HARI SREENIVASAN:

They are important findings and analyses on a pair of stories we have long been covering, the health of bees and the impacts of climate change.

A recent study looked at the economic consequences of climate change and concluded it will make the U.S. poorer and more unequal if present trends continue. The South would be hit the hardest.

A different set of studies looked at the health of bees in connection to insecticides used in crops. Bees are critical for our global food production. Honeybees alone are responsible for pollinating $15 billion of U.S. crops.

The new papers demonstrated the popular insecticide used in agriculture called neonicotinoids can be harmful to bees.

Miles O'Brien is with us again.

Miles, we have been looking at or scientists have been thinking about the chemicals that are used in insecticides as kind of one of the number one culprits for colony collapse for a long time.

So, what is so new about these studies?