A major producer of products used to control garden pests and weeds, the Ortho company, announced this week it will stop using a category of chemicals believed to be harmful to bees.

Good for Ortho! For several years, it has been apparent something is reducing bee populations.

That is a serious problem for humans – because bees pollinate one-fourth to one-third of the fruits, vegetables and other plants we eat.

But no one seems to know with certainty what is causing the massive kill-off of bees. Various factors ranging from chemicals to global warming have been blamed.

Clearly, the government needs to do more to pin down what is wrong, so both the public and private sectors can address it.