[ExI] bees

[BillK]

On 1 April 2017 at 22:32, spike  wrote:
<snip>
>
> Now we are seeing all that same chaos with neonicotinoids and bees, perhaps
> worse this time.  We have pesticide companies funding this and that, we have
> crusader politicians trying to make a name for themselves without a trace of
> the scientific background to even know what is the right thing, we have
> intentional obscuration, we have it all, but do let me insert this one thing
> which is my unique perspective please.
>
>
> The neonicotinoids are probably bad, but we are eager to find any easy
> solution to bee death, and that one is certainly easy: just ban neonics.
> But… how do we stop the Mexican dope growers from using it?  And DDT?  And
> anything else they want, imported from Africa or who knows where?  And if
> so, how can we be sure the neonics were a major cause of the problem?
>
> Moral of the story: lets keep our hopes up, but if banning neonics is a
> failure, let us not be shocked, and let us not give up.  In the meantime,
> here’s what you can do: DON’T BUY HONEY, jump at ever opportunity to not
> devour it even in a restaurant, because bees have a hard enough time without
> the additional hive stress of extraction.  Don’t eat it, encourage friends
> to not eat it, do your part in reducing the market so that beekeepers will
> focus on renting their bees to nut and fruit growers.
>

Neonics is a worldwide problem, not just a USA/Mexico cross-border problem.
I agree that there are probably other factors damaging the bees, but
getting rid of neonics would be a good start. It might strengthen the
bees enough that they could fight off the other problems.

BillK