Does the recent bee death trend mean the extinction of human race?
With the passing of 37th annual Earth Day…there has been a huge shift in consciousness that the planet Earth is prematurely warming due to our over dependence on fossil fuels to produce energy. I was reading an article in Cosmos magazine (available offline, ask for it HERE) and found that a warming planet is not our only problem. It turns out that our honey bees are dying off at an alarming rate.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1087
It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder. There is a history of recorded die-offs going all the way back to 1896, but the recent CCD epidemic that started in October 2006 is quickly becoming a problem that is making some scientists nervous. Why should you care?
I heard a recent quote allegedly made by Albert Einstein that stated: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.” I’m not an entomologist, then again neither was Einstein…but it’s not a far reach to conclude that the extinction of honey bees would cause a bit of financial trouble for the food industry since they rely so heavily on “rented” bee colonies to pollinate a wide range of common foods including apples, peaches, various berries, almonds and soybeans.
So what is the cause? Here is the list of suspected culprits:
- Pesticides
- Genetically Modified Food
- Parasites
- Solar flares
- Bee colony rental stress
- Cell phone radiation
My bet is on pesticides and GM foods.
After doing some deeper research, the fact that Einstein actually made that quote is questionable. The human race may not die off, but I would expect that food costs will increase significantly. I know for a fact that there are other pollinating insects besides honey bees, but the pollinating efficiency of the honey bee would be sorely missed by farmers, as would their honey.
Maybe this is yet another cue from Mother Nature that we are not being very environmentally responsible. There seems to be a lot of political chatter over environmental issues lately. Maybe it’s about time for us to consider becoming better conservationists instead of environmental alarmists. Nothing positive ever gets done when everybody worries about sky falling. The National Audubon Society
produces a bi-monthly magazine covering root problem areas that cause the situations like CCD. Get a subscription to Audubon Magazine and learn how you can do your small part to bring the Earth back into balance.
If we all do a little bit each day, our children will eventually live in a better place!
Sincerely,
Shawn R Pearson
Web Marketing Manager
EBSCO Reception Room Subscription Services
http://www.ebscomags.com
