering. For example, local farms may have workdays where you can help out. You can also shop at organic and sustainable farms and farmers markets. 
• Find like-minded friends and neighbors and organize community cleanups. You can also participate in or organize an e-cycling event in your neighborhood. This allows you to collect unused technology, such as discarded computers and smartphones, and donate them to schools and other places. The EPA has a list of places to donate them. This can even turn into a fun, community-building event! 
•  Support businesses that embrace or are certified in green and sustainable practices. 
• If possible, bike ride, carpool, or take public transportation rather than driving. Consider buying a more fuel-efficient car or hybrid the next time you shop for a car. 
• Vote for local candidates who support environmentally friendly policies, just as you would on a national level, such as school boards. 
• Encourage your child’s school to become more environmentally friendly. This can take many forms, such as making a presentation to the school on reducing waste, encouraging them to create gardens as a teaching tool, or implementing more recycling ideas. This will require involvement and works best if a group of parents supports these initiatives. 

Our communities work best when we all pitch in. Do a little more in your home each week to save energy, and consider getting involved to make changes in your community. Every action you take has a positive impact on the planet