The human race is really starting to feel the consequences of their actions. One area we are waking up to is the massive amount of pesticides we spray (especially in North America) on our food that has not only been linked to human disease, but a massive die off in the global bee population within the past few years. A new study out of Harvard University, published in the June edition of the Bulletin of Insectology puts the nail in the coffin, neonicotinoids are killing bees at an exponential rate, they are the direct cause of the phenomenon labeled as colony collapse disorder (CCD). Neonicotinoid's are the world's most widely used insecticides. (1) “The results from this study not only replicate findings from the previous study, but also reinforce the conclusion that the sublethal exposure to neonicotinoids is likely the main culprit for the occurrence of CCD.†(1) For this study, researchers examined 18 bee colonies at three different apiaries in central Massachusetts over the course of a year. Four colonies at each apiary were regularly treated with realistic doses of neonicotinoid pesticides, while a total of six hives were left untreated. Of the 12 hives treated with the pesticides, six were completely wiped out. Neonicotinoids insecticides, persist in “extremely high levels†in planter exhaust material produced during the planting of crops treated with these insecticides. This runs contrary to industry claims that the chemicals biodegrade and are not a threat. These pesticide components are found in soil, they are also found in fields where the chemicals are not even sprayed. Bees also actively transfer contaminated pollen from primarily pesticide treated corn crops and bring it back to their hives. Furthermore, bees transfer these pesticides to other plants and crops that are not treated with the chemicals, which goes to show just how persistent these chemicals truly are in the environment. There has been an enormous amount of research which shows that our current regulations which protect the creatures that pollinate much of our food is extremely inadequate. It's been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals showing how widely used pesticides have a very damaging effect on bees. A paper published in the journal Nature discusses how bees are twice as likely to die when exposed to pesticides; two-thirds of the bees are lost when exposed compared to a third when not exposed. The exposed bees are also half as successful in gathering food. (2) Scientists from the US Department of Agriculture as well as the University of Maryland published a study that linked chemicals, including fungicides, to the large scale die-off of bees that has recently plagued the planet, you can read that study here. In the United Stats alone, the honey bee population declined by approximately 30 percent, with some beekeepers reporting losses up to 90 and 100 percent. More than 100 US crops rely on honey bees to pollinate them. The study determined that fields ranging from Maine to Delaware contained nine different agricultural chemicals. These included fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. In some cases they even recorded samples of 21 different agricultural chemicals. Europe also recently recorded the largest bee loss in their history. Not only have these pesticides been linked to various health ailments, they are killing bees all over the world. It's not just bees, the disappearance of Monarch Butterflies has also been linked to Monsanto's roundup herbicide. It's time we completely ban something that has absolutely no reason to exist, we can do better than this. As we continue to take actions like this we continue to see that how we are currently doing things simply cannot be sustained. This type of issue does not just reflect how we treat nature but also reflects how we operate as a whole. If money wasn't so important, we wouldn't be finding unnatural ways to do everything on this planet. If we weren't so concerned with maintaining an economy, issues such as these wouldn't affect us. This is all a perfect lesson for us to ask “what the heck are we doing to our planet?†We are at a point where our very survival is now threatened because we are fighting so hard to maintain a system we all don't like anyway. “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.†-Albert Einstein Related CE Articles: Not Just Bees: Disappearance of Monarch Butterflies Linked To Monsanto's Roundup Herbicide American Scientists Confirm: Pesticides Are Killing Honey Bees 30 Million Bees Found Dead In Elmwood Canada US Government Sued For Pesticides Killing Millions of Bees EPA Approved GMO Insecticide Responsible For Killing Off Bees & Puts Entire Food Chain at Risk More Than 25,000 Bees Found Dead In Oregon Parking Lot European Union Votes To Ban Pesticides Linked to Bee Deaths For more information on how pesticides are harming human health, click HERE (1)http://www.bulletinofinsectology.org/pdfarticles/vol67-2014-125-130lu.pdf (2)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3250423/?tool=pubmed
Sad to hear. My property is one of the few on my block that isn't regularly doused with lawn chemicals and I notice a huge difference in the amount of insect life. Insects are a pain sometimes but they're an important part of our ecosystem.
While I wouldn't want to lose our bees, I never liked that quote. First, I doubt Einstein actually said that.. Colony collapse disorder was always around, but didn't start spiraling til 20 years after he died, and another 20 years til the first mentioning of Einstein saying that. It was more than likely someone making it up just to gain notice. Second, if bees disappeared, there would more than likely be another pollinator to take their place.. we'd just lose our honey
I seriously doubt they could replace bees. Where i live they order millions per year from australia. neonicotinoids are in most pesticides, like bayer :-/ And the shits systemic i believe, ie, the plant uptakes it
I hate the idea of losing an animal on our watch, let alone a loss that we're expediting.. but with their loss, it'd open up a niche. Niches get filled, that's life. All it takes is a population boom in another species that already pollinates and the niche is filled. We wouldn't die off. Who knows, maybe we'll be left with some sort of super bee that evolved to survive.. kind of like when we brought about MRSA.
um....maybe its only because of the reporting, but did they seriously apply the pesticides directly to the colony as it says? and only half died out? seems to me if thats the case theres quite possibly far more to it then that, although the info gained is helpful even if not entirely conclusive. edit: or is that the point that colonies are getting sprayed directly from overhead? if so, how does that affect most bees who dont live in hives and instead live in the ground or wherever?
This was already proven. America is just owned by corperate media. France and some otheres banned these things a long time ago when their bees died Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
You ever seen bees effected by a neonicotinoids. They look confused, uncordinated, cant fly, spin around n circles, slowly, little insect legs goingthe wrong way. I kept some bees for a year after capturing a queen. Did some experiments with/on them to test the neonicotinoids after watching documentaries. My results were what i listed above and then some. A pile lay dead around the flower i sprayed with a neonicotinoid. And not just that day. Every day the pile got larger n larger. After a week i pulled the flower, but the whole plant was effected since neonicotinoids are systemic. My bees kept dying, so i pulled the whole flower, bagged it, let it dry in the sun, then threw it away into a fire i never stood very close to.
South Africa has also experienced a drop in the bee population. A beekeeper told me that people are killing the bees here too. Humans are greedy and we know is to take and destroy and kill. This world is hardly natural anymore. All we do is kill and harm just to make stupid items for people who are convinced that they need more crap. Humans cannot survive without the natural world but we are just destroying it.
Yea and I heard Monsanto has a genetically modified strain of weed he'll be pushing next. Someone really needs to stomp a mudhole in his ass!
there is no such thing as "good for the planet" Humans are all that matter. We are sentience. The planet and all.of nature are just complex chemical reactions. It has no feeling or sovereign right to exist like we do. Id rather are humans destroy the earth than become extinct -yuri