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GREENSBORO — If you’re a honey lover, you might well prize sourwood honey, a specialty of the region.

But sourwood nectar is a finicky substance, and thanks to ever-warmer temperatures in recent years, Bill Mullins hasn’t had much luck producing the honey from his beekeeping operation.

“Sourwood’s considered the caviar of honey, and I haven’t gotten any in four years,” he said.

With that in mind, Mullins recently became one of dozens of area farmers to sign a Greenpeace petition calling on the government to take steps to combat global warming.

Today, Greenpeace plans to hold a news conference on Elm Street to highlight the issue.

Kel Miller, a field organizer with Greenpeace, said the effort, in some ways, is an “unusual alliance.” Environmentalists and farmers are sometimes at odds over issues such as pesticide use, she said.

But the issue of warming led to common ground.

“This is really something that we all can agree on, that we need to protect the future of the planet,” she said.

The group is calling on candidates for Congress to support strong legislation, including limiting global warming pollution and supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy, Miller said.

Mullins, whose Quaker Acres Apiaries has about 100 hives producing honey he sells at the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market, has mixed emotions about the issue.

On one hand, he has seen the effects of the warming trend. On the other, he’s not certain to what degree human activities are to blame for it.

But it makes sense to pay more attention to the problem and to err on the side of caution, he said.

“I know it’s a political hot button,” he said. But “once it goes past a pivot point, we might not be able to do anything else.”

For his part, Mullins will keep waiting for the sourwood blossoms to produce their nectar the way they used to.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com