NationStates Jolt Archive

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.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

+ Read the full story (http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece" target="blank)

Something to consider when using cell phones. Should we give up our mobile phones?

Whoa! One of my clients is a beekeeper and he doesn't seem to have too much trouble...maybe the bees have figured out how to overcome it. Evolved bees!

Yeah, lets give up one of the greatest technological improvements to communications (save the internet) for bees.

And even if everyone agreed, try doing it.

so now the killer bees can be stopped?

so now the killer bees can be stopped?

beat me to it..

Yes, cell phones can now be used to defend yourselves from killer bee swarms. Merely point the phone at the incoming mass, and rapidly call 911. If it works, the bees will immediatly become lost and confused. If it doesn't, the call might get through if you're lucky.

So, despite the fact that cellular phones have been ubiquitous in the US and Europe for over a decade and we have been sending wireless transmissions for a century, it only just started to magically kill off bees?

Honestly, I think the use of monoculture crops and the devastation of a lot of natural habitats (as well as all those pesticides) is the main reason for it. The effects of 50+ years of development finally caused these populations to go over the brink and decline rapidly; IIRC, there's a term in population dynamics for the point at which a species can't recover from a population decline and goes in to extinction.

Yeah, lets give up one of the greatest technological improvements to communications (save the internet) for bees.

And even if everyone agreed, try doing it.

well if it's affecting crop pollination (something that is essential to production i case basic biology passed you by) that's not such a proposterous idea.

well if it's affecting crop pollination (something that is essential to production i case basic biology passed you by) that's not such a proposterous idea.

We'd invent robot bees before that ever happened.

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.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

+ Read the full story (http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece" target="blank)

Something to consider when using cell phones. Should we give up our mobile phones?

Actually, cell phones don't cause bees to die. Slashdot > you (http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/27/1724239)

That is all.

well if it's affecting crop pollination (something that is essential to production i case basic biology passed you by) that's not such a proposterous idea.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/wireless23.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder#_note-49

Actually, cellular phones were not covered in this study to begin with, and the actual data involved short-range EM radiation like the kind used in cordless phones, not cell phones. Newspapers misinterpreted the study and ran with it, which caused a bunch of others to do so and the whole mess got out of control.

So, we're all overreacting about nothing. If getting rid of cordless phones means saving bees, I don't think there would be much of a problem or any real disruption.

We'd invent robot bees before that ever happened.

That's actually a damn good idea...we could eliminate the risk of natural disasters on the bee population and not have to rely on them for our crop production. Of course, that doesn't mean we should allow the bees to go extinct; chances are, the reasoning behind this collapse has to do with the way we farm more than any other factor, and that needs to change.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/wireless23.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder#_note-49

Actually, cellular phones were not covered in this study to begin with, and the actual data involved short-range EM radiation like the kind used in cordless phones, not cell phones. Newspapers misinterpreted the study and ran with it, which caused a bunch of others to do so and the whole mess got out of control.

So, we're all overreacting about nothing. If getting rid of cordless phones means saving bees, I don't think there would be much of a problem or any real disruption.

so bet me your life savings that UNITHIU(sp? whatever) knew that before posting.

so bet me your life savings that UNITHIU(sp? whatever) knew that before posting.

I don't think so...hell, I didn't even know it until I read the Wikipedia article.

so bet me your life savings that UNITHIU(sp? whatever) knew that before posting.

Nope, I didn't know at all. But I do know how much people who rely on cell phones rely on cell phones.

Nope, I didn't know at all. But I do know how much people who rely on cell phones rely on cell phones.
True, but people rely more on eating than they do their cell phones. Bees are a keystone in food production.

Honestly, I think the use of monoculture crops and the devastation of a lot of natural habitats (as well as all those pesticides) is the main reason for it. The effects of 50+ years of development finally caused these populations to go over the brink and decline rapidly; IIRC, there's a term in population dynamics for the point at which a species can't recover from a population decline and goes in to extinction.
Um... the problem is not with the wild hives, but the kept hives. So monoculture crops + loss of habitat have next to nothing to do with it.

Um... the problem is not with the wild hives, but the kept hives. So monoculture crops + loss of habitat have next to nothing to do with it.

I would think that loss of habitat would increase the risk of contact between wild and kept bees, introducing possibly dangerous wild diseases in to the kept hives, which are already suffering from elevated stress levels and weakened health to begin with because of things like pesticides and bee renting.

And I would think that monoculture makes them more vulnerable to disruptions in those crops or diseases that affect bees that rely on those crops; since most bees are used for pollination and not honey, they come in to contact with these crops and it might expose them to diseases that would not be as common in a more varied habitat.

But I don't know for sure since I don't have any in-depth knowledge of bees and their environment.

Colony collapse disorder actually isn't all that new. At least that is what the bloomberg article about it a few months back indicated.

I go with the german nicotine based pesticide theory.

True, but people rely more on eating than they do their cell phones. Bees are a keystone in food production.

I imagine, if cell phones were involved (and it doesn't look like they are), you could simply restrict their use in areas where bee populations are kept and where crops are grown.

That's actually a damn good idea...we could eliminate the risk of natural disasters on the bee population and not have to rely on them for our crop production. Of course, that doesn't mean we should allow the bees to go extinct; chances are, the reasoning behind this collapse has to do with the way we farm more than any other factor, and that needs to change.
until one day...

Your honey and your mind are belong to us! Bow before your Queen!

I hate bees. That's why they're dying off. Nothing I truly dislike ever lasts long. :)

Well I know the story your speaking of here. The information I have read on this problem also points to the last time this happened on this scale was in the 1850's. Surely there were no cell phones at that time. I would look at a natural cause before I pointed at things such as "cell phones".

Yeah, lets give up one of the greatest technological improvements to communications (save the internet) for bees.

And even if everyone agreed, try doing it.

If push comes to shove, and this is accurate science, we'll have to give them up, because we depend on bees to pollinate too large a percentage of our food supply on the planet. No bees, no humans, and that's not an exaggeration. What's more important to you--your Blackberry Borg-implant or eating? And a lot of this pollenization we can't do artificially either.

I hate bees. That's why they're dying off. Nothing I truly dislike ever lasts long. :)

how can you not like bees? they're so sweet and crunchy, just like dime bars only more exciting.

And a lot of this pollenization we can't do artificially either.

*imagines masses of immigrants and poor kids running around pollinating all the flowers*


http://www.behindthelyrics.com/serendipity/uploads/BTL-BeeGirl.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/df/BumblebeeMan.gif/200px-BumblebeeMan.gif


ah, that's the stuff

If push comes to shove, and this is accurate science, we'll have to give them up, because we depend on bees to pollinate too large a percentage of our food supply on the planet. No bees, no humans, and that's not an exaggeration. What's more important to you--your Blackberry Borg-implant or eating? And a lot of this pollenization we can't do artificially either.

Hopefully, mobile phones will be banned. And beepers too.

Not because it will save the bees, I don't think it will at all, but because they bug the hell out of me.

I doubt it because its probably the pesticides, otherwise we would be able to test this theory better and the tests are inconclusive still.

My theory is it's not the phones but people aerial spraying with those nice toxic pesticides which cover the poor old bees as they do their work and take the poison home. In the time, the pesticide poisons the hive because the workers are taking the pesticide back home by accident.

If push comes to shove, and this is accurate science, we'll have to give them up, because we depend on bees to pollinate too large a percentage of our food supply on the planet. No bees, no humans, and that's not an exaggeration. What's more important to you--your Blackberry Borg-implant or eating? And a lot of this pollenization we can't do artificially either.

I doubt it because its probably the pesticides, otherwise we would be able to test this theory better and the tests are inconclusive still.

Actually, a parasitic fungus appears to be the culprit.

Slashdot may have its flaws, but it does tend to get accurate information on these types of discoveries fairly quickly...

Actually, cell phones don't cause bees to die. Slashdot > you (http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/27/1724239)

That is all.

Hopefully, mobile phones will be banned. And beepers too.

Not because it will save the bees, I don't think it will at all, but because they bug the hell out of me.

Well, if it doesn't save bees, it will save people from dying on the road. I can't count how many people I know getting in wrecks because of a damn cell phone.