![\"Bee\"](\"http:\/\/blog.lakamsani.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/bee.jpg\")
\nNot having heard more about it in a couple years, I thought perhaps scientists had come up with a solution to the mystery. I was wrong.<\/p>\n
A while ago there were stories making all the major news outlets about the disappearance of honeybees. No one knew why. Some were even suggesting that cell phones signals were causing it.<\/p>\n
\nNot having heard more about it in a couple years, I thought perhaps scientists had come up with a solution to the mystery. I was wrong.<\/p>\n
The other night I saw a program on PBS that made it clear that the problem is anything but solved. Colony Collapse Disorder, as it has been dubbed, is affecting 35 states in the US, as well as Europe, South America, India, and China. We\u2019ve already lost 35% of the bees in the US, and we\u2019re losing 8% more every year. Honey bees were being predicted to be extinct in the US by 2035 before <\/span>CCD, just from loss of habitat, pesticides, and parasites. Now it\u2019s likely to happen much sooner.<\/p>\n Used to be, a beekeeper would drop off his hives at an orchard or strawberry patch for free\u2026 his primary source of income was honey, with perhaps a sideline in bee pollen, bees wax and royal jelly. However, when truck farming began in earnest in the fifties, apiculture became big business. In 1960, beekeepers were charging $3 per hive. By 2004, that figure had inflated to $60. But since then, as bees have disappeared and demand for bees has risen, the figure now can be as much as $180 per hive, even higher in some places.<\/p>\n In 2006, American beekeepers had to import bees for the first time in 80 years. A farmer now pays more for pollination than he does for fertilizer, water, or labor. How much of that cost can he pass on to consumers before pricing himself out of business? Are you willing to pay $25 a pound for almonds? And farmers can\u2019t quickly alter their crop yield to match market demand; they have to make decisions about what and how much to grow a year or more in advance.<\/p>\n Why should you care? Aside from the cost of your food spiraling up, the nutritive value will begin spiraling down. This morning, for example, I had a bowl of oatmeal with cherries, walnuts, and yogurt for breakfast. The cherries are supposed to prevent gout, walnuts are good for my brain, and the yogurt \u2013 frankly, I don\u2019t remember what yogurt is supposed to be good for, but it tastes nasty, so it must be good for me. If bees disappear, I\u2019ll have no cherries, no walnuts, and likely no yogurt\u2026 most of what cows eat is pollinated by bees. So, in addition to a higher tab for groceries, mankind\u2019s health will deteriorate, raising the cost of healthcare.<\/p>\n Oh, and some of the medicines the doctor would normally treat you with won\u2019t be available, either, because they come from plants that\u2026 you guessed it. http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_RZv9BvQJ-A&feature=player_embedded<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VRBJf57aNp4&feature=player_embedded<\/a><\/p>\n