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Author Topic: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature  (Read 16823 times)

Stan

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Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« on: February 20, 2008, 03:33:15 PM »
Well, my friend the bee inspector has just returned from a conference on the Bee disappearance problem.  As we have discussed before on this forum, they are disappearing at an alarming rate, especially in the states, some places up to 80% of them went missing last year.

It seems our race to get first prize in the "greed" catagory might have done us in when it comes to efficient food production.  The concensus on "why" the bees have been vanishing is that their ability to resist disease has been compromised.  Much like AIDS has done to humans, the bees have lost most of their immune systems.  Unlike aids, it appears it's genetically fixed and future generations (if there are any) will be likewise compromised. 

The reasons are more complicated but center on the practice of trucking hundreds of thousands of colonies of bees to orchards and other agricultural areas around the country has resulted in them feeding on a single type of pollen for generations.  This combined with the stress of trucking them around has doomed them.  Even the bees that have been in ideal locations and not been trucked around, have interbred with the damaged bees and have been similarily compromised.

Someone here on the site commented awhile ago that it has been said of all the bees on earth die, the last human will only last 4 years.  I think I commented that we are sitting around worrying about peak oil, global warming or maybe even total extinction asteroid events, but what will most likely happen is something entirely unexpected will rise up and bite us on the ass.  Like the lowly honeybee.

Hopefully we haven't truly f%$ked ourselves this time.  I suppose we might be able to all survive eating algae.  :'(
Everyone have a nice day!
Stan

mobile_bob

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2008, 03:44:19 PM »
"well aren't you just a ray of sunshine"!!!

:)

seriously one has to wonder about this one and how serious it might be.
at least it is quatifiable by many folks such as the bee keepers themselves, unlike global warming.

maybe like in the "war of the worlds" where the martians are doomed by a infection, something as small as a bee
might thin the herd a bit.

algae huh? hmmmm well it might not be as bad as eating the bark off a tree

algae tofu,,, oh ya,, that sounds delicious

bob g
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dpollo

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2008, 04:10:41 PM »
Another chilling statistic in our food supply system is the average age of the farmer.  I'm 60 and I'm just a young fellow.

Quinnf

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2008, 04:51:26 PM »
Another case of a corrupt scaremongering ratings-driven media feeding bullshit to their readers/viewers and not being called to account for doing so.  "Scare me!  Scare me!  I want to be SCARED!" the public incessantly screams.  Most of the world eats rice, wheat and corn, all of which have been polinated just fine by the wind for millions of years.  If you want to eat algae, well that's fine by me.  But it's just not necessary. 

Quinn
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Stan

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2008, 06:14:52 PM »
The problem isn't the complete disappearance of food, but the people who want to eat as before.  Even a 10% decrease in the food supply will start the ball rolling.  Most people will perish not from starvation, but from the food wars that follow even a small decrease in supply.

So it's not the lack of food that's the problem, it's all of our collective greed and aggression!  If you want an example of aggression Quinn, re-read your post!  ;)

Stan

Tom

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2008, 07:38:25 PM »
And it's started with massive increases in the cost of wheat. It is currently around $20.00 per bushel about 4 times what it was a few months ago. This will affect us all and soon.
Tom
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Stan

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2008, 09:38:48 PM »
One of the things that is heavily impacted by a lack of bees is Soy!  It's been estimated that soy is a part of over 50% of all the foods in the grocery store outside of the produce dept.  Watch out for price increases if Soy goes up!

Sorry bob, isn't tofu just curdled Soy?
Stan

Doug

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2008, 09:43:10 PM »
What about wild bees like bumble bees?

I' have a nice little collony in the shack with my engine. They never bother me, in fact they seem to be good neighbors since my apple production has been good last few years....

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Stan

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2008, 09:46:44 PM »
Yup, bumble bees are good.  they are used for pollinating tomatoes in greenhouses since real bees, when put into greenhouses spend all their time bumping up against the glass/plastic trying to get out.  Bumble bees are just stupid I guess, they just get to work like they're told.  They are also the only thing that has the strength to pollinate a couple of grain crops, can't rightly remember what they are right now.  I'm just temporarily stupid I guess.
stan

Doug

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2008, 09:58:58 PM »
Hell no your not stupid!!!

A bumble bee is a wild bee how much can you expect from a wild bee?

How many are actualy available in agricultural areas after all the death from above is sprayed and domesticated bees are shipped in?
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Quinnf

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2008, 10:03:18 PM »
Stan,

Sorry if that came across as aggressive; that wasn't my intent.  What gets my fires lit is how it seems there's a new crisis every time you turn on the evening news.  And how little attention is paid to the voice of reason when someone passionately screams that the sky is falling.  How many years in a row have we been told that there's going to be a "killer flu" just like the one that occurred in 1917 that killed untold millions of people, only this time it's going to be worse because the CDC chose to raise a vaccine to what turned out to be the wrong variant and ohmygawd, we're all going to die !!!

If you get my drift.

Quinn
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Doug

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2008, 10:13:57 PM »
Group hug......
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken

Tom

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2008, 10:45:04 PM »
Awww.....that was nice, but who farted?
Tom
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rcavictim

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #13 on: February 20, 2008, 11:36:22 PM »
This situation is so dire I feel I should say something profound....but I find myself with a lack of words that can do justice here.
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Doug

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Re: Thou Shalt Not Screw With Mother Nature
« Reply #14 on: February 21, 2008, 12:14:16 AM »
Here is something simple and profound......

Killer bees, and they like apple blossoms too.
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken