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New Week - New Danger- Extinction in Four Years

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    New Week - New Danger- Extinction in Four Years

    Since its been a while since we had a good bit of Doom here -

    Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".




    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 handsets

    Evidence 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.

    #2
    Originally posted by AlfredJPruffock View Post
    ...The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. ....
    Autumn 2006.
    Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

    Comment


      #3
      nothing will get done, we will just bumble along
      Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.

      Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead.

      Comment


        #4
        Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

        A genius? Yes.

        A biologist? No.

        Comment


          #5
          Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby.
          No it didn't. It was DECT cordless phones.

          Why have you copied an article from Sunday, 15 April 2007
          Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

          Comment


            #6
            Don't worry about it.

            There will be some bright spark along soon to invent a mechanical process to make honey, pollinate flowers etc, so we don't need those pesky bees anymore.

            PZZ

            Comment


              #7
              Roll-up, roll-up, get your non-breedable one use only Monsanto Bees here.

              Many types of bee are solitary and non-swarming BTW.

              I can't beelieve we are having this debate.
              Guy Fawkes - "The last man to enter Parliament with honourable intentions."

              Comment


                #8
                Noticed in last year or two how few honey bees there are, seem plenty of Bumble bees though.

                On the other hand when out for a jog, all the weeds, including clover which is supposed to be a favourite of honey bees, seem to be as thick as ever. That doesn't seem to fit with the 4 year timescale. Wasps and many sorts of flies are also important pollinators.
                bloggoth

                If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'
                John Wayne (My guru, not to be confused with my beloved prophet Jeremy Clarkson)

                Comment


                  #9
                  couldn't we just get wasps to do it instead - it's not like they have any other uses!
                  Rule Number 1 - Assuming that you have a valid contract in place always try to get your poo onto your timesheet, provided that the timesheet is valid for your current contract and covers the period of time that you are billing for.

                  I preferred version 1!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    So this phenomenon first occurred in the USA (whose mobile phone penetration covers only a relatively small fraction of the available land space) and has now moved to Europe (which has had fairly intense levels of Mobile phone radiation by comparison, for a good 20 years). Slightly tenuous link there methinks.
                    “The period of the disintegration of the European Union has begun. And the first vessel to have departed is Britain”

                    Comment

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