From Vancouver, British Columbia Mark Winston writes
of the precarious condition of the honey bee, and he cautions that the same
conditions that have so seriously affected the bees could likewise endanger
humans as well. Writing in the New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/opinion/bees-and-colony-collapse.html,
Winston explains that about a third of the managed honey bee hives worldwide
collapse and die each year. Winston is optimistic that by observing the bees we
can avoid a similar fate in humankind. The loss of honey bee colonies does not
have a singular cause, but instead the deaths result from the complicated relationships
between many elements. Winston lists some of these including pesticides applied
to agricultural fields and pesticides used in bee hives by beekeepers to
control parasitic mites; fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases; nutritional
deficiencies caused by monocultural crop planting practices; and commercial
beekeeping activities. He explains that the problem arises from the
interactions among the many elements which sometimes result in a synergy or
multiplying of the harmful effects, resulting in the compromise of the honey
bees’ immune systems.
Winston explains that the pharmaceuticals that
humans use often react in similar synergies as the pesticides injuring bees. He
also cautioned that excessive cultivation, chemical use, and habitat
destruction threaten the honey bees, pollinators so important for our food
production. A Simon Fraser University study conducted on Canadian canola fields
illustrates the value of feral bees. Farmers who planted a field earned $27,000
in profit using standard, modern agricultural practices while farmers who left
one third of their equivalently sized farm unplanted to provide food and
habitat for bees earned $65,000 per year. Modern industrial agriculture
designed to optimize crop yields is often stressful on bees and beneficial
insects. Beekeepers also may stress their bees through severe honey harvesting
or excessive pollination travel. Meanwhile, signs of recovery of species
weakened by environmental chemicals and habitat loss exist. Today’s photo
reveals a bald eagle, once rare in the Mid-South, surveying Peace Farm from its
lofty perch.
--Richard
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