Maybe it's not all it's cracked up to bee

So we've had a few posts about the drastically declining bee population (here, here and here). Well apparently according an article in the International Herald Tribune, cell phones might not be the cause of all the problems. It claims that the study was too small to be significant. One of the men conducting the experiment had this to say:

"It's not my fault if people misinterpret our data," said Kimmel. "Ever since The Independent wrote their article, for which they never called or wrote to us, none of us have been able to do any of our work because all our time has been spent in phone calls and e-mails trying to set things straight. This is a horror story for every researcher to have your study reduced to this. Now we are trying to force things back to normal."

Did we all jump the gun on this or is it really going to be a problem. Sadly, it looks like only time will tell - for now.
(Photo: sweet_srrndr72)

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Updates

On the heels of my recent post warning you to start worrying about our friend the bee, looks like they may be figuring out what's killing them in such large numbers--a virus and a parasite. But don't get excited that they may have a cure. Seems like a story I heard on radio a couple of weeks back indicated that the problem was feared to be a decline in the bees' immunity systems, which would allow other viruses and parasites access even if we stop these. The problem would be stopping the immunity loss. If that's what the problem really is. In any case, we'll keep watching this because the implications, strange as they may seem, really are enormous. . . . And the Financial Times has glommed onto the problem posed by fraud in the carbon credits markets, with descriptions you should be familiar with from this blog by now but also one or two new things. As we've said before, this "solution" poses more problems than it's worth when there are other, less delegitimizing options available. Just because they say "market," that doesn't mean it's good or that you'll actually be doing good by playing their game.

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The Birds and the ???

You may not have been following this, but disappearing bees aren't the start of a joke or paradise. We need them to grow our crops, and the numbers disappearing are getting frightening. Maybe radiation or frequencies from cell phones and their towers. Maybe genetically engineered plants. Maybe one too many Lindsay Lohan movies. Who knows. But we're talking something serious again here, and our national media remain what they've been for years. However, now you're clued in. You're welcome.

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9-1-1 for Bees?

According to this article from The Independent, it seems that a limited study at Lanadu University point to the possibility that cell phones and other high tech gadgets might be responsible for a declining bee population. Apparently, this is not only a problem in the US, but throughout Europe as well.

"The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up…

…The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast."

Personally I haven’t heard much about this, but when there’s a quote like this attached, I kind of makes me worry

"Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, 'man would have only four years of life left'."

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