A while ago there were stories making all the major news outlets about the disappearance of honey .jpg)
bees. No one knew why. Some were even suggesting that cell phones signals were causing it.
Not having heard more about it in a couple years, I thought perhaps scientists had come up with a solution to the mystery. I was wrong.
The other night I saw a program on PBS that made it clear that the problem is anything but solved. Colony Collapse Disorder, as it has been dubbed, is affecting 35 states in the US, as well as Europe, South America, India, and China. We’ve already lost 35% of the bees in the US, and we’re losing 8% more every year. Honey bees were being predicted to be extinct in the US by 2035 before CCD, just from loss of habitat, pesticides, and parasites. Now it’s likely to happen much sooner.
Used to be, a beekeeper would drop off his hives at an orchard or strawberry patch for free… his primary source of income was honey, with perhaps a sideline in bee pollen, bees wax and royal jelly. However, when truck farming began in earnest in the fifties, apiculture became big business. In 1960, beekeepers were charging $3 per hive. By 2004, that figure had inflated to $60. But since then, as bees have disappeared and demand for bees has risen, the figure now can be as much as $180 per hive, even higher in some places.
In 2006, American beekeepers had to import bees for the first time in 80 years. A farmer now pays more for pollination than he does for fertilizer, water, or labor. How much of that cost can he pass on to consumers before pricing himself out of business? Are you willing to pay $25 a pound for almonds? And farmers can’t quickly alter their crop yield to match market demand; they have to make decisions about what and how much to grow a year or more in advance.
Why should you care? Aside from the cost of your food spiraling up, the nutritive value will begin spiraling down. This morning, for example, I had a bowl of oatmeal with cherries, walnuts, and yogurt for breakfast. The cherries are supposed to prevent gout, walnuts are good for my brain, and the yogurt – frankly, I don’t remember what yogurt is supposed to be good for, but it tastes nasty, so it must be good for me. If bees disappear, I’ll have no cherries, no walnuts, and likely no yogurt… most of what cows eat is pollinated by bees. So, in addition to a higher tab for groceries, mankind’s health will deteriorate, raising the cost of healthcare.
Oh, and some of the medicines the doctor would normally treat you with won’t be available, either, because they come from plants that… you guessed it.
The only reason I can think of that people aren’t up in arms about this is that we are so overwhelmed with other things going wrong, we just can’t get excited about another crisis. One senator, during discussion of a bill to throw a puny $4 million bone to research of CCD, said: ‘If 1 of every 3 cows in this country was dropping dead, you can bet the Department of Agriculture would be moving heaven and earth to find a cure.’ There’s some truth to that. We don’t see bees, generally, don’t think about them much except as a nuisance at a picnic. But we cannot continue our present lifestyle without them.
Can science fix this problem before it's too late? Well, we have maybe a dozen years. How long have we been waiting on a cure for cancer?
Comments
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." --- Albert Einstein
"If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live."
Problem is, the famed physicist never said it.
Honeybees don't bother anybody at picnics-- you are thinking yellowjackets. I'd be surprised if you see a honeybee anywhere these days.
It is dumb quips like that which really reports look... well... dumb.
The sad reality is that the 60 minutes piece was done nearly 2 years ago and virtually nothing has been done to address the problems. Researchers are doing the best they can with limited resources, virtually no money has materialized, Congress has delivered little more than hot air and the EPA is worthless, if not actually in the enemy camp. Hackenberg is still hanging on, but it was reported just recently that Jim Doan, the largest beekeeper in New York State, who testified at the Congressional hearings, is going belly up, out of money, out of bees.
The major culprit for the disappearance of honey bees is GMO crops and their devil's pollen. The threat is as bad as that of global warming, and together they largely compound the problems.
Those serious about the bee decline should look into pesticides. It wasn't that long ago that France banned a German-made pesticide from use, and bee colonies have resurged.
Organic beekeepers have not been experiencing problems with CCD. I don't know why this important piece of information is never mentioned in the news. Maybe their miraculous circumventing of this problem has something to do with them not using pesticides--considering pesticides kill bugs and well... bees are bugs. There are numerous articles on this topic. Check out the Organic Consumer Association's website (or google it) to verify that I'm not just spewing uncited nonsense.
Red Alert! Civilization is currently in free fall. Who is surprised after all we've put this planet through? It is absolutely shocking to me that nobody out there has the slightest clue about the effects of our actions. When I walk down the streets of Anytown USA, I see nothing but vapidity. I pray for us all, and certainly not in a religious sense. As tritely as Jewel's song goes, it's true: "In the end, only kindness matters."
I think the demise of honey bees has something to do with the worldwide net of chemtrails, which are nothing more than poisons being sprayed in the air everywhere around the planet. Who are the crazy fools that are doing this? And who gave them the right to do this?
It's obvious the pesticides are killing the bees.
I have been looking into getting our own hive and tending honey bees. We have chickens-great fun and great eggs! Next-Bees:)
Nice, the more people the better. :)
Since global warming is a myth, the disappearing of honey bees is obviously a greater threat.
We have a mega-garden since the advent of so much rain this summer in the Plains States. No bees! But thanks to some providence and the wisdom of organic gardening, we have bumblebees and butterflies doing the pollinating. Only a few, but they are getting the job done. We have beautiful big winter and summer squashes, watermelons, cantaloupes, bell peppers, eggplant, chilies, spinach and other varieties plus flowers thanks to them!
I thought this "mystery" had been solved. I read (somewhere-- can't remember where) that certain GMO foods are modified to produce their own pesticide. The pesticide (supposedly) does not affect humans, bees, or other animals. But, what scientists found was that the GMO pesticides were killing the bacteria that live in the stomach of the bees, and so they slowly die of starvation (as the bacteria are needed to digest food, just as they are needed in the intestines of humans to do the same thing-- no bacteria, and starvation follows.) Sorry, I can't remember where I read this, or I would have provided a link to the story.
What makes this an even bigger tragedy is the sometimes miraculous effect bee venom therapy has on some horrible autoimmune diseases. I am currently undergoing this therapy for Lyme disease, and I am more hopeful for some degree of improvement or cure now than ever before. I think that many sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis, MS, Lyme and even some cancers will not only be deprived of a potential cure, they'll be starving as well, from the disappearance of the bee.
Maybe scientists should try looking at what is in the flowers and in the dirt the bees are chowing down on. Common sense says its the inorganic crap being put in the pestisides. If the flowers and the dirt are the culprits then we are eating the same crap the bees are.
would donate to anyone to help overcome this problem. as with most negative problems our selected servants in dc,district of criminals,are 2nd on the blame list,we the people are first in line. would assume most of the comments are on target. send any info to bertsargent@juno.com on those under funded and trying to do research. thanks. one worlders are to blame also as they want to reduce the world population by 80-90%,lack of food is away folks. food is short world wide and growing shorter.
1974, Russian researchers Eskov and Sapozhnikov found that bees generate electromagnetic signals with a modulation frequency between 180 and 250 Hz when doing the communications dances. (Note that our GSM mobile system is modulated with 217 Hz). Hungry bees react to those frequencies by erecting their antennaes. Warnke said that the communication impulses of the antennae when touched by a fellow bee can be measured with an oscillograph.This modulation clash explains the disappearance of these irreplaceable insects – they can't tell each other where the food is and leave the hive in despair!
As humans also have electrical impulses in their brains and bodies it is obvious that chronic exposure to electro- magnetic radiofrequencies is going to affect us badly,insomnia headaches nausea vertigo earache tinnitus nose bleeds strokes cancer damage to the foetus in the womb all results of exposure to pulse-modulated microwave emissions from mobile phone systems. Fibre optics is safer! Gill
Signs of the end times. Matthew 24 (i.e. the Word of God) is enough verification for me and as for the chemtrails being sprayed Romans 1:13 cites men being "inventors of evil things" so this to, me is NOT the "spewing of uncited nonsense." All these things were prophesied by God. Why not listen to Him for a change?
do more chemtrailing, that'll teach them bees!
Hey,
This could mean jobs for anyone that can handle a stick with a piece of chicken feather mounted on it.
Some where in Europe, thats what they have to do.
As many here have said, it is obvious that pesticides and GMOs are the cause, and that Aldo explains the obvious reasons why nothing (major) is being done about it. Can you imagine the billions of dollars in profits hat would be lost and the giant corporations that would go out of business if they were to stop producing them? Google Monsanto, the revolving door especially with the EPA) and watch "The Future of Food" online if you don't know what I'm talking about. No way would they give it all up for some bees, nevermind the fact that they are serving as the canary in our coal mine. I'm sure they'd much rather "fix" it later by genetically engineering some bee that's immune to their pesticides, just like their corn and soybeans. Great, thanks.
Sitting around doing nothing about Environmental Issues and Global Warming is like sitting around watching your house burn to the ground.
Luckily, I saw a honey bee in my pesticide-free garden the other day. Funny how a little thing like a honey bee can cause Famine.
I should have said the lack of...
There's a host of factors colliding here. Pesticides are leading the way... Dr Reese Halter's latest book is The Incomparable Honeybee and the Economics of Pollination
Dear Concerned Friends for the Honeybee:
Wow! I could jump in all over the place, on this topic and have a lot to share, that I hope, many would find, very interesting and helpful. My dad, first got into honeybees, clear back around 1950, when he caught a swarm and got the bug! I helped catch frame parts, off of the saw, when I could barely reach the top of the table of the saw. I guess dad figured, since the motor and belt was covered and I could not reach the blade, I was safe enough to help. He started making bee hives and frames to sell, as well as expanding his own numbers. I will never forget, seeing my sister, in a pair of shorts, drawing a swarm, into an empty hive, in the yard. The air was so full of bees, I wondered how she could breathe, but she never even got stung. Not so lucky for me. I am allergic and have died twice and been revived. I still have a great reverence for the honeybee and am hoping to get equipment production going, to provide control cells, of 10 hives
More to add. There are so many great comments here. I know, first and second hand, how deadly herbicides and pesticides are, to the Honeybee. My dad and younger brother, lost most of their bees, on cranberry pollination. The growers think the bees just work the blossoms, but they also get water from the cranberry bogs, which are loaded with chemicals. The first hand knowledge, was seeing some honeybees dying, along the ground, where a man had sprayed some kind of herbicide, the night before. He may have thought, there was nothing blooming, where he sprayed and the spray would soon dry, in the warm evening air, or he may not have even considered the threat to the bees. The problem is, with the dew, very heavy, as it was, most nights, in Carmel Valley, it lifted this dried spray, in the water beads that formed and the bees were taking it for water and dying. In Seaside, there was an abundance of honeybees, working the flowers along the streets and I did not see any ill effects.
Got to come back about the cell phone radiation and electromagnetic frequencies. I remember the dance of the bees, in a documentary. It would sure "bee" interesting to study the activities of the honeybees, within different distances from cell phone towers. This sure is an eye-opener. Can you believe, anyone could allow a cell phone tower, near a school? I can send you a photo. Anyone who is inspired to keep a few hives of bees, is welcome to contact me at fourwinds2525@hotmail.com and learn how I am trying to fund this production project. I recommend, for several small beekeepers, to start local cooperatives, to share a bee truck and extracting facilities, to keep costs down and share notes, even here, as well. I regret that I cannot work the bees, but I will do all I can, to help them, expand in numbers and diversify their locations. One contact, was the president of the FIJI Beekeepers Association. Any lights coming on? There is so much we can do, to diversify the honeybee!
i belive that the bees are disapearing because of so many contamination out in the air.an example is in los angelea california ,if you look in the air and its all contaminated and that just might be causing them to react and die . another reason might be a bactiria eating the bees all of them causing the dissapearance
racatantoon is a racatantoon bees are cool they are racatantoons hahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahhaahahahahahahahahaha RACATANTOONS hahahahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahahhahahahhahahhahahahahhahahhahaha bees are dieing fast rally RACATATOON tis is not like faicial care ths is bad bees are dieing so fast oh on what are we going to dt now?
the word but is the biggest most wonderful thing any one can have...
einstein said that if the bee disappeared humans would have about 4 years of life left on earth...
Our life revolves around bees, literally!
I think that honey bees dying is a greater tragedy than global warming because they produce honey a major part of our diet and food source for humans
I don´t think bees are dissapering because i love honey
I have 180 hives and a great farm. We cant do without the bees. Its impossible. Think about that.
Could it be something with the bees drinking bad water? I always see them drinking at a septic flow or at the pool. could it be that?
Could it be something with the bees drinking bad water? I always see them drinking at a septic flow or at the pool. could it be that?
Could it be something with the bees drinking bad water? I always see them drinking at a septic flow or at the pool. could it be that?
Could it be something with the bees drinking bad water? I always see them drinking at a septic flow or at the pool. could it be that?
This site has some ideas on helping:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2214229_help-save-honeybees.html
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