Honeybees and Jesus Christ

[Christina]

Honeybees Vanishing, Food Shortages Coming?“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”This quote from Albert Einstein is quite chilling in light of the current crisis in the bee population.In the past six months, bee populations in the United States have undergone the most massive decimation in history. Since last November, beekeepers on the east coast have lost more than 70 percent of their bees, while those on the west coast report losses of up to 60 percent. Some beekeepers have lost 90 percent of their colonies. The phenomenon is “gradually assuming catastrophic proportions,” reports Spiegel Online (March 22).This plague has the potential to not only wipe out the beekeeping industry, but also to severely impact the country’s economy and threaten its food supply. Bee pollination is relied upon for 30 percent of the U.S. food supply, with $14 billion worth of seeds and crops being pollinated by bees each year. Spiegel Online reports that in the U.S., “bees are dying in such dramatic numbers that the economic consequences could soon be dire” (ibid.). “If we continue to lose honeybees at this rate,” Mike Adams, executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center non-profit group said, “we may find ourselves in a dire food supply emergency that will not be easily solved.” He calls the current food production situation a “food bubble.”Though most extensive in America, decimation of bee populations is also occurring in the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, some countries in Europe. The past winter in Britain—where bees contribute up to £1 billion to the economy annually—honeybee colonies have been wiped out at twice the usual rate or worse in some areas. It is estimated that two thirds of bee colonies in London have been destroyed. “It’s frightening,” says John Chapple, the chairman of the London Beekeepers’ Association. “The mortality rate is the highest in living memory and no one seems to know what’s behind it.”Although scientists are indeed at a loss to explain what is causing the eradication of millions of bees—which are simply disappearing without trace—the use of pesticides on crops is seen as a major factor contributing to what is being termed Colony Collapse Disorder. Some believe genetically modified crops could also be a cause; the epidemic is greatest in the U.S., where genetically modified crops are the most widespread.Whatever the specific causes, the mass death of bees is a curse brought on by mankind not living in accordance with God’s laws. It could yet become a much greater curse, contributing to the famines prophesied in the Bible to occur on an epidemic scale at the time of the end, shortly before the return of Jesus Christ to Earth.

 

[Christina]

Mysterious Bee Losses Continue; Threaten Crops• Beekeepers baffled, farmers worried• Colony collapse disorder now found in 24 states, CanadaApril 12, 2007by Ching LeeCentral Valley Business TimesBeekeepers nationwide are opening their hives and finding them empty, a baffling phenomenon that has researchers scratching their heads and farmers worrying about their crops.The bees are mysteriously vanishing and no one is sure why. Instead of thriving colonies, beekeepers say they're typically finding only a queen and a few attendants left -- but no trace of the other bees, not even their bodies.Known as colony collapse disorder, the problem has affected beekeepers in 24 states and Canada, with some losing as much as 25 percent to more than 75 percent of their hives. The sudden unexplained losses have not only been a financial detriment to many beekeepers but could threaten billions of dollars worth of crops that depend on the insects for pollination.In a legislative hearing before the House Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture in March, Gene Brandi, a Merced County beekeeper and chairman of the California State Beekeepers Association, told lawmakers that while bee losses are not uncommon, the current ailment plaguing bee colonies is much more serious.He says about 40 percent of his colonies died over the winter, his greatest loss in 30 years of business. That equates to a loss of nearly $60,000 in pollination income and another $20,000 in bulk bee sales, plus a cost of $48,000 to restock the 800 dead hives."Even though my loss is substantial, other beekeepers throughout the country have suffered much great losses," he says. "Beekeepers who lost over 50 percent of their colonies will have difficulty making up their losses from their own colonies as I plan to do."Bees pollination is involved in the production of a wide range of fruits, vegetables and forage crops, but it is perhaps most critical in the production of almonds. Nearly 1.4 million bee colonies are needed each year to help California's almond growers set nearly 600,000 acres of this crop, now worth more than $2.4 billion annually. California produces 80 percent of the world's almonds, according to the Almond Board of California.Other crops dependent on honeybee pollination include apples, avocados, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, melons and sunflowers.But as California's almond acreage continues to increase, the nation's bee colonies are dwindling -- from 3.2 million in 1986 to 2.4 million in 2006, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. In California, there were 380,000 bee colonies in 2006, compared to 520,000 in 1986.To meet growers' demand, bees are brought in from all over the United States and even Australia to work the fields."Each year, as growers we worry about the supply of bees and what the weather is like during the critical pollination period," California Farm Bureau Federation First-Vice President Paul Wenger, a Stanislaus County almond grower, told the House panel. "Our crop fortunes rise or fall on what happens."He noted that he currently pays $130 per hive to pollinate his crop, a steep price compared to the average rental price of $45 per hive in 2003.The cause of colony collapse disorder is unknown, although poor nutrition, mites, diseases and pesticides have all been suspect. There is also concern that some genetically modified crops may be producing pollen or nectar that is problematic for the bees, says Mr. Brandi."Lesser known is the fact that some pesticides can also kill or deform immature bees, adversely affect queen and drone viability or may cause bees to lose their memory, which prevents them from flying back to their hive," he says.The nation's supply of bees was already in danger before the colony collapse disorder came along. For many years, beekeepers have been trying to control the destructive varroa mite, a parasite that has dealt catastrophic losses to the bee industry.Messrs. Brandi and Wenger say research is the key to overcoming these current problems, noting the need for more scientists and bee experts at the University of Davis to study the insect's behavior, physiology and genetics. There are currently no active professors of apiculture on the campus, although one UC Extension apiculturist continues to serve the industry, Mr. Brandi says. The federal government currently spends less than $10 million a year on bee research."The need for additional bee research is obvious," says Mr. Brandi. "There are just too many unanswered questions that need to be addressed if the bee industry is to survive and perhaps thrive again."(About the writer: Ching Lee is assistant editor of Ag Alert, a publication of the California Farm Bureau Foundation. http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/...es/001/?ID=4845

 

[Christina]

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross Published: 15 April 2007 It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail. They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain 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.Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.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.CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."The case against handsetsEvidence of dangers to people from mobile phones is increasing. But proof is still lacking, largely because many of the biggest perils, such as cancer, take decades to show up.Most research on cancer has so far proved inconclusive. But an official Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10 years were 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumour on the same side as they held the handset.Equally alarming, blue-chip Swedish research revealed that radiation from mobile phones killed off brain cells, suggesting that today's teenagers could go senile in the prime of their lives.Studies in India and the US have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. And, more prosaically, doctors have identified the condition of "text thumb", a form of RSI from constant texting.Professor Sir William Stewart, who has headed two official inquiries, warned that children under eight should not use mobiles and made a series of safety recommendations, largely ignored by ministers.