Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Could There Be No More Honey in Ten Years Time?

The Guardian has a worrying story on how colony collapse disorder which has affected bee colonies in the USA could be coming over to the UK.

In the US, up to 80% of colonies in some states have been destroyed and this has a knock on effect when it comes to pollination. Defra estimates that bees contribute £165 million to the UK economy by pollination farmers crops for free, so it seems a little strange that the UK government can't find £8 million to fund research into ways to stop this.

Perhaps someone should give the Hilary Benn, the environment minister a basic biology lesson in how the food chain works and what happens when you start removing an important part of it

James Lovelock touches on items such as this in his excellent The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth Is Fighting Back - and How We Can Still Save Humanity. While he concentrates on climate change in the book, his explanation of feedback loops illustrates what can changes happen and how the can have far greater effects elsewhere.

The full Guardian article can be read at Honey bees 'wiped out in 10 years'

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