Though there can be many negative impacts of honeybees on the landscape in North America: honeybees are not going anywhere and beekeepers are some of the most powerful allies in the fight against insecticides and herbicides.
Right now we NEED honeybees to pollinate our crops. Eventually we should move towards requiring native hedgerows to reduce our reliance on honeybee shipments...not only will this be cheaper for farmers in the future, it will help reduce the amount of insect diseases that are spread by honeybees. (As the bees are shipped all over the continent)
However, honey is always going to be something people want. The important thing for beekeepers to keep in mind, is making sure there are not too many hives per square mile! A single hive is 15,000-50,000 additional mouths to feed in an area that may already have limited pollen resources for native bees. (Who are often solitary)
Responsible bee keepers can improve the impact their hives have by learning how many hives are in an area, planting abundant native flower resources on whatever land they manage, and taking feral hives out of the ecosystem rather than propagate new hives from scratch, or buying queens from retailers.
People who keep honeybees are not bad people for loving honeybees! Honeybees are fascinating animals and often act as ambassadors to the beauty of the insect world. There are many ways we can and do work together to mitigate harm on all insects!
Working a yard sale today again and found a honeybee in distress in the bottom of a bin. I offered a hand to climb out and gave her a little sugar water and let her sit for a bit before sending her off.