Why Are All Bees Dying?
Remember when Einstein said that “if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left”? Well, it seems that this threat is at our door. Scientists are describing this as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in which a hive’s inhabitants suddenly disappear. The vanished bees are never found and are assumed to have died singularly far from the hive. If you haven’t heard already, your obsessive cell phone usage may be the culprit.
Scientists are looking for the reasons why millions of bees are disappearing in the U.S. and Europe. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 percent of its commercial bee population, with 70 percent missing on the East Coast. For unknown reasons, bee populations throughout Germany are also disappearing. CCD has since spread to Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Last week John Chapple, one of London’s biggest beekeepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.
This is something that is so far only harming beekeepers, but the situation is different in the United States, where bees are dying in such dramatic numbers that the economic consequences could soon be dire. In an article in its business section in late February, the New York Times calculated the damage US agriculture would suffer if bees died out. Experts at Cornell University in upstate New York have estimated the value bees generate — by pollinating fruit and vegetable plants, almond trees and animal feed like clover — at more than $14 billion.
So, what’s causing the CCD that is threatening our production in our food supply? 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’ behavior 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. According to Dr. Jochen Kuhn, who conducted this experiment, 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 theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously home-loving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.
We know that there has been preliminary evidence of the harm to humans from cell phones such as cancer and brain cell death, but the evidence is far from conclusive because it takes decades to determine the long term effects from cell phone use. 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 tumor on the same side as they held the handset.
So, perhaps our favorite past time of yakking on our beloved cell phones may not only be hazardous to our health but hazardous to bees as well. I think Bill Maher has it right when he says, “But I think we’re the ones suffering from Colony Collapse Disorder. Because although nobody really knows for sure what’s killing the bees, it’s not al-Qaeda, and it’s not God doing some of his Old Testament shtick, and it’s not Winnie the Pooh. It’s us.”
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A pity your image is a wasp and not a bee
for if these finding are true, we all will be in long suffering. and as well within global warming, loss of the creature comforts, berfit of toast and coffee in the AM. Rome on a grand scale, one world government, being governd by the ache in ones chect to find comfort in the heat of the december day.
Scary article. Anyone interview the people who keep bees as a hobby and for honey in their backyards? They might provide a clue to what’s happening. Myself, I think what needs to be investigated closely (if possible) is what with the queen bee? If the top falls or dies, all fall/die. I’m probably way off course here because my knowedge of bees is limited. It is fortunate that one factor was discovered by accident: that bees and mobile phones are a no-no. See the signs near the farm: “No Hunting Allowed. No Cell Phone Allowed.” I’m just playing around here to get a lift in a bad situation. It really is nothing to joke about.
Hey Stan, the problem is there are no clues. The ones that were the first to notice were the honey producers. From what I have read, they just flat out disappear. POOF, and they are gone! Weird isn’t it.
Damn it Justin. I had a rough draft of an article on this issue friday. I thought for once I would be giving you something new to talk about, but you beat me to the punch.
Anyway, yeah this is a weird little issue thats not little at all. No one knows the exact cause yet, but its quite clear that its us, one way or another people are the cause. It almost as if society gets bored easily so its playing russian roulette with four bullets. At this point its going to take a bit of luck to avoid global destruction. If the world has a nervous system then it is trying to fight off the disease that is humanity. Whats the bodies reaction to disease, Fever, the body warms up to where the invader can’t survive, it damages itself in the process but as long as it survives it can heal. The earth seems to be doing the same, its warming up and now its try to starve us out. Luckily for us we’re a highly adaptive parasite, the earth is going to have to get pretty tricky if it want to off us.
That was rather pessimistic. I just got bad news about someone at work so I’m not terribly chipper right now. Oh well an asteroid is going to wipe us out anyway. So it goes.
Wow! I like that statement…very well said Kilgore.
What always gets me about people who shrug this stuff off is how they can’t ever seem to get into their heads the magnitude of the impact of billions of people on this planet.
I really liked your comments…right on the money.
“What always gets me about people who shrug this stuff off is how they can’t ever seem to get into their heads the magnitude of the impact of billions of people on this planet.”
Truer words were never spoken. (Or typed.)
oops I yelled at the wrong author before. I should have said Damn you Unum. Again only because you beat me too it.
IF THE BEES ARE DYING FROM CELL PHONES USE I SAY BAN ALL CELL PHONES EVERYONE EVERYWHERE FOREVER IM SERIOUS
Well, it has not been proven that it is from cell phone use. These are speculations at this point. They really don’t know why they are dying. It’s just so bizarre because there are no dead bees in or around the hive. They simply can’t find them. They just never return to the hive making researchers believe that something has interferred with their navigational system.
I appreciate and agree with your concern. It is a very serious matter and hopefully the cause will be determined soon or we will start feeling the effects in the form of food shortages.
Thanks for your comment.
Yeah the people who did the one experiment with cell phones said it was a very small test and should not be used to prove anything. It’s and interesting theory that needs to be pursued nothing more at this point.
As for food vs. phones, I can’t decide I like food and all but I can’t play solitaire on my dinner, or MP3’s for that matter, then I’d have to buy an iPod….. could we just get mini TomTom for the bees?
um.
It’s been pretty well determined that it’s a virus, not particularly lethal unless the colony is stressed. Which is why it’s affected commercial keepers much more than hobbyists.
Gotta go - my cell phone’s ringing and the people at the next table in this restaurant are starting to get annoyed at my hiphop ringtone.
Is everyone completely blind? They are spraying chemicals on us every day. People argue with me that contrails are the same as chemtrails THEY ARE NOT. When I was a kid, I remember seeing contrails and remember how they would disappear within a couple of minutes after the plane flew by. This is NOT the case anymore. I have personally witnessed hundreds of long streaming trails of white “Lines” that disperse over 60 to 120 minutes staying aloft WAY longer than normal contrails. These trails merge and become “clouds” in a sky that was completely blue just a couple hours earlier. I have takedn pictures on numerous occasions and am mostly disturbed that they fly over my house constantly, everyday, several times a day. There cannot possibly be THAT much air traffic. After all I live deep in a secluded redwood forest. What are they spraying? There are stories ALL OVER THE INTERNET attesting that this spraying is going on nationwide. THIS IS KILLING THE BEES! WAKE UP AMERICA! GET READY!
i like the statement that kilkgore made about the earth’s nervous system and fighting the virus of humanity. It is so interesting. how did you even come up of that
Ever watch a movie called Matrix? It mentions how similar we are to viruses.
[Cerebrl]