Many of us have read about the mysterious declining population of honey bees due to Colony Collapse Disorder. Cell phones, GPS, pesticides, who know what the culprit is.

Bee Keeping by concerned individuals is now on the upswing. Bee keeping classes are filled as newbie flood in. Online courses are also available.

Setting up your own Bee Hive

Most bee hives need to be registered. Some major barriers to setting up your own beehive include municipal or county codes that prohibit bee keeping.  It is time for interested individuals to turn the tide.

Bee hives can also produce items such as moisturizers, soaps, candles and lip balm. There are also health benefits to the bee glue or propolis that worker bees use to seal up all the gaps in a hive.

Bee honey has been used for many years for healing, skin conditions, allergies, sore throats and ulcers. Pollen grains, which bees collect from flowering plants, are used as an edible antioxidant remedy for allergies, skin blemishes and wrinkles. Egyptian tombs have been found with honey stored in clay pots that was still edible. While there is little scientific proof to these benefits, many people believe in their healing properties.

If you are trying to be more green or eco friendly and ready to help the bee population, consider Bee Keeping.

photo credit: flikr

Heating and cooling systems work less efficiently when air filters are dirty. Save Energy by replacing air filters with new ones.  Filters costs about $10 and should be replaced serveral times a year.  We’ve seen figures of less than a year for  payback.

If you have allergies, be sure to get more expensive filters that capture dust and pollen.

Verilux CleanWave Sanitizing Wand is a new ‘eco-friendly’ wand that uses UV-C light to get rid of viruses, mold, dust mites, germs and bacteria. They also make a smaller travel version.

“When bacteria, viruses, mold, dust mites, and other allergens are exposed to the UV-C light, the DNA in each cell is disrupted, causing the internal structure of the dangerous cells to collapse. Almost instantly, these disease-causing organisms are rendered harmless! Safety shut-off guards against unwanted exposure to eyes and skin. A built-in timer allows for precise exposure times of 5 or 60 minutes.”

It is “Spring Cleaning without the Chemicals” as they put it, but the jury is out on how useful this device is.

If you want to try one, Costco carries it, so you can buy it and return it any time.