State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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Buzz Kill

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Approximately 75% of crops benefit from insect pollinators, most of them wild. Recent studies indicate that bees are increasingly stressed by toxins, pathogens, and lack of food. Image credit: Dave Goulson (SCIENCE)
Recent studies indicate that bees are increasingly stressed by toxins, pathogens, and lack of food. Image: Dave Goulson (Science)

 

To feed our own species, we race,

Wild herbage, corn rows replace,

The Earth’s shrinking bower:

To insects, that flower

Is not just a beautiful face.

 

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Further reading:

Bee declines driven by combined stress from parasites, pesticides, and lack of flowers, Goulson et al. 2015 Science

This is one in a series of poems written by Katherine Allen, a researcher in geochemistry and paleoclimate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University.

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Blue banner with kids and Earth photos. Text: "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am-4pm.

On Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10am to 4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY. Mark your calendar and join us for this free, family-friendly celebration of science! RSVP Today!

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