has anyone heard anything about this? it's an article from the NY Times. ken sent it to me this morning. i'd heard a bit about it on NPR recently. you might have to subscribe (free) to the online site to be able to read the article. basically, we've lost more than a quarter of the honeybees in the US. they are dying of some sort of disease. there are all sorts of possibilities for it. but what it is, well and truly, is a BIG HUGE GINORMOUS DEAL!! many things NEED the bees to polinate the plants. without bees, we're up an ugly creek. there is a map by the article that shows all of the states that reported a loss of honey bees due to "honeybee colony collapse disorder." it's a HUGE amount of states! if i counted correctly, there are only 19 states that didn't find it in their honeybee populations. yikes!
we've got to quit mucking up the earth!! we are doing irrevokable harm! why don't more people see this?
3 comments:
Hmm...I can't believe I didn't know about this. My mom retired from raising bees about 2 years ago but did it for years.
If this is the same situation that I'm aware of, it's been known for quite some time. And it's caused by a mite that infects the bees in a hive and causes high mortality. I don't know if it's caused by environmental damage or if it's just a cycle of change and adaptation. One does have to wonder, of course, whether environmental issues might not be causing more stress or imbalance in the ecosystem that might in some way make it more difficult for the honey bee as a species to maintain it's health.
One thing that a lot of people don't think about and is a small consolation is that there are other types of bees and other pollinating insects. I don't know enough to feel assured that those other bees and insects could completely take over what the honey bee does in this part of the globe - for one thing they don't make HONEY - but perhaps a new norm might be created.
Probably all my fault. All those disposable diapers. DAMMIT! *tears hair*
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