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Ecopinions:  Mysterious Bee Decline  |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 24 2007 : 07:56:07 AM
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Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees
By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross
Published: 15 April 2007
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.
They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.
The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.
The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.
CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.
Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."
The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".
No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.
German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.
Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.
Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."
The case against handsets
Evidence of dangers to people from mobile phones is increasing. But proof is still lacking, largely because many of the biggest perils, such as cancer, take decades to show up.
Most research on cancer has so far proved inconclusive. But an official Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10 years were 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumour on the same side as they held the handset.
Equally alarming, blue-chip Swedish research revealed that radiation from mobile phones killed off brain cells, suggesting that today's teenagers could go senile in the prime of their lives.
Studies in India and the US have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. And, more prosaically, doctors have identified the condition of "text thumb", a form of RSI from constant texting.
Professor Sir William Stewart, who has headed two official inquiries, warned that children under eight should not use mobiles and made a series of safety recommendations, largely ignored by ministers.
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Edited by - Jen on Jun 15 2007 12:48:36 PM |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Apr 24 2007 : 7:49:14 PM
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I knew there was a reason why I never got a cell phone! I worry about the bees, too. I wonder how many years it will take their numbers to return if they are able to get the CCD under control. I also heard something about not enough bio-diversity? That only a few queens account for the majority of the population of bees that you can buy?
Anyone have more information on this?
Elizaray |
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Patsy
outthinking
5 Posts
Patsy
Marshall
IL
5 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2007 : 07:22:44 AM
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I have a cell phone for emergencies only. It is one of those that you buy a yearly card and then no monthly fees. You get 150 hours and I have had my phone for 4 years and have over 500 hours left so you see how much I use it. Lol. We got along for thousands of years without a cell phone and I don't see any reason we can't still do it. I had to be out in public and someone is talking on a cell phone. It is sooooo rude.
And it makes sense about the bees. I can see where it would interfere with their radar and why they just disappear.
May God Bless Those Who Love The Soil, |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2007 : 08:14:10 AM
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We got a cell while I was pregnant the first time because Chris & I were both working outdoors (in different locations), and we wanted to be able to contact eachother. Then, we kept the thing for the past few years, using it infrequently, and even though I HATE cells & dislike the phone in general, it became really handy when I wanted Chris to pick up something at the grocery store, etc. Now that we're in the Arkansas sticks, we have NO reception, and I have to say that overall I'm glad. Like you said, Patsy, we survived forever without them. Sometimes, it's tough to voluntarily turn away from modern conveniences, especially where safety is concerned, but when you think about the price we pay in the long run, these luxuries hardly seem worth it.
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Sarah Blue
outbound
37 Posts
Squaw Valley
California
USA
37 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2007 : 2:16:26 PM
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I totally agree that many of our technologies are luxuries and not necessities, but what a life saver my cel phone has been when my car has stranded me alone in the middle of the night or when I've been separated from friends/family in really large crowds in strange places. It's a shame that our ability to create new technologies evolves faster than our ability to understand the implications of using them. So far, my little community has fought attempts for new cel towers here, but the arguments have mostly been about aesthetics. My thought is, it's the mountains for pete's sake, of course your cel phone isn't gonna work, and no, it doesn't need to. I had a friend living in Connecticut who said her town banned cel towers all together. It was considered a "dead zone" by commuters who enjoyed chatting on their way home from work. I thought that was sooo cool. I'd gladly give mine up to protect any living thing especially bees, but many other people would not be so willing, even if you explained to them why it's important.
"i believe in god, i just spell it nature." - frank lloyd wright
http://www.myspace.com/svgrrrl |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - May 21 2007 : 08:04:17 AM
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Ok, I'm thinking it's time to act. I want to take some small action, at least, to save the bees. If nothing else, you'd think people would get motivated by self preservation, right? Recall that Albert Einstein said if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left". Sounds logical - and scary. And, the answer does NOT lie in some new genetically modified bee or chemical or non-native pollinator.
So, I'm looking into this completely foreign frontier. Ideally, I'd like to revive native wildflowers & natural bee habitat on my land, but I may just become a beekeeper, who knows?
If you want to look with me & share ideas, here are resources I've found so far:
Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture (new paperback - not yet released)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1933392088/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-5255997-4305560?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
Organic Beekeeping Society
http://www.thehealingpath.com/OrganicBeekeeping/OBS/index.shtml
Natural Comb Bee Hives
http://outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/natural.htm
Xerces Society: Pollinator Conservation Program
http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/index.htm
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Edited by - Jen on May 21 2007 08:06:56 AM |
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marybeth
outstepping
146 Posts
Marybeth
Washington
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - May 21 2007 : 7:17:41 PM
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We do live in a farming community and I haven't heard the farmers talking too much about disappearing bee here. They do talk about the problem and it is a big problem. I had heard it seems to be in the mid-west mostly but what i hear and what is true may not be the same. Skagit Valley grows a lot of different plants for seeds and so now that the kale already has gone to see the bees are out. I stop to look at the hives and there are plenty around and those little buggers are buzzing everywhere. I believe I read in our local paper that back in 1996 a similar thing was happening to the bees and it was a catastrophe for some farmers. It was world wide too. Where was my head 11 years ago? I think these things happen to tell us to take stock of what we are doing to our planet and prepare for the future or disaster.
I see your other articles about going green and there is so much in the paper about what people can and are doing. It is a wake up call for sure. MB
Being outside is being |
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Ellen
outstepping
124 Posts
124 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2007 : 08:58:48 AM
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As a keeper, I'm shaking my head....
First, on the Einstein quote, I don't believe he said it.I want to see where he wrote that? Because it isn't true. Food is wind pollinated too.
Is this good science? Do you know the signal a cell phone uses? I thought bees put the picture of the area in their road map brain? How does a wave signal interfere? Not that my phone doesn't go into the no service zone anywho when I'm way out in the swamp working a hive.
What I'm seeing is all the groves nearby to me here are being destroyed for housing . I look on the mainland, the fields where horse and cows grazed are changing too.Seems less crops for honeybees. No we just went through where many were attacked by mites.Once organic keepers began using pesticides=Now the queen stock is limited.
Always need more keepers Jen, and how about planting some clover! |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2007 : 12:45:52 PM
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I so want to start keeping bees, but while we live in town it is not a possibilities. My hunny is worried about a possible liability issue, but I think some neighbors up the hill are keeping bees! Yay!
Elizaray |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2007 : 1:18:41 PM
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I hear you, Ellen. Development & resulting habitat destruction are at the root of most environmental evils, wouldn't you say? I don't know about the cell phone thing & "Colony Collapse Disorder" (give me a break), but thought it'd stir up some conversation 
We do have a bunch of clover, but I honestly don't see bees in numbers I remember from younger days. Obviously, there are going to be cycles of population rise & fall. Certainly, we & the bees would be better off if all varieties of ag producers weaned off of the chemicals.
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Ellen
outstepping
124 Posts
124 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2007 : 10:17:56 AM
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I don't mind the pot being stirred Jen. I appreciate all the work you are doing here.
When we say environmental, wouldn't more than honeybee's go missing? Why not the bumble and wasps ...is it because we do not try to keep them we artificiallyalive.. |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2007 : 12:46:49 PM
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No big surprise here:
"Scientists investigating a mysterious ailment that killed many of the nation's honeybees are concentrating on pesticides and a new pathogen as possible culprits, and some beekeepers are already trying to keep their colonies away from pesticide-exposed fields..."
Link: http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12961
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2007 : 12:54:08 PM
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So, after all of this boo-hoo about the honey bees, I learned that they aren't even native to N. America! Unbelievable. Our country's agricultural livelihood is largely based on a pollinator that hails from Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Here's a good blog discussing the issue:
http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/02/bee_gone.html
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Edited by - Jen on Jun 15 2007 12:57:22 PM |
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Ellen
outstepping
124 Posts
124 Posts |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Jun 23 2007 : 4:28:40 PM
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I have heard that this is just a normal cycle- but that feels just a little too laze faire to me. I would rather get worked up and worry about it, than say "Oh! No big deal" and then be crying later because the bees are all gone. I am going to be working on putting in a bee garden and hopefully I can keep encouraging them to come around.
Elizaray |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 12:15:31 PM
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Me too. I've actually seen a few around here now that the fields are growing wild with black-eyed susans and passionflowers and others I don't know. Have you ever seen a passionflower? It's a gorgeous, passionate thing! I'll try to post a pic soon....
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Ecopinions: Mysterious Bee Decline |
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Mysterious Bee Decline
