I blog about environmental and social justice issues because I am very concerned about the health of the interdependent web of life of which we are a part.

Melting Arctic ice.......beautiful and frightening!

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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Honeybee Collapse and Pesticide Use

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/02/food-fear-mystery-beehives-collapse
The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy....US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory....The AIA survey doesn't give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter. In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides. Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be.
Yet more evidence that we are addicted to oil.  Petroleum is used as the source in the  manufacture of many modern pesticides.  Yet, by using them, we are destroying our food supply.  Ironic.....

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