Bee Very Concerned!

Trey Smith

Newly published scientific evidence is bolstering calls for greater regulation of some of the world’s most widely used pesticides and genetically modified crops.

Earlier this year, three independent studies linked agricultural insecticides to colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon that leads honeybees to abandon their hives.

Beekeepers have reported alarming losses in their hives over the last six years. The USDA reports the loss in the United States was about 30 percent in the winter of 2010-2011.

Bees are crucial pollinators in the ecosystem. Their loss also impacts the estimated $15 billion worth of fruit and vegetable crops that are pollinated by bees in the United States.

The studies, conducted in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, all pointed to neonicotinoids, a class of chemicals used widely in U.S. corn production, as likely contributors to colony collapse disorder. The findings challenged the EPA’s position—based on studies by Bayer CropScience, a major producer of the neonicotinoid clothianidin — that bees are only exposed to small, benign amounts of these insecticides.
~ from A Last (Chemical) Gasp for Bees? by Shannan Stoll ~

Here's a thought to think about: No bees, no food! It's probably not quite THAT dramatic, but bees play a critical role in the viability of human life. If bees were to become extinct, we would all be in a world of hurt!

Since this is a simple truth understood by scientists, why would some of them turn a blind eye?

The answer is twofold. The first, of course, is about money. The corporations that manufacture and sell neonicotinoids don't want to lose their cash cow! The insecticides they peddle have made them very rich and they like being very rich. If their being rich means danger to our shared ecosystem, then that's the price we all must pay.

I suspect the second reason is that these same folks believe that technology will save us. If all the bees die off, then they magically will invent some new [vile] substance to take the place of bees in the pollination process.

Me thinks Mother Nature will not be amused and will show these greedy dunderheads that she is not the kind of person to mess with. I think her message will be crystal clear: You want to kill my bees? Fine. Then you won't eat!