Aerothorn on 4/5/2007 at 03:22
(
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece)
My family has been taking care of a hive. All the bees died recently under mysterious circumstances. Ouch.
While certainly not conclusive, this seems like a likely theory.
If so, we're kind of fucked. By the time governments banned cell phones (something the incredibly powerful cell phone lobbies and the cell-phone using masses would fight tooth and nail) all the bees would be dead, and then we are totally fucked.
It also mentions how cell phone radiation has been found to kill brain cells. Vunderbar!
Gingerbread Man on 4/5/2007 at 03:31
The problem isn't bee death, the problem as I understand it is the spontaneous abandonment of hives with the added bonus of not leaving a forwarding address.
And it has to do with the relay towers -- and other large EM field-generating things like hydro corridoors etc -- and it's only one of a bunch of current theories for the colony collapses. Not even the strongest one, at that.
My own pet theory is that certain frequencies of radiation / vibration etc are really violently disruptive to the development of a creature's nervous system. I don't have a theory yet as to what the result of such a disruption might be other than slightly malformed (though obviously still viable) neural architecture and associated goodies, but I do like to throw around the idea of sudden and mass disorientation / psychotic break. Because I'm an Apocalypsist like that.
Mmmm... Bee Apocalypse...
Obviously I'm no apiarist, but this subject has fascinated me for months and I've tried to read whatever I can find on the subject. I think it's a little more salient around here because apparently honey is a massive crop in California.
This also reminds me of my utter conviction several years ago that a prime factor in Gray's insomnia and general state of poor health was due to a massive hydro corridoor nearby. I think. Something along those lines, anyway. Who knows what they do in Sweden? They're all crazy.
As far as the "cellies fry you brane" theory goes... It's extremely plausible, but the research is in such faltering infancy that no conclusions are yet warranted. The downside of a positive finding vis a vis cell phones vs tissue is that we suddenly have to rethink almost everything our culture, economy, and medicine is built around.
But yeah.
Bees.
Who knew?
Scots Taffer on 4/5/2007 at 03:41
Are bees the primary source of pollination?
In any case, still a very curious and interesting phenomena, but nowhere near the apocalyptic situation many are touting.
Aerothorn on 4/5/2007 at 03:50
Oh, I'm not saying this is certainly true or anything. It probably isn't. First and foremost because cell phones have gradually penetrated society, and yet (if the numbers are right) 60% of west coast bees all suddenly die in one year. Cell phone use has continued to go up year by year but not to a "all of a sudden all bees die" level.
Also, apparently this only affects domesticated honey bees - which, while very prevalent, means that the world population of bees is not in any danger (as far as we know).
But yes, bees are the leading pollinators of flowering plants. So if bees were to disappear, it would be very very bad.
Scots Taffer on 4/5/2007 at 03:57
But then are domesticated honeybees the most prevalent type of bee?
Playing devil's advocate here, but a) I don't know and b) I'm curious as to how dire this would be.
Aerothorn on 4/5/2007 at 04:04
Quite possibly. Make no mistake, the death of them would be very very bad. Just probably not "all the food is gone and we're all gonna die" bad, more like "big food shortage" bad.
Gingerbread Man on 4/5/2007 at 04:08
My Apocalypsis doesn't revolve around bees, I tried to hint. My larger concern is the proliferation (and unavoidable presence) of MASSIVE amounts of EM in human (well, Western and vast swaths of Easern) society in general. And if this stuff is found to be evil in the cell-destroying way, then we've got a massive problem on our hands.
I don't actually fear or really believe that sort of tinfoil, but I do give it some serious thought and a lot of whimsical thought.
But yeah, as far as pollen and insect // plant ecosystems go, a Bee Apocalypse would be pretty goddamned dire as well.
zombees lol
Scots Taffer on 4/5/2007 at 04:09
There's always those "I lived next to aerial tower and developed cancer/leukemia/inser disease here" stories to give you pause, GBM.
As for dire apocalyptic situations, pffft, I'm only LIVING in one currently. 19% of water reserves left. lol?
Gingerbread Man on 4/5/2007 at 04:12
Exactly. That's what I was saying about Gray.
chimpanzbees
Ko0K on 4/5/2007 at 05:00
Food shortage for the fattest nation in the world may not be all that bad. I've got a keg that I need to turn in for a six pack.
