AT THIS time of year Gordon Wardell loves to stand amid the almond blossoms in California’s San Joaquin valley, listening to the “low-pitch, warm, happy hum” of millions of bees.

每年这个时候，戈登•沃代尔都喜欢站在加利福尼亚圣华金山谷里杏仁树盛开的花丛中，聆听数百万只蜜蜂“低沉、温暖、愉快的哼鸣”。

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As the almond trees of the San Joaquin valley go into their February bloom, turning the plains white with their buds and abuzz with millions of bees who are temporarily imported to pollinate them, it may be hard to see devastation in the making.

ECONOMIST: California's Central Valley