The Brief

California is home to 1,600 species of native bees — nearly 10% of the world's bee species. These pollinators evolved alongside local ecosystems, crops and climates — and are responsible for pollinating the vast majority of flowering plants.

But for decades, U.S. farms have relied on just one fragile species: the European honeybee.

Commercial hives of European honeybees are collapsing in record numbers — 62% of commercial bee colonies died last year, according to a survey conducted by a beekeeping nonprofit — leading researchers and farmers to ask: What if the future of farming is native?

Projects affiliated with the University of California have helped farmers integrate and support native bee populations. The presence of native pollinators not only increases crop yield, research has shown, but also the effectiveness of the commercial colonies of European honeybees.

“There's a lot of literature that shows that honeybees will work harder if there's a lot of native bees around because they see competition,” said Dr. Ben Faber, a farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension.

So what exactly does it mean to support native bees?

In order to create an environment where wild bees thrive, researchers observed native colonies in California and procured a list of “bee plants” that pollinators seem to favor most. The plants, evolved to withstand the conditions of Southern California, serve as a bridge to agricultural crops.

“Most of the native bees are in coordination with whatever the flowering pattern is of whatever the native plants are,” Faber said. “A lot of the native bees are specific to a certain species of native plant, and so without that native bee, in sync with the native plant, we wouldn't get propagation of that native plant. So you know, it's really critical that conservation of habitat is maintained.”

Bees aren't the only pollinators you'll find in a garden or orchard. The right plants can attract butterflies, bats and hummingbirds too.

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Ben Faber

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UC Cooperative Extension

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Researchers planted hedgerows around groves of avocado trees and other crops.

The introduction of native bee-friendly plants helped establish local wild bee populations, which subsequently extended their foraging to primary crops, such as avocado.

Faber said what really matters is bringing in a diversity of bee species.

“For example, bumblebees,” he said. “There's a whole bunch of different species of bumblebee in Southern California. And bumblebees love avocados. ... You'll see a bumblebee working in avocado, and you won't see any honeybees out there, but the bumblebee will kind of be bumbling around.”

Faber also emphasizes these efforts don’t help bees alone: “There's a lot of other pollinators out there besides honeybees and native bees.”

The native flora planted on the farms attracts pollinators such as flies, bats, butterflies and birds.

“I've seen hummingbirds inside avocado orchards that are, you know, feeding on the flowers, and their bill is covered with pollen," Faber said. "There's a lot going on in your orchard.”

How can people help native bees?

Ben Faber recommends people plant Encelia californica, a California native also known as bush sunflower.

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Ben Faber

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UC Cooperative Extension

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Farmers aren't the only ones in contact with pollinators. The flowers cultivated by backyard gardeners have a role to play, too.

“The highest number in diversity of native bees are actually in backyards where people maintain flowering species year round,” Faber said. “There's a lot of unnamed, unknown activity out there. ... So there's a lot to learn yet.”

One of the bee plants Faber recommends is Encelia californica, a native, drought-tolerant flower.

“It's a yellow flower, and it flowers pretty much year round as long as it's water-irrigated," Faber said. "Encelia is just covered with all kinds of different bee species depending on the time of the year.”

Faber — alongside Gordon Frankie, the lead researcher of the Farming for Native Bees in California project — has resources available to the public, including research, guides and seminars on how to support native bees.

DeLaczay is a 2025 LAist summer intern.

The Trump administration has started the process of dramatically easing fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, part of the administration's broader pivot away from cleaner cars.

At the White House on Wednesday, surrounded by the executives from several major car companies, President Donald Trump said the move would save consumers money by making cars cheaper.

"We're officially terminating Joe Biden's ridiculously burdensome — horrible, actually — CAFE standards that impose expensive restrictions," Trump said, referring to the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules, often called CAFE standards. "And all sorts of problems, all sorts of problems for automakers."

Previous research from Consumer Reports has challenged the argument that regulations make cars more expensive. Stringent fuel economy standards also carry an economic benefit in the form of lower fuel costs over time.

CAFE standards require that the entire fleet of vehicles sold by a given automaker, on average, get more fuel-efficient over time. Automakers who fall short have previously needed to either pay hefty fines, or buy credits from a company that over-performs on efficiency, like Tesla and other all-electric automakers.

The Trump administration has already defanged the existing CAFE standards by eliminating the fines associated with them, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under Former President Joe Biden, the rules called for vehicles to get 2% more efficient every year; the Trump administration is now proposing to revert to the 2022 baseline and increase by .5% annually.

The proposed change now enters a period of public comment; the Department of Transportation will collect input from companies and citizens before finalizing the rule.

The administration has already been working to roll back tailpipe standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are designed to cut pollution from vehicles. The two sets of rules have overlapping effects, with both of them pushing automakers toward cleaner vehicles.

Meanwhile, during the second Trump presidency Congress has also eliminated the consumer tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles, decided to end a tax credit for installing an EV charger in June 2026, earlier than planned, and voted to strike down federal waivers that let California require automakers to build zero-emission vehicles. The Trump administration also temporarily delayed a program to use federal money to build a high-speed EV charger network.

The policy shift was no surprise. Trump campaigned against what he called the "electric vehicle mandate," and promised to rescind policies — including fuel economy standards — that encouraged or incentivized EVs.

Trump has framed the policy rollback as a gift to the auto industry. And that's partially true: Large trucks and SUVs may be inefficient, but they're popular and profitable, and selling more of them without any penalty is a financial boon to automakers. In earnings calls this fall, multiple executives noted that the regulatory rollback will boost earnings and help offset the cost of tariffs.

Electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. has moved slower than automakers had expected. Some automakers have said made some of the Biden-era policies not just challenging but unworkable.

In a statement provided by the White House, Ford CEO Jim Farley praised "President Trump's leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities."

But automakers are also navigating a changing global market, with many countries continuing to prioritize climate action. The popularity of high-quality, affordable Chinese EVs has raised questions about whether legacy automakers can compete. So Farley's statement also promised that "We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability."

For companies, which need to plan their future vehicle lineups years in advance, it's challenging when rules whipsaw back and forth with each change in administration. That's been the reality for years now: The Obama administration set ambitious fuel economy rules, which Trump 1.0 reversed, Biden reinstated, and now Trump 2.0 is seeking to "reset."

Farley obliquely noted that risk in a conversation with investors in October. He explained why Ford was continuing to move ahead with plans for an affordable electric pickup, despite regulations shifting to no longer support EVs. "We expect adoption will increase over time and the market continue to evolve," Farley said. "And maybe the regulations evolve."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Community groups and local unions are asking the organizers of the L.A. Olympics to take a stand against ICE and keep federal immigration enforcement activities out of the 2028 Games.

The federal government is leading security for the Olympics and has allocated $1 billion to security spending for the mega-event, which will span the region and bring all levels of law enforcement to the streets of Los Angeles.

Critics are worried about what that might look like and how it will impact a city already reeling from ICE raids and the deployment of National Guard troops on the city's streets this summer.

Dozens gathered outside the offices of Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee LA28 in downtown Wednesday morning to ask organizers to take a stand against ICE. They also called on LA28 chair Casey Wasserman to resign, citing the recent addition of several allies of President Donald Trump to the Olympics board of directors.

"It's sad that they haven't taken a stance in defense of this community," said Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center. "That's a huge shame. So that's why we're asking LA28 to get ICE and any other immigration enforcement agencies out of the Games."

LA28 has not publicly weighed in on the immigration raids that have swept the city since summer, sparking protests and a climate of fear across the region.

A spokesperson for the organization did not respond to a request for comment on the concerns of community organizations about immigration enforcement at the Games or to the demand that Wasserman step down.

"LA28 is committed to working with all stakeholders to welcome athletes and visitors from around the world and deliver the safest and greatest Games for Angelenos and beyond," Jacie Prieto Lopez, LA28's vice president of communications and public affairs, said in a statement.

The federal government has stepped up its involvement in the Olympics in recent months. Over the summer, Trump formed a federal task force on Olympics security and named himself the chair.

Last month, LA28 added several Trump allies to its board of directors, including former House Speaker and California Republican Kevin McCarthy and Reince Priebus, who served as chief of staff during part of Trump's first term.

Billionaire Trump donor Diane Hendricks, Trump's former banker Ken Moelis and Patrick Dumont, son-in-law of Trump donor Miriam Adelson, also were added to the list.

Those names elicited boos at the press conference outside of LA28 on Wednesday.

" You have claimed that this will be an Olympics that will celebrate the rich culture that defines our city," said Eddie Anderson, a pastor at McCarty Memorial Church in West Adams. "And we wanna ask you: Which culture are you talking about?"