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07-04-2007, 03:27 PM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,322
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Bees are dying
Guess killer bees are yesterday's news, now the worry is they are dying.
"A mysterious disorder that has killed millions of bees could cause $75 billion in economic losses in the U.S., Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said. The malady, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, already threatens $14.6 billion in pollinated crops in the U.S., Johanns said today in a speech at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's main office in Washington."
Bloomberg.com: U.S.
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07-04-2007, 04:25 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,109
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This has been going on for at least 6 months. Ag research folks are trying to figure it out. After the problem with the pet food they are including the stuff that bee keepers use to augment the bee hive diet.
So far nothing concrete.
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Duck bjorn.
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07-04-2007, 05:19 PM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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We've had FAR less honey bees around our gardens this year. In past years there were oodles of them buzzing from flower to flower all over the place. You couldn't hardly look at a flower without seeing a bee on it. But not so this year!
It's sad! Especially since we all depend on them for pollination of fruits, veggies, and, of course, flowers. I hope it's a short term problem that can be resolved!
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07-04-2007, 05:41 PM
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#4
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 377
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GM crops
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07-04-2007, 10:45 PM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,821
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Wasn't there a bee problem the past few years - is this a different problem?
I thought the last one was a mite that was killing off bees.
-ERD50
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07-04-2007, 11:23 PM
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#6
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,856
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
I thought the last one was a mite that was killing off bees.
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That's the one. It's sweeping through the islands too.
However the occasional bee still manages to find my hyperallergic spouse...
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Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
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07-05-2007, 01:10 AM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,125
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My mother is convinced that it is cell phones. I had to ask how bees used cell phones but it appears to be that she believes that people using cell phones cause the colonies to collapse.
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07-05-2007, 07:46 AM
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#8
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,322
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bssc
My mother is convinced that it is cell phones. I had to ask how bees used cell phones but it appears to be that she believes that people using cell phones cause the colonies to collapse.
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That's as good as any other theory I've heard. Or maybe the bees are just fed up with working their little butts off all day just to have the Man come and take their honey. Some of them are escaping and forming their own hidden communes where they stash their honey. Here is one of them:
Las Vegas Now - Breaking News, Local News, Weather, Traffic, Streaming Video, Classifieds, Blogs - Las Vegas Woman Attacked By Swarm of Bees
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07-05-2007, 07:56 AM
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#9
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
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I had a client that was a bee keeper on a large scale. He moved hives around the US to pollinate crops. He lost his entire business through colony collapse of a large number of his colonies. Scientists are not sure yet what is causing the problem. It might be mites. It might be something else. It might be a combination of factors.
It is also interesting that the honey bees that are used for pollinating crops are not native to the US, but from Europe.
__________________
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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
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07-05-2007, 08:33 AM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SoonToRetire
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Along a similar line, we had a HUGE wasp nest hanging from a branch in a tree over our front sidewalk. Instead of using 'foam', I gave the little buggers a lesson in kryogenics. I used a CO2 fire extinguisher and froze their little *sses butts off!
We've had to have bee-keepers come in a couple of times to relocate a swarm of bees (they were outside, but in an inconvenient area). However, I try to never kill any bees.....relocate maybe.....but not kill.
Wasps on the other hand, though they are beneficial in the garden, will get 'done-in' if they're where they will be a problem to humans (a.k.a. - ME!).
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07-05-2007, 08:58 AM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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I've heard that this problem could be a bigger threat than terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and global warming. Oh, I forgot SARS, drug-resistant TB, and the bird flu.
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Al
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07-05-2007, 10:07 AM
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#12
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,924
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With previous problems (such as mites) beekeepers would open a hive and find dead bees. With Colony Collapse Disorder, beekeepers are opening hives and finding just a few bees; it seems they are flying out and not returning.
My personal opinion is that there is no one cause: multiple stresses increasing over the years and a hard winter just pushed them over the edge.
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"Knowin' no one nowhere's gonna miss us when we're gone..."
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07-05-2007, 10:22 AM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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__________________
Al
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07-05-2007, 10:24 AM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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I'm not responsible for the above post weirdness -- software bug?
__________________
Al
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07-05-2007, 10:27 AM
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#15
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 567
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Peak Oil, CCD, housing bubble, high P/E's... it's a great time to be a pessimist!
Seriously, though, this one worries me the most.
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07-05-2007, 01:00 PM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,322
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
I'm not responsible for the above post weirdness -- software bug?
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I had a weird bug the other day too, a link to the Boston Globe opened up to the Washington Post. Maybe it's global warming.
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07-05-2007, 01:20 PM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,821
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
I've heard that this problem could be a bigger threat than terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and global warming. Oh, I forgot SARS, drug-resistant TB, and the bird flu.
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T-Al, I think you should start a POLL, which is the biggest threat?
-ERD50
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07-05-2007, 02:33 PM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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Which is the biggest threat:
o Terrorism
o Nuclear Proliferation
o Global Warming
o SARS
o Drug-resistant TB
o Bird Flu
o The 15-minute Edit Limit
__________________
Al
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07-05-2007, 02:48 PM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,821
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No, no, no T-Al, first you create the POLL, and THEN we (well, I) complain that you left out the 'right' choices.
-ERD50
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07-05-2007, 05:30 PM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,594
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I am contributing ... just sprayed a hornets nest last night.
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FIRE'd since 2005
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