Good Morning
What we’re reading this week:
James Bridle’s Ways of Being: Beyond Human Intelligence
A terrific read: Wide-ranging, profound and fun.
Will California’s offshore wind farms damage underwater life? Here’s what scientists are finding
Chinese automaker BYD surpassed Tesla as the world's leading electric vehicle seller
The Greendicator
Top Deals of the Week
EV battery maker Northvolt raised a $1.1B convertible note from a range of investors including Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs Asset Management (CNBC)
Electra, a one-year-old startup based in Paris that is building a network of fast EV charging stations in Europe, raised a €160 million round led by Eurazeo (IR)
Evolved By Nature, a nine-year-old startup based in Medford, MA, that has bio-engineered its own silk product, raised a $120 million Series C round led by Teachers’ Venture Growth and Senator Investment Group (VG)
EV fast-charging network operator EVCS raised $68.8M in funding: a $50M debt facility from Spring Lane Capital, and an $18.8M Series A led by Abdo Partners, Spring Lane Capital and Copulos Group (PRN)
Onomondo, a ten-year-old startup based in Copenhagen that has built a low-power, wireless network for IoT devices operating in over 180 countries that it claims can double device lifetime, halve battery consumption, and lower data consumption by 90%, raised a $21 million Series A led by Verdane (TC)
Current Foods, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that is developing plant-based "tuna" and "salmon," raised an $18 million seed round from Electric Feel Ventures, Astanor Ventures, Tenacity, and GreatPoint Ventures. (F)
H2SITE, a three-year-old startup based in Bilbao, Spain, that is developing technology to enable hydrogen transport using existing natural gas infrastructure, raised a $13 million Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (RN)
Avant, a four-year-old startup based in Hong Kong that is cultivating meat from fish cells for food and skin care products, raised a $10.8 million round led by S2G Ventures (NA)
Pina Earth, a year-old, Munich-based startup that's building an online platform for European forest owners to get certified to sell carbon credits, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Franco-German VC XAnge (TC)
Green Theory
Buzzcut: Bees & We in Big Trouble
Biting into a delicious summer salad in North America, you taste crisp chunks of cucumber, creamy slices of zucchini, and bursting bites of fresh berries–all with bees to thank. Pollinating one third of global foodstock, and two thirds of crop variety, these busy little bugs enable the vibrant diversity of food we enjoy today. From juicy peaches to nutty almonds, a threat to the bees presents a threat to our diets.
Beyond the lush floral biodiversity and bounty of produce bees enable to our pleasure, these creatures hold countless wonders: exhibiting behaviors such as communication through dance, and perhaps democracy. In stunning repeated movement patterns, bees disseminate information on food sources within miles of the hive. These same skills enable bees to assess and advocate for new hive locations. Masses of bees imitate the dance of their favorite site’s delegate, consolidating until a decision is reached. Bee colonies demonstrate surprising levels of intelligence, and hold the keys to more than just our favorite plants’ reproduction.
Minding the Hive
Why do bees need saving? North America joins Europe in a frightening pattern of pollinating-bee population decline. Though cause and effect are yet unknown, it’s evident the shrinking gene pools’ inherent vulnerabilities threaten the declining populations, and habitat loss furthers the devastation, as niche climes warm. Agriculture drives disruptive relocations during commercial hives’ hibernations, and widespread use of pesticides, among other factors—all contributing to colony collapse disorder, wherein worker bees abandon the hive site along with their queen, dooming the colony.
Commercial bee employment in agriculture takes an enormous toll on the bees. Billions of bees die in service of a pollinating season, and US commercial beekeepers struggle to keep up with the die-off, maintaining a steady sub-3 million hives over the last 20 years. Because of their vital sacrifice in pollinating our foodstock, bees see treatment similar to livestock from the US Department of Agriculture. Though today’s beekeeping practices and broader climate crises stretch bees to the brink, we’re still utterly dependent on these winged buzzers.
Technolo-Bee
Unsurprisingly, technologists and scientists have been hard at work, trying to capitalize on the fragile state of our pollinating pals. The National Science Foundation funded a Harvard program, dating back over a decade, to develop mechanical bee drones—RoboBees. Though not scheduled to take flight on their own anytime soon, these little robots offer frightening applications far outside their potential pollination. As the National Science Foundation explained, RoboBees could “one day assist in reconnaissance, aid in remote communication, or even act as artificial pollinators” (2016). Naturally, to their developers, the faux bees’ surveillance skills rank higher than life-sustaining pollination, among prospective applications. Further, committing to the volume of drones needed to replace bee-centric pollination presents management issues, and would leave us in the dark on bee behaviors yet uncovered. Relying on technology to replace bees spells disaster, but innovation holds promise to support our surviving bees. Some companies already leverage computer vision, automation, and climate control to develop better hives, rather than B-rate bees.
“Bee tech” doesn’t drum up substantial buzz, and you’ll have to look beyond the US borders to find the most-publicized founders. Ireland-based ApisProtect fits wireless sensors to hives, modernizing nests with a light touch. For a fully futuristic nesting site, Beewise’s Beehome houses up to 24 colonies, and automatically adjusts settings for bee benefit. BeeHero offers a similar product, purportedly “by commercial beekeepers for commercial beekeepers.” Both Beewise and BeeHero number among Israel-founded companies looking to back up bees. One firm aims to build mechanical pollinators, calling bees’ pollination “not optimal”. Disinterested in concert with the bees, this strategy ought to arouse skepticism. Two other Israel-founded startups focus their efforts on more humble bumble approaches: precision-fermenting honey to preserve bees’ winter food, and developing more bee-friendly biological pest management. That this nation emerged as a center of bee-novation comes alongside the unfortunate fact that Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) poses one of the largest threats to bees in the US and beyond. Having put bees to work for our benefit, now we must put technology to work for our bees. Angling to replace bees wholesale seems fraught, but perhaps innovators can yet help preserve dwindling bee populations.
Sweeter than Honey
Saving the bees offers an opportunity beyond preserving an intelligent and diverse creature: between ecology and humanity, the stakes are high. If you’re still not convinced of bee brilliance, perhaps the Japanese bees’ wing-powered oven, or ill bees’ ability to select honey with the highest antibiotic activity will change your mind. Reliant on bees for a majority of the different foods we enjoy today, we must take steps to protect them. To start, think about promoting biological pest management and admonishing traditional monoculture. Planting bee-friendly gardens, shopping for bee-friendly(er) products, or even cultivating a hive of your own, we can offer bees more than a wing and a prayer.
The Closer
“A male African Jacana is responsible for the hatching and safety of the chicks. Here the chicks have taken shelter under his wings as he transports them across the lily pads.”