Underreported: Air Pollution and Bees
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A new study by University of Virginia researchers suggests that air pollution interferes with bees’ and other insects’ ability to follow the scent of flowers to their source, which interferes with the pollination process. UVa’s Department of Environmental Sciences Professor Jose D. Fuentes explains more about their findings and what it means for the pollination process and bee populations.
Guests:
Jose D. Fuentes
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Comments [6]
The main culprit here is MONSANTO, their RoundUp pesticide/herbicide, and their GM/GE foods.
They are primarily responsible for the colony collapse disorder and other ailments afflicting the bees.
Estimates are that once the bees are gone, we will follow in FOUR YEARS.
Please visit http://911liarsexposed.blogspot.com/ for more information.
In response to Tom's posting, there is an interesting article I just found: http://www.hyperstealth.com/haarp/index.htm which mentions the German experiment into cell phones, but dismisses this in favor of the theory that HAARP may be the culprit of Colony Collapse. There is an interesting DVD on Netflix called Holes in Heaven. It's a bit New Age hippyish, but raises some important questions concerning HAARP that seriously need to be addressed, although it was made before the bee thing.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but to me the recent problem with bees is obviously a result of some screw up with the military/police research into training bees: (see http://www.howstuffworks.com/bomb-sniffing-bees.htm.) We have had heavy pollution for decades without effects on the bee population, however the bee experiments are a very recent phenonmenon (1999) which too conveniently corresponds to the recent large scale death of hives.
As a beekeeper for 10 years, I see two main ingredients in the bee collapse. First, bees being used for pollination are only exposed to vast monocultures which results in an abnormal diet (See :"Supersize Me") and the massive combinations of pesticdes now found in bee's wax are weakening the larval stage bees. Add to the mix the pesticides that disorient insects ability to naviagte their environments and you have a tailor made road to disaster.
Are there varieties of bees which are better suited to finding flowers in poluted areas?
Thanks
Can anyone comment on the theory that massive cell-phone use may be interferring with the honey bees' homing system?
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