One of the great triumphs of civilization, (and one that may just help put an end to us) is that most of us in the developed, urban world can afford to ignore the barely visible cloud of ecosystem functions and services that we float comfortably on.  Barely
conscious of the fragility of some of these essential systems, we are slow to grasp the importance of what one might consider "the little things".  Listening to Bill Maher’s Real Time last night I first heard of Colony Collapse Disorder and the apparent loss of 50% (!) of honeybee hives in North America and Europe.  This made the news as it was speculated that cell phones are a contributing factor. 

Grrrlscientist (Pathogens Causing HoneyBee Deaths?) notes another take on the phenomenon i.e. that it may be caused by a pathogen.  Regardless of the cause, the loss of substantial numbers of a key pollinating insect could have absolutely enormous consequences for our food supply.  This is spooky:

During the previous year, bee keepers and other experts have observed
tremendous declines in honeybee populations — often entire colonies
disappear suddenly and without warning, a situation referred to as
"collapse" so scientists refer this phenomenon as "Colony Collapse
Disorder" or CCD. Thus far, approximately 50 percent of bee hives have
collapsed in this manner. As a result, experts fear that this loss of
honeybees will have an enormous horticultural and economic impact
around the world, leaving important food crops such as fruits,
vegetables, and almonds unpollinated, so they are working hard to find
the cause of this mysterious syndrome, and this cutting-edge technology
might have provided them with an answer.