Comments on: Impact of CCD on US Agriculture http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/ The premier natural history series Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:46:57 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Our Turn to Help Bees « Distant Gardens http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-12295 Our Turn to Help Bees « Distant Gardens Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:55:35 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-12295 [...] You can find more information on ways to help the honey bee population survive, as well as updates on the latest research and  resources on the NATURE site. [...] [...] You can find more information on ways to help the honey bee population survive, as well as updates on the latest research and  resources on the NATURE site. [...]

]]> By: Russ Hoover http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-12283 Russ Hoover Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:18:40 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-12283 This could be coincidence, but every year around this time I'm always fighting off flies and wasps that hang around the front door & windows. This year I've seen none. There's been a few gnats but even they seem thinned out. The other day a fly got into my car apparently through the window & it was about half the size they've been in the past. Mind you I'm not complaining but it's been noticeable & might be related to what's happening in the bee world. This could be coincidence, but every year around this time I’m always fighting off flies and wasps that hang around the front door & windows. This year I’ve seen none. There’s been a few gnats but even they seem thinned out. The other day a fly got into my car apparently through the window & it was about half the size they’ve been in the past. Mind you I’m not complaining but it’s been noticeable & might be related to what’s happening in the bee world.

]]> By: Chris Turnbull http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-1746 Chris Turnbull Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:01:51 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-1746 One thing that all of us can do to help is to make our homes and gardens as bee friendly and as conducive to alternate pollinators such as solitary bees as possible. Plant a wide variety of flowering plants, let land return to native vegetation and don't mow unused land all the time, let the wildflowers grow on it. And avoid chemicals and pesticides. One thing that all of us can do to help is to make our homes and gardens as bee friendly and as conducive to alternate pollinators such as solitary bees as possible. Plant a wide variety of flowering plants, let land return to native vegetation and don’t mow unused land all the time, let the wildflowers grow on it. And avoid chemicals and pesticides.

]]> By: Meli http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-1137 Meli Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:49:22 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-1137 Let's review. The United States LOST HALF OF ITS BEE COLONIES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. This not only cost beekeepers and farmers billions, which has been passed on to the consumer along with the increased cost of carbon fuels used to transport foods...it also does not bode well for the future of agriculture, as many of us here recognize. Neo-nicotinoid pesticides are effectively lethal to bees at 0.1 parts per billion, have been banned in France and Germany, and are used on (vague estimate) hundreds of millions of United States food crops. Other chemicals and GMO crops and God knows what else in our man-made toxic soup may also be killing bees, but this one's a no-brainer. HOW does it make SENSE? Neo-nicotinoid pesticides are killing bees. They must be banned. Demand that your legislator do something today. Find your congressperson here, cut and paste: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml Find your senator here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm Let’s review.

The United States LOST HALF OF ITS BEE COLONIES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS.

This not only cost beekeepers and farmers billions, which has been passed on to the consumer along with the increased cost of carbon fuels used to transport foods…it also does not bode well for the future of agriculture, as many of us here recognize.

Neo-nicotinoid pesticides are effectively lethal to bees at 0.1 parts per billion, have been banned in France and Germany, and are used on (vague estimate) hundreds of millions of United States food crops.

Other chemicals and GMO crops and God knows what else in our man-made toxic soup may also be killing bees, but this one’s a no-brainer. HOW does it make SENSE?

Neo-nicotinoid pesticides are killing bees. They must be banned. Demand that your legislator do something today.

Find your congressperson here, cut and paste:
https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Find your senator here:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

]]> By: concerned mom of 2 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-1119 concerned mom of 2 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:20:26 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-1119 I am curious if there is a link, in addition to Rue Gomes' posting of pesticides, between CCD and GMO plants? I am curious if there is a link, in addition to Rue Gomes’ posting of pesticides, between CCD and GMO plants?

]]> By: Ralph M Woods http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-1072 Ralph M Woods Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:48:48 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-1072 In the discussion of the bumblebees are they affected as the honeybees? In the discussion of the bumblebees are they affected as the honeybees?

]]> By: diane lopez http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-133 diane lopez Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:27:08 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-133 i live in the central higlands of mexico and watched this program via big dish, my husband is a firefighter for our city and gets bee calls all the time. sometime s they have to kill the bees due to agressive behavior to children and farm anamils. he and several fire fighters know of the problem and try to save the bees , either by bagging them or getting a bee keeper to rescue them. i liked your story as he did, but what more can we do? to save the bees? we want to help how can we. he is interviewed on radio 1 time per month how can he present this topic ? we raise in this area broccoli, cabbage, squach, spinnich, tomatoes and carrots so bee are a need here. also corn. thank you and please follow this up with what are the results of any new studies. thank you diane i live in the central higlands of mexico and watched this program via big dish, my husband is a firefighter for our city and gets bee calls all the time. sometime s they have to kill the bees due to agressive behavior to children and farm anamils. he and several fire fighters know of the problem and try to save the bees , either by bagging them or getting a bee keeper to rescue them. i liked your story as he did, but what more can we do? to save the bees? we want to help how can we. he is interviewed on radio 1 time per month how can he present this topic ? we raise in this area broccoli, cabbage, squach, spinnich, tomatoes and carrots so bee are a need here. also corn. thank you and please follow this up with what are the results of any new studies. thank you diane

]]> By: Rue Gomes http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-105 Rue Gomes Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:12:45 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-105 Very horrifying to think of a world without bees. Wonder if anyone has considered the long lasting affects of pesticides? Just because bees dies off immediately on a concentration of pesticides , does not mean they don't die off later on "after effects". When one thinks about it , in this world & day& age is there truly any organic plants left? I don't think so. The compounding & even the most miniscule remants of chemicals could do harm. Very horrifying to think of a world without bees. Wonder if anyone has considered the long lasting affects of pesticides? Just because bees dies off immediately on a concentration of pesticides , does not mean they don’t die off later on “after effects”. When one thinks about it , in this world & day& age is there truly any organic plants left? I don’t think so. The compounding & even the most miniscule remants of chemicals could do harm.

]]> By: Bill Brandt http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-80 Bill Brandt Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:46:35 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-80 There are so many interesting facts that I am watching this a 2nd time to absorb. Many things to comment on, but one outstanding thing is the harm insufficient and poor scientific testing and analysis - the program debunked the use of cell phone radio waves as a cause. And this was all caused by a German scientist who did a simple test with a cell phone near a hive.Fhe "findings" went around the world... Once could take this "insufficient scientific analysis" to all sorts of current day topics... There are so many interesting facts that I am watching this a 2nd time to absorb. Many things to comment on, but one outstanding thing is the harm insufficient and poor scientific testing and analysis – the program debunked the use of cell phone radio waves as a cause. And this was all caused by a German scientist who did a simple test with a cell phone near a hive.Fhe “findings” went around the world…

Once could take this “insufficient scientific analysis” to all sorts of current day topics…

]]> By: larry deemer http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/37/comment-page-1/#comment-68 larry deemer Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:39:11 +0000 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/2008/06/02/impact-of-ccd-on-us-agriculture/#comment-68 Generally excellent and engaging presentation. One major omission: any reference to the role of native "wild" or solitary bees in pollination, vulnerability to the suspected agents of CCD in honey bees, the spread of the CCD phenomenon, and potential for contributing to solutions. This omission is remarkable since native solitary bees are more efficient pollinators (possibly 80X more) than honey bees. I would hope that this omission would be rectified in any follow-up report, even if it is only to disclose the causes/extent of decline in native wild bees and that they have no relation to the cause(s) of the decline of honey bees. One minor deficiency in the report: the appearance of a pathogen (I think it was a bacterium) in all hives was a reason for discounting that pathogen as a major cause of CCD but the appearance of the Israeli-type virus in all hives somehow was not grounds for discounting it but was presented as a favorable factor in making the virus a culprit in the demise of the bees. Seems like a contradiction or incomplete reporting. Thanks for this timely investigative report and especially so for presenting it in advance of any definitive conclusion to the bee decline story. The effect on public awareness was sufficient justification for presenting the problem (and the initial scientific sleuthing) even without a satisfactory solution/conclusion. Generally excellent and engaging presentation. One major omission: any reference to the role of native “wild” or solitary bees in pollination, vulnerability to the suspected agents of CCD in honey bees, the spread of the CCD phenomenon, and potential for contributing to solutions. This omission is remarkable since native solitary bees are more efficient pollinators (possibly 80X more) than honey bees. I would hope that this omission would be rectified in any follow-up report, even if it is only to disclose the causes/extent of decline in native wild bees and that they have no relation to the cause(s) of the decline of honey bees.

One minor deficiency in the report: the appearance of a pathogen (I think it was a bacterium) in all hives was a reason for discounting that pathogen as a major cause of CCD but the appearance of the Israeli-type virus in all hives somehow was not grounds for discounting it but was presented as a favorable factor in making the virus a culprit in the demise of the bees. Seems like a contradiction or incomplete reporting.

Thanks for this timely investigative report and especially so for presenting it in advance of any definitive conclusion to the bee decline story. The effect on public awareness was sufficient justification for presenting the problem (and the initial scientific sleuthing) even without a satisfactory solution/conclusion.

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