Honey Bees Disappearing!

[Queso]

I'm really curious...did Einstein really say "When the bees start to disappear, humans will have 4 years to live"

 

It sounds kind of blasphemous.... is it a joke?

[freeztar]

According to snopes.com, there is no proof that Einstein ever said it.

 

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Einstein on Bees

[InfiniteNow]

I'm really curious...did Einstein really say "When the bees start to disappear, humans will have 4 years to live"

 

It sounds kind of blasphemous.... is it a joke?

 

Seems it's under debate. The question is difficult because no single living being has ever had ever utterance of sound recorded for future query. Did he say it, you ask? Maybe. Do we THINK he said it? That's up to you. It appears some of Einstein's biographers have been contacted in the matter and stated they were not familiar with anywhere that this came from old Al. This does not prove that he didn't say it, but it does indicate that it's less likely.

 

My searches have led me to conclude that a German beekeeping society of some sort may have falsely attributed the quote to Al to bring their claims greater weight in their pamphlet.

[Turtle]

CBS is doing a short piece tonight, Monday May 7,2007, on the disappearing bees. >>

The Buzz On Saving The Bees - Couric & Co.

 

;) :)

[Michaelangelica]

CBS is doing a short piece tonight, Monday May 7,2007, on the disappearing bees. >>

The Buzz On Saving The Bees - Couric & Co.

 

:cup:

On TV here there was an item about beekeepers sending bees to the States.

You look after them now!

 

I guess, with the drought, there is probably not a lot for them to pollinate here?:(

[EStein]

Anecdotally, we had to call a bee remover today to get rid of a colony(Hive?) that took residence in one of our walls. So, there are at least a few still around.

[josefgraf]

a note to address the importance of spreading this information, so that more understanding can bring solutions to the issue.

 

Here is a way of accessing the issue page, and a lot of informative material:

 

"Why the bees are dying" (click on "current issue" on the home page of evbooks dot net)

 

And here is the home page for

 

Earth Vision (www dot evbooks dot net)

 

A site that presents spiritual ecology, addressing issues by going deeper.

 

Please forward this message to anyone who can benefit from receiving it,

thanks,

 

Josef Graf

EARTH VISION

Spiritual ecology - taking nature to a new level

[Turtle]

a note to address the importance of spreading this information, so that more understanding can bring solutions to the issue.

...

A site that presents spiritual ecology, addressing issues by going deeper.

 

Josef Graf

Spiritual ecology - taking nature to a new level

 

That 'new level' looks like back down into the basement to me Joe. For example from the Wicki article on Steiner >>>

...Other aspects of Biodynamic farming inspired by Steiner's lectures include timing activities such as planting in relation to the movement patterns of the moon and planets and applying "preparations", which consist of natural materials which have been processed in specific ways, to soil, compost piles, and plants with the intention of engaging non-physical beings and elemental forces. ...

 

Anthroposophical discussion here is not gonna fly with good science, unless it roosts in the theology or philosophy sections.

 

Non-physical beings! :shrug: Good grief. :)

[josefgraf]

au contraire, Turtle,

I beg to differ, across the board, on everything you had to say.

 

Most important, of all, is that Steiner presented what he (justifiably) called "spiritual science"

And fly it must, through the whole of the scientific community.

In fact, if you take the time to thoroughly explore all the content in the issue, you will likely come to the conclusion that we, indeed, cannot hope to get by without this deeper perspective. The issues are, increasingly, becoming unsolvable without the spiritual depth in our perspective!

 

So let us work together, not block what needs to unfold, all in its season, even as nature does so well. . .

 

JG

[EStein]

Most important, of all, is that Steiner presented what he (justifiably) called "spiritual science"

And fly it must, through the whole of the scientific community.

...JG

 

I will be kind.:)

[InfiniteNow]

In fact, if you take the time to thoroughly explore all the content in the issue, you will likely come to the conclusion that we, indeed, cannot hope to get by without this deeper perspective. The issues are, increasingly, becoming unsolvable without the spiritual depth in our perspective!

 

I find curious your claim. You imply that, as we progress each day, acquiring more and more data regarding the universe and all of it's parts, we are moving farther from truth and away from answers. It appears you state that, because the role spirituality plays in these discoveries is considered less vital today than in centuries past, we are less likely to solve remaining queries, and that those remaing queries are "unsolvable" without spirituality..

 

I find that very curious, indeed. :)

[InfiniteNow]

Here's a really informative book, available free online, about the issue. I called out a few passages (pg. 198-200) regarding causes of the decline. They also make some suggestions and recommendations:

 

Status of Pollinators in North America

Introduced parasites and diseases have contributed to declines in managed bees. Varroa mite has had a dramatic negative impact on the abundance of honey bees in North America. Bumble bees also have suffered from a number of parasites, notably the protozoan parasites Nosema bombi and Crithidia bombi, and the tracheal mite Locustacris buchneri. Chalkbrood, fungal disease caused by Ascosphaera, nearly destroyed the ability to produce alfalfa leafcutting bees in the United States.

 

For the first time since 1922, honey bees were imported in early 2005 from outside North America after a change in regulations promulgated under the terms of the Honeybee Act of 1922. Bee imports could increase the risk of introduction of pests and parasites.

 

<...>

 

Other factors also could contribute to current and potential future declines in honey bee populations: antibiotic-resistant pathogens (American foulbrood); pesticide use; and the encroachment of Africanized honey bees, particularly in the southeastern United States—a major regional source of packages, queens, and migratory beekeepers for the rest of the country.

[Michaelangelica]

I am a beekeeper in Central Massachusetts who read about Colony Collapse in February. Something in one of the reports reminded me of a description of how termites are said to be killed by a new class of pesticides known as neonicitinoids.

I went to my local farmers’ coop, picked up labels from the various insecticide bottles and Googled the ingredients with ‘honeybees,’ ’sublethal’ and ‘organic.’

A product called ‘Merit’ containing the neuro-toxin ‘Imidacloprid’ came up as a soil treatment for fruit trees. Other products with other cute names were being advertised for use on turf to kill grubs (also earthworms.) The labels promise that all sorts of insects, including adult japanese beetles will be controlled for 12 months (read systemic.)

Visit your local Walmart and garden center and you will find it on all the shelves. They sell more of it every year according to the Bayer Corporation. You remember Bayer, right? They gave us aspirin and other less pleasant products in WW I and WW II. More recently, BayerCropScience has given us the gift of genetically modified rice. You may have read about it.

 

‘Merit’ ‘Gaucho’ ‘BayerAdvanced’ ‘Admire,’ ‘Gaucho,’ ‘Genesis,’ ‘Platinum,’ ‘Provado,’ ‘Leverage,’ ‘Actara’ are catchy little trade names for Imidacloprid, a systemic insecticide that was banned in France after beekeepers staged an angry protest in Paris. Bayer CropScience paid many millions to the french beekeepers and voluntarily withdrew the product without admitting that it was the culprit. Vive La France!

They take their food seriously. Shame on us. Shame on the EPA. Shame on the media for not even mentioning the history of the peoples fight against Imidacloprid in France.

The more stories I hear about the mystery disease the sillier they get. Soon the media will begin to snicker at all of the alarmists who worry about GMO’s and cell towers.

They will sigh, continue to wonder and finally forget about it. Already some are beginning to talk about how we can survive without bees as though it were just another problem like surviving without oil.

 

Imidacloprid is the most likely culprit in CCD, even thought there may be other contributing factors.

Opa Solomon » Blog Archive » A Billion Seeds Of Light

[EStein]

I see that a lot of folks have been stung by the "honey bees are disappearing" myth.

[Queso]

So you think it was a myth?

It didn't occur?

I didn't notice.

Supposedly it was a fungus.

I'd fly away from the hive too, if I was infected with the fungus . .

 

teeeheehhehehehee

[EStein]

So you think it was a myth?

It didn't occur?

I didn't notice.

Supposedly it was a fungus.

I'd fly away from the hive too, if I was infected with the fungus . .

 

teeeheehhehehehee

 

Myth...Yes. There are many bees in my area. Bees are my friends. And, according to the latest buzz, they tell me that they aren't going anywhere, anytime soon. :evil:

[Queso]

That's what I thought!!

They just got sick,

that's all.

Cosmically,

It happens :evil:

 

"Fungus Amongus"