Gordon Clay here. Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon threatens the loss of much more than honey as we depend on honeybees to pollinate one third of the food on our tables.

This year marks the highest losses of honey bee populations in the U.S. Some of the country's biggest beekeepers have lost over 60%. Some say they won't be able to rebuild their numbers with such high losses and if these kinds of losses continue, the industry may only be able to sustain itself a few more years at most. With one in three bites of food we eat dependent on bees for pollination, will there be enough bees to pollinate the crops this year? The almond orchards in California are the first test where 85% of the world's almonds come from.

This award-winning documentary Vanishing of the Bees, examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. It chronicles the innermost thoughts and feelings of beekeepers and scientists as they fight to preserve the honeybee and make it through another day. The film presents a platform of solutions, encouraging audiences to be the change they want to see in the world.

First Friday Salon is a free evening to see and talk about documentaries that, most likely, would never show in the area. The series is sponsored by TheCitizensWhoCare.org whose main purpose is to "Give you something to think about." The movie starts promptly at 6pm on Friday, July 5th at the Chetco Community Public Library, with discussion to follow.