Open Wide

Open Wide

Sunday, April 15, 2007

The Independent has another possible explanation for CCD (colony collapse disorder), an as-yet unexplained syndrome that has resulted in a 70% decrease in the honey bee population of the East Coast [of North America] over the winter months. Honey bee populations on the West Coast and in Europe have been similarly effected, although not as precipitously. Although the article states that there is mounting evidence that transmissions from mobile devices could be interfering with bees' ability to find their way back to their hives, it also states that the honey bee population in Britain has not been effected. This last bit of info is enough to give me a gut feeling that, unless British officials are lying, the cause of CCD will turn out to be a new pathogen and not increasing amount of wireless transmissions or toxins in the environment. Britain has just as many mobile phones per capita and at a similar population density as the Northeast, but it is protected from many pathogens by miles of water.

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