Are Mobile Phones Wiping Out Critical Bee Industry

none | wild bill

[wildbill]

I read about this theory on mobile phone radiation being responsible for the disappearance of bees in our country. I can't post anything from the Independent (UK) because of copyright problems, but check it out at:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

This is a serious problem that has bee keepers stumped. Why is it serious? Because bees pollinate the great majority of crops and Agriculture is our number one industry in America and the economy is being affected as this continues.

Aside from the economic loss, the loss of bees is increasing the price of food in your home and could eventually result in famine in America. Yes, famine.

Whether mobile phone radiation is responsible or not, no one can say for sure right now.

[joonbug]

Add this one to global warming/cooling, acid rain, Y2K, ozone hole, etc

[AZLiberty]

The article says that the bee problem happened first in the U.S., then in Europe. Mobile phones became popular first in Europe, then in the U.S.

The timing seems wrong.

[Scarchin]

IF true - just another problem that American technology abd smarts will solve.

NEXT!!

[Perdogg]

Could you give me a brief description on the theory on how cellphone towers would wipe out bees? Is it just the radiation???

[unixfox]

If only we could find something that would wipe out idiots and politicians.

[AZLiberty]

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby.

It's all those funky ringtones that drive them crazy.

[trek]

"Add this one to global warming/cooling, acid rain, Y2K, ozone hole, etc"

And for the media-based fear mongers promulgating these myths there is one and only one cure for all these ills: a President with a "D" by his (or her!) name.

[airborne]

How about we clone more bees?

Make up for the loss and then some.

Just a thought.

[dagoofyfoot]

Is it just the radiation


Something to do with the way the signal waves interfere with the bee's natural homing navigational system...seems odd, but what the hell do I know.

[fkabuckeyesrule]

OK. So does this mean if we all are talking on cell phones out by the swimming pool this summer then the bees will go away?

[norwaypinesavage]

Actually, there’s even stronger correlation between the incidents of bee colony disappearances and hip-hop music. It’s obviously hip-hop that will starve the world. Ho mus’ go.

[dirtbiker]

If only we could find something that would wipe out idiots and politicians.

Idiots AND politicians.

That's being redundant....

[ASA Vet]

The solution is obvious.

We need to make lots of little tin foil hats for the bees.

[blu]

From Environmental New Service: (no mention of radio waves)

Honey Bees Dying of Mysterious Disorder
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, January 29, 2007 (ENS) - A die-off of honey bees has beekeepers struggling for survival and farmers worried about whether bees will be around to pollinate their crops this year.

An affliction recently named colony collapse disorder, CCD, has decimated commercial beekeeping operations in Pennsylvania and across the country.

“During the last three months of 2006, we began to receive reports from commercial beekeepers of an alarming number of honey bee colonies dying in the eastern United States,” said Maryann Frazier, apiculture extension associate in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “Since the beginning of the year, beekeepers from all over the country have been reporting unprecedented losses.

Initial studies of dying colonies revealed a large number of disease organisms present, with no one disease being identified as the culprit, says Dennis vanEngelsdorp, acting state apiarist with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Ongoing case studies and surveys of beekeepers experiencing CCD have found a few common management factors, but no common environmental agents or chemicals have been identified.

“Preliminary work has identified several likely factors that could be causing or contributing to CCD,” said vanEngelsdorp. “Among them are mites and associated diseases, some unknown pathogenic disease and pesticide contamination or poisoning.”

[COBOL2Java]

Could you give me a brief description on the theory on how cellphone towers would wipe out bees? Is it just the radiation???

I think the bees were heavily invested in landlines...

[redgolum]

There was a similar problem in the late 50’s early 60’s.

I suspect that there is something else going on, but cell phones might be a factor.

[Thermalseeker]

Something to do with the way the signal waves interfere with the bee's natural homing navigational system...

800 Mhz RF was around a long time before cellular.....

[BluH2o]

Whether mobile phone radiation is responsible or not, no one can say for sure right now.

This is a troubling development where bees are concerned because they are essential in the pollination process for much of the fruit we eat. Where mobile phone radiation is concerned time will tell ... it's my opinion that down the road 10 or 15 years from now tumors in the cranium will become a concern and big news item. People who spend hours each day with a cell phone stuck to their ear (like many teenagers) will be the first to succumb to this health threat.

[billybudd]

Because bees pollinate the great majority of crops and Agriculture is our number one industry in America and the economy is being affected as this continues.

Wrong, wrong and wrong. The crops we rely on for most of our calories, such as corn, wheat, rice, do not require insects for pollination. Please provide statistics to the contrary.

Agriculture is not the number one industry in America. The service industry is the highest component of GDP, followed by manufacturing.

The economy is *not* being affected at all by this issue. The economy is showing strong growth for the past six years - there is absolutely no evidence of the economic crisis you allude to.

I'm not even going to address the extremely speculative claims about cell phones and their effect on bees. Your rant in general is unbelievably wrong and naive. Please don't post this garbage here.