Colony Collapse Disorder, Neonicotinoids, CO₂, Climate Change, and the Four Spheres

Abstract

This analysis focuses on what effects the decline of both domestic and wild bee populations has on the environment. It will analyze the 21st century-coined phenomenon known as “Colony Collapse Disorder,” and will investigate research methods that have improved numbers within bee populations over the last two decades. Within this study, the impacts and interactions between the Colony Collapse Disorder phenomenon and various environmental factors will be discussed, as well as the interactions between the four main spheres of the Earth ( i.e. , the biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere). In so doing, this study will evidence how and why bee populations are declining, why that decline affects each Earth sphere, as well as how this condition could create both loophole and contagion effects. Finally, this analysis will also briefly touch upon NASA’s increasing involvement with replenishing the world’s bee populations, the agency’s monitoring of CO 2 levels, various ecosystems, and other such relevant and ongoing research.