One of the best things to come out of the Colony Collapse Disorder mess has been the realization by many businesses that honey bees are in trouble. It’s only then that the light bulb comes on and they see down the road just a little and they realize that if honey bees go away, their own businesses will be seriously threatened. And then they get worried. And then they realize, after reading about CCD in the papers and on the net (like here), that the government isn’t doing much to help, or isn’t doing it very fast, and that if something is going to get done, well, by golly, they better do it themselves.

1. Haagen Dazs

One of the more prominent businesses to belly up to the beehive and lend a hand is Haagen Dazs Ice cream, which has gone all out to help honey bees.

Their support is directly related to the fact that a large percentage of the flavorings for their ice creams come directly from products produced by honey bee pollination. There’s good incentive in keeping bees around.

They have a dynamite web page (HelpTheHoneyBees.com), bee items to sell, and special flavored ice cream, and have donated cash and their special ice cream product to a wide variety of organizations that support honey bee and pollinators in general.

They officially started their program last January, so they’ve been at it quite awhile. I’m not sure of the total of their donations so far, but it is in the tens of thousands of dollars in cash, purchases and donations. They certainly are beekeeping’s newest friend.

2. Dundee Brewing

Dundee Brewing has a Save The Honey Bee campaign going on also. Though just begun, it’s off to a good start and beekeepers appreciate their efforts. Well, those that are at least 21 do (which you have to be go see their web page).

The web page (DundeeForTheBees.com) has information on pollinated products, CCD and what you can do to help. Of course their Honey Brown beer benefits directly from the honey those affected bees produce, so they have good reason to help out. They have teamed up with The American Beekeeping Federation (the ABF, see below) and state that a percentage of their sales, up to $25,000, will go to the ABF for CCD research. That’s a good chunk of money and will keep some scientists busy for quite awhile. ...

You had to be there.

Once Sarah Palin stepped to the microphone, the reasons for her extraordinary appeal to Republican faithful and for the impression that she made on John McCain became instantly apparent.

Even veteran commentators jaded by political windbaggery likened her to Ronald Reagan, the gold standard of GOP charisma. Best speech at a GOP convention in years, they said.

That’s not media hyperbole. The hockey mom’s command of the audience in the St. Paul hockey arena was real, even from up in the rafters where I was seated. Those who dismiss Palin as a former beauty queen chosen for her double-X chromosomes do so at their peril. They'll be wondering what just hit them. Just ask Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles, the veteran Alaska pols whom Palin flattened.

Quite a promotion for a former small town mayor and governor of a faraway state who could have walked incognito down any street in the lower 48 only one week before.

Yes, yes, say environmentalists, but look at her record of promoting drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, her doubts about the human imprint on climate change, and her state government’s opposition to listing the polar bear as a threatened species. Her energy policy is all about drilling rigs and pipelines. Their fear is that she will cast a spell on McCain and make him change his mind about climate change and the Arctic refuge. ...

John McCain's vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, made her big debut at the GOP National Convention Wednesday, when she accepted her party's nomination with a high-profile speech.

While her focus was on boosting McCain's reform credentials, downplaying Democrat Barack Obama's experience, and focusing as often as possible on national security, she touched on some energy and environmental issues.

Environmentalists have been critical, to say the least, of Palin's record. She supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (McCain has not), opposes listing the polar bear as a threatened species (as the Bush Administration has done) and has said she doesn't believe humans are responsible for contributing to global warming (contrary to virtually every credible scientist on Earth).

In her speech Wednesday, she spent roughly 15% of her words on energy issues. Here's a look at some of what she said:

1. "I suspended the state fuel tax."
   A reference to McCain's campaign pledge to suspend the federal gas tax during the summer driving season, Palin referenced her state-level initiative. Experts have roundly criticized this proposal as nothing more than pandering, since it would do little to affect prices and would obscure the silver lining in high energy prices: investments in greater efficiency, like smaller more fuel efficient cars. ...

Toxics Targeting is one of New York's best kept secrets. A firm devoted to making government data accessible to everyone, it focuses on mapping the sits of spills, leaking underground oil tanks and other environmental problems, both small and large.

The maps give homeowners -- and, critically, home buyers -- information they need to make wise choices, to address lingering pollution issues, and to hold government and industry to account for fouling the environment and threatening human health.

The firm's latest project is to make the most detailed maps of toxic sites in the state available on the Web. More than 270,000 potentially toxic sites are mapped, showing environmental hazards in multiple Google map views. ...