Monday, April 23, 2007

News Buzz: Pollinators Making Headlines

Colony Collapse Disorder. On my way home from errands, I flicked on the radio talkshow AM station, and what to my wondering ears did I hear but a discussion about our disappearing pollinators, and the honeybee crisis now being dubbed "Colony Collapse Disorder."

On and on went the grim statistics, in a very informative and enlightening fashion, for about ten minutes, which is pretty good news coverage on any day for the humble bee. A Reuters article was read, etc., and people were bid to call in with any suggestions as to the mystery culprit (the exact killer of the honeybees has yet to be identified). And.....THEN...whatever-the-boneheaded- co-anchor's-name-was chimes in with his own "statistics," stating something along the lines of "keep in mind this crisis is not going to affect nearly the numbers of crops suggested. In fact, most of our crops are pollinated in other ways, or are hybridized and do not require pollinators at all. The honeybee is simply not relied upon at all today as a pollinator, and the main function of the honeybee now is simply a cash honey crop." He gave no supporting data.

(And if you buy that un-informed opinion, perhaps you'll love your waterfront view from the Brooklyn Bridge you've just been sold...)

Here are a few of the headlines related to our current and proven pollinator crisis. I have some theories as to some of the contributing factors in this pollinator disappearance we've been experiencing. I'm sure it will manifest in a rant in an upcoming post. But first, here's the news and the conjecture weighing in through news reports around the world.

If you have any newer news info on this, or your own surmises, please chime in! This is a critical issue. Our government is about to dish out a few more million dollars of our money to address this. Perhaps we can add our ideas at a much more sustainable price...

Vanishing honeybees mystify scientists
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1930946620070422?feedType=RSS

Honeybees in jeopardy
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/BUSINESS/704220309

BEES FOR HIRE
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070423/NEWS/704230347

What's killing the bees?
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/04/22/a1f_bees_0422.html


Mobile phones massacring honeybees?
http://tech.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1293113.php/Mobile_phones_massacring_honeybees_

Honey bees are dying off
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxMTkyMjUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky

Investigating Colony Collapse Disorder
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/509

2 comments:

Dancingfarmer said...

you should check out cheryl's blog post about her mason bees
http://freerangeliving.blogspot.com/2006/11/mason-bees.html
She bought her "stuff" at Bee diverse.com
I then bought some there too after she told me where she got it. I like that I can clean them unlike the ones that are just a piece of wood with the correct size holes drilled in. That is the kind I started with---I am going to switch to this type from now on.
Have fun. By the way--you should call that station and tell them what an idiot there reporter is.
Monica

Robbyn said...

Thanks, Monica...I'll check it out. Havent had a lot of time lately, so am playing catch-up. I need some of these...I've been looking for evidence of ANY pollinators around here, and they're woefully lacking. Thanks for the tip!