Are mobile phones wiping put bees?

[lanlady]

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees
By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross
Published: 15 April 2007

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

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.

more....
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

[dysfunctional press]

1. brain tumors and dead bees be damned...

i want to talk to my buddy NOW.

[marmar]

17. LOL...but in a sad and tragic way.

Cellphones are a nice convenience, but sometimes I wonder if they weren't one of the worst creations ever, whether it be the person who can't stay in his or her lane on the freeway while yapping it up, or the phones going off in the movies, meetings, the library or even in church.

[hlthe2b]

29. or the ass holes who loudly reveal their every intimate detail

on these things in the grocery store, all the while shooting angry looks at anyone who gets too close--as though we have a choice as to whether or not we overhear...

Anyone who still thinks one can use a hands free set in the car and not be affected while driving, need only watch these idiots careen into you in the grocery store with their shopping carts...

[Coventina]

30. Don't even get me started on how much I hate cell phones

I have one, because my husband insists that I have one, but I never use it.

Every time it rings I feel annoyed. I hate being accessible all the time, everywhere.

Plus, cell phones have reduced civility in society. I teach college, and when I look out over the classroom I can usually count about 5 or 6 people not listening, but texting their buddies. Students routinely leave the room to take "important" calls. All this even though I have a strict "no cell phone" policy in my syllabus. I've been told that I can't enforce it, because administration doesn't want to get sued in case there is some kind of emergency that a cell phone could somehow prevent.

Not to mention the symphony concerts I've been to that have been ruined by the damn things.

If every cell phone disappeared off the face of the earth tomorrow, I would be so happy.

[WinkyDink]

2. Frankly, this scares the bejeebers out of me. Even if 100% proven,

the world will NEVER BAN cell-phones, even if they literally lead to our decimation---or worse.

(I don't own one.)

[Deja Q]

5. They're used widely in America and the Western countries...

What about India and the Asian continent in general?

[hedgehog]

9. They have proven to be a boon for many poor people in those countries.

Cell phone towers are cheaper to install and maintain than land lines, so cell phones have become absolutely vital for people in remote regions.

[WinkyDink]

12. Fat lot of good cell-towers will do, with no FOOD

[WinkyDink]

11. Japan, for one, is nuts over them.

[lanlady]

7. me too

It's undeniable that bee populations are disappearing -- whatever the reason for it, it's scary, and hasn't received nearly enough attention from the media.

[malaise]

10. Ditto

I own one but rarely use it.

[Th1onein]

27. I HATE my cell phone

We spend over $300 a month for my phone and EVERY time it rings, there is a fire to put out. But I couldn't run my business without it. Or, I certainly couldn't run it as well.

[gollygee]

3. There are some pretty wacky theories about this

I don't really buy the cell phone thing. There are places where cell phones are more popular and places where they're less popular. Like in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there is almost no cell phone service at all so obviously there aren't a lot of cell phones. So if this were the case I'd expect to hear that there were more bees there than other places. Maybe nobody has checked into that kind of thing though?

I hope it's figured out though. It seems more likely there's some kind of bee disease or something.

[Lerkfish]

6. Its the towers, not the individual cellphones, I imagine.

[gollygee]

8. Well the reason there isn't cell phone coverage up there is because

there aren't any towers . . .

[Canuckistanian]

31. This "Cell phone radiation" thing is ridiculous

If it's RF (Radio Frequency) emissions that are doing in the bees, then how come it's never been noticed before?

Cell phones themselves put out ridiculously small amounts of RF.

And there are far more powerful RF transmitters out there than cell phone towers.

They're called radio stations.

[dysfunctional press]

4. they say that it started in the u.s. and spread to europe...

but weren't cell phones much more widespread in europe before the u.s.?

[Selatius]

13. I am betting the answer might be climatic or biological in nature, such as a yet undetected disease.

And you're right about cell phone usage being higher in Europe than in the US.

[hang a left]

14. Oh for the love of all things holy...

don't buy that crap. Makes absolutely no sense.

Look to the GM crops. They are killing us and the bees slowly. This story needs to be followed.

I happen to know a few thousand people would "LOVE to kn0w what you are on to,

Please don't cower Fitz. WE have placed all our trust in you and only your!!

[GliderGuider]

15. This does not explain all the observed characteristics of CCD

The main observation that can't be explained by this hypothesis is that parasites and predators are not raiding the honey and pollen in the derelict hives. The implication is that the bees have brought back something to the hive that is triggering the avoidance. If they were just dying away from the hives the contents would be getting raided.

[flyingfysh]

16. Is there any proof for this idea?

There could be lots of reasons for bees disappearing, spread of other species and global warming being 2 possibilities. Why pick on cell phones in particular? There are lots of changes in the environment.

[lanlady]

24. it's a theory that's been proposed

--one of several. No one's picking on cell phones but all possibilities have to be examined.

[LiberalEsto]

25. It could be a combination of factors

Let's keep open minds until there is more evidence

[tnlurker]

18. I think GM crops are more likely the cause

They were first established in the US then they came to Europe but have been mostly banned in Europe recently. However, I would bet that there are some lingering affects from the field trials they did there. In the US GM crops are grown pretty munch everywhere so if that is the cause we are screwed as far as the bees and pollinating crops are concerned.

[DemoTex]

22. Bingo! I was just getting to post that.

The RF from cell phones is minute and decreases exponentially from the instrument. Cell phone towers, microwave towers, doppler radars (that every big TV station seems to have now), etc., might be a different story. However, I'd be inclined to think GM crops and mutated diseases are to blame. So does my dad, and he is a retired professor of entomology.

[ThomWV]

19. We Have No Cell Coverage and Bees Are Dead Here Too

There is no cell phone coverage where I live for any network that anyone has ever tried here. We really do live out in the country (actually there is much of WV where cell phones don't work). We were bee keepers for years - we know a little bit about bees and everyone in our family is able to identify them correctly. The bees are gone from here too - and that sort of blows the theory.

[Steven_S]

26. Always good to see first-hand accounts like yours..

The cell phone theory sound a bit far fetched.

[mtnsnake]

20. Nobody will really care until the last thing available for them to eat is their cellphone.

The environment always comes last, doncha know?

[Vinca]

21. This is a huge problem. I plan to pollinate my plants with an artist's

brush if the bees don't appear this year. Okay for a tiny home garden, but what are commercial growers going to do?

[ddeclue]

23. Luddites of the world unite? Oh...sorry I guess you can't

since you can't use the telephone or internet to get together...

:irony:

Doug D.

[Broadslidin]

28. Will our grand specie experience a similar lineage as the Predator, T. Rex..?

A suitable epilogue, "The Clucking Chicken".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6548719.stm