Honey Bee's “decline” is not Pernicious

Honeybees are vital. They pollinate a third of what we eat. Almost all fruits and vegetables, even our precious cocoa beans, could not exist without them.  So, in 2006, when commercial beekeepers began complaining that their colonies were drooping fast, one could easily see the concern from the media. It was dubbed“ Colony Collapse Disorder.”  Experts could not figure out what was causing the decline. Some blamed it on GMO crops or parasitic  Varroa mites. Some thought it was due to climate change or even cell phones. There was, and still is, no expert consensus. 

There was, however, a consensus among the media that it was far more exciting and profitable to shout we were headed for a world without bees and the dire consequences of such a world than it was to listen to  Andrew Cote’, president of the New York City Beekeepers Association, who clearly stated that the fear of extinguished is misplaced. Time magazine had a 2013 cover story covering the “decline” with coined words like “bee-maggedon and “bee-pocalpse. 

It turns out that Time had interviewed  Manu Saunders,  an entomologist and professor at the University of New England in Australia, and failed to mention her saying:” As a species, the American honeybee is not of going extinct or suffering declines. The number of honeybees worldwide has steadily increased in the past few decades.” 

According to Eric Spitznagel, a New York Times science writer: “The first case of honeybees mysteriously vanishing in large numbers was recorded in the late 1800s in Colorado when it was called “disappearing disease,” long before synthetic pesticides were the norm. The dwindling colonies were blamed on the lack of pollen or sweltering summers. After that, honeybee populations experienced sporadic disappearances over the last century before hitting a 20-year-high in 2015. Globally, honeybees have increased by 30 percent since 2000, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States.” 

Stephen Buchmann, a pollination ecologist specializing in bees and an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona,  said that managed honeybee colonies in the US routinely and steadily drop by 30 percent yearly.  And those numbers don’t even take into account wild honeybee populations. 

In Arizona, for example, Buchmann states that the feral Africanized honeybee population outnumbers the managed honeybees 10-1. 

It is not that the surveys are wrong; they just don’t tell the whole story, according to Professor Cote’: There are winter losses, he says. “ Still, the scare stories keep coming, and it is not that the numbers are wrong, but even a 40 percent reported loss leaves 60 percent remaining.  Then, the colonies rebuild and multiply come spring. The queen bee lays her weight in eggs daily, up to 2,000 eggs daily.”

Some experts, like Kim Kaplen, a researcher with the USDA, think honey bees are not only not endangered but may be responsible for the dwindling populations of the bumblebee, which is native to North America. BLM. Bubblebees' lives matter. 

Bumblebees are much better pollinators of plants. Honeybees do not sonicate flowers, also known as buzz pollination like the humble bumblebee, and has declined by 99 percent in New York State in the last 20 years without any fanfare from the press. 

Alison McAfee, an entomologist who studies honeybee’s reproductive health, stepped away from her own honey beekeeping hobby when she learned the damage her tiny pets were causing.  “If the financial resources and time spent keeping honeybees just for fun and delusion of savings mankind was instead invested in activities that provided a direct benefit to the native species, like landscape restoration or planting native forage meadows and trees, the native bees would be better off,” she told the New York Post in a recent interview. 

Now there are eight states;  Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Idaho, North Dakota,  Oregon, and Wyoming that are missing bees. But are not honeybees, they are bumblebees. There are many possible reasons for these declines, most of them are environmental, but as stated earlier many experts believe that the honeybees are a major factor in the bumblebee's disappearance in the US.  

So then, why all the uproar about honeybees and not the real victims here, bumblebees?

Well, as my dad always told me, when something doesn't make sense, and there is money involved, follow the money trail.  Venice Tepedino, a retired bee biologist, in an interview with the WSJ, stated: “Ask yourself who stands to benefit from the“ honeybee apocalypse: Honeybeezers scientist who want research money and media outlets who want to sensationalize. American Honey Producers Association and American Beekeeping Federation all stand to gain federal grants and research dollars if it appears that honeybee numbers are dwindling. “

So, are they dwindling? No, let’s look at a chart:

Now let’s look at the dwindling population of the Bumblebee:

Figures don’t lie, but liars figure. 

So what are we to make of this nonsense? Or to have a Shakespearean play on words

“To bee, or not to bee, that is the question.?“ The science is precise: except for the Hawaiian yellow face bee,  the US and world wild population of honeybees are fine. It appears that these ants in Hawaii are very aggressive and cause havoc on Hawaiian ecosystems and wildlife, including the Hawaiian yellow-face.  

I think if we can stick to the science of bees, we will be fine. After all, honeybees are important to our food chain and should be given protection when warranted. Perhaps experts can come up with a way to reintroduce the bumblebee in states where it has disappeared.

Ag Daily appears to support my analysis  of the situation:

(Although the honey bee isn’t on the endangered list, many still believe it will soon go extinct. Since this species is known for its role in agriculture, the blame is often placed on the ag industry for Colony Collapse Disorder, specifically related to pesticide use. However, according to many reports, this blame is misguided.

An extensive analysis done by The Washington Post and published in 2017 show bee numbers sitting at close to historical highs. The research showed that since 2006, when CCD was identified, the number of honeybee colonies has risen, from 2.4 million that year to 2.7 million in 2014.

While some loss in individual bee numbers over the winter months is expected, The Washington Post’s report came on the heels of another major announcement related to Colony Collapse Disorder: The rate of loss among honey bee colonies reached its lowest point in years).

This is a clear case; the media has become the message. And clear lessons can be learned from this misinformation on the decline of the honey bee population. Suppose a person like Angelina Jolie can be photographed by the prestigious National Geographic with her beehive, covered in a swarm of bees, proclaiming her contribution to the environment. In that case, it is easy to see how people can be lured into believing anything the media deems NEW$ worthy. This is a wake-up call. The bees have stung our awareness. Whether it is the guidelines for the pandemic, the vaccine, or the Keystone pipeline. Follow the facts from trusted, not popular sources. 

References:

“The Lives of Bees” Thomas Dyer Seeley  KIndle-Google Books.

New York Post Article 09/18/2021  E, Spitznagel

“Why the honey “apocalypse’ is based on a lie.”

Time Magazine 2013 cover article:“ A world without Bees”

“The Reason for Flowers” Stephen Buchmann  Scriber Books 2015

“Queens don’t like it too hot or too cold.” Alison McAfee Organ Press Transcript 166

The Buzz on Utah’s Bees”  Dr. Vince Tepedino  Grand Canyon  Trust

Ag Daily. www.agdaily.com

There Can Be Little Peace When there is Little Regret

 I support Israelis in the recent conflict with Hamas. This does not mean that Israelis have always been on the side of the angels in these ongoing wars with the Palestinians. But for now, we must put this ongoing conflict's deep and complicated history aside. We must put it aside to think clearly.  Santayana's (" Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.") way of thinking must be temporarily suspended. History is clouding the issue at hand. The issue at hand is Jihadism. The issue at hand is Hamas. The issue at hand is a religious, fanatical terrorist group that controls 2.3 million people in the most densely populated region in the world. The issue is that Hamas is driven by Jihadism. There is no compromise in their ideology. None. The infidels must be destroyed. Nothing matters to them except martyrdom. Except for Sam Harris few other scholars have openly stated the obvious. Governments, Universities, and Journalists, all of whom may support Israelis in this conflict, see it more as a historical territorial dispute. This a mistake. It gives credence to maniacs. 

Hamas openly admitted that they did not regret the October  7 attack on Israel and would do it again. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, and Gaza's infrastructure has been severely damaged, if not destroyed. The mounting death toll, many of whom are children, means nothing to Hamas. In their eyes, they are martyrs destined for a better life in heaven. After all, they use these same children as human shields. The territory is only the stage where this horrific script is being played out. It is not the story. The story is about understanding what Jidhaists want and to what extremes they will go to get it.   There is simply no room for regret in their ideology.

The Israelis must understand they are not cut from the same cloth as the Jidhaists.  Their religion and ideology allow for forgiveness, compassion, and regret. They have already killed 10 times more Palestinians and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Many of whom are children. Many of whom do not support Hamas.  This wholesale slaughter of civilians is not only immoral and collective punishment of the innocent; it is a non-productive military and political tactic. Both sides may not count the dead because God is on their side, but the rest of the world is.  Iran is counting. Saudi Arabia is counting. The UN is counting. Russia is counting. American college campuses are counting.  But most of all, Hamas is counting. They don't care how many children die or how many hospitals are bombed where they conveniently put many of their headquarters. The IDF must understand this.   Hamus must be destroyed. Fundamental Jihadists must be hunted down and killed on sight like rabid animals.  But unless the Israelis begin to rethink their understandable knee-jerk reaction to this recent, unprovoked attack, until they begin to have some regret, they grow ever closer to a mindset that will prevent peace in that region, even after Hamus and similar terrorist groups are removed from the equation. 

 

The Overpopulation Myth

                                              

To my surprise, I found that resource abundance not only increased with population growth, but it also actually increased faster than the population―a relationship that they call superabundance. On average, every additional human being created more value than he or she consumed. This relationship between population growth and abundance is deeply counterintuitive, yet it is true and amply demonstrated by the data. The fundamental fact driving this phenomenon, so often overlooked by zero-sum thinking, is the value of innovation. More people produce more ideas, which leads to more inventions and new ways to use natural resources. People then test those inventions in the marketplace to separate the useful from the useless. At the end of that process of discovery, people are left with innovations that overcome shortages,  spur economic growth, and raise standards of living. 

 People, in the end,  are the ultimate resource. But enormous populations are not enough to sustain superabundance. Despite booming population levels, China and India still experienced crushing poverty before their respective economic reforms. To innovate, people must be allowed to think, speak, publish, associate, and disagree. They must be allowed to save, invest, trade, and profit. In a word, they must be free. The underlying point is not just about economic statistics. It’s about seeing the world in a way in which human beings are the ultimate producers of value, not burdens to be regretted and reduced.

 In a time of growing pessimism and zero-sum thinking, Our hitherto surplus offers an important lesson in why misanthropic ideologies are not just wrong in principle, they’re also wrong on the reality of human nature.  For more on the subject, I suggest "Superabundance" by Marian L Tupy and Gale L. Pooley.

Metathesiophobia: The Success behind Trump and MAGA

Change in cultural mores is often not welcome by many in our society. When someone’s comfort zone is disturbed, they find themselves protecting the status quo. Protecting to the point where all rational discourse is dismissed, and undeclared, undefined dogma takes over. Empathy and sympathy are easily removed from consciousness, the same way it is when we are in the flight or fight mode.  A good friend of mine, Joe Sohara, pointed out to me that Trump tapped into this fear of change, and MAGA was created. I think he is correct.  It might also answer how 94 million brains went into limp mode on election day. 

Now, nothing is really new.  We all know there are gay people. They don't bother us that much, and if on occasion one comes out of the closet, that is ok too. But please, just don't remove the closet doors.  Shit, friends, cousins, and even brothers and sisters will be “exposed.” It is the exposure they can not handle. Awareness can be frightening. It requires one to think, to re-evaluate. It is simply too much. We know, we simply don’t want to talk about it. It is better that way. Much better. 

The same holds true for abusive husbands, alcoholic fathers, and irresponsible parents. Rapes and other abuses were often swept under the rug with a swift broom of silence. It was that established hush, hush that kept clerical sexual abuse of children undetected for centuries. 

Few want to see blacks hanged from a tree anymore for flirting with a white girl; still, fewer want to see a black child on a tree swinging next door, next door to the house the child’s parents just bought. It is even ok for blacks to belong to the same church as they do, as long as interracial marriages don't take place there. Once again, they might have to think. They might have to react. They just can’t remain silent. And that is not easy. After all, they aren't racist.

Watching a Hispanic here or there cutting grass is fine, even seeing them on rooftops hurling shingles from time to time is ok. But now, they are starting their own businesses, and showing up in the ER room, not as uninsured illegals, but as PA’s, while the guy down the street is punching in every morning at an Amazon Warehouse.

Then along comes Donald J. Trump. He promises to restore order. To make America great again. To end this chaos of having to think about things like systemic racism, the environment, social responsibility, and climate change. They could hopefully return to the sound of silence. 

Trump was indeed the perfect role model. He really was. He started off by refusing to show his tax returns. Is it any wonder, it was so highly supported by his constituents? Silence. This was personal. This was intimate. It was nobody’s business.  This represented for them the guy that wouldn’t talk. It was held with greater esteem than John McCain’s heroic acts as a prisoner of war for 5 ½ years in North Vietnam. Perhaps, that is why Trump got a pass when he mocked McCain? Certainly, no other candidate could have gotten away with it. 

And how dare they bring up his sexual indiscretions. Clinton was bad enough. MAGA and get back to Camelot. JFK style. Those were the days.  Why do you think they stormed the Capitol? Dixie was burning down.  They feared the carpetbaggers were taking office. Their way of life,  their denial, and silent retreat were being taken away. 

Still, they would not go away quietly. They would deny the election results and rally around the “pillow man.” He, too, is rich and never read a book. Another great role model. They would create their own set of facts and an alternate universe, as long as it didn’t interfere with them making money. It was, after all, how the “Master” operated all his life.  

  

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution is a Logistical Nightmare

    I  just got off the phone with a one of my best friends. He works for FEMA and is flying out to aid Texas in their recent storm disaster. He is very familiar with the problems of supplying aid to many in a short period of time during a disaster.  When I express to him my utter disappointment with the way the U.S. government and Pennsylvania were handling the distribution of the vaccine, he agreed that Trump had no plan in place, except to get it to the docks; however, he was quick to defend Biden and the government efforts thus far.  "This a monumental task," he proclaimed. "One should not  think you  can vaccinate 300 million people overnight." I agree it is a monumental task, and so far a monumental failure. 

     This is not to say nothing has gone right. The amount of vaccine Trump's administration predicted would be available was pretty accurate and 28 million did get their first does within six weeks. Still, according to USA today the rollout was tarnished by:

        

*The amount of vaccine states receive weekly fluctuates wildly, and there's no clear explanation why.

 

*States were not immediately prepared to distribute at the scale the public demanded, even when they did get expected amounts of vaccine.

 

*The federal government was not forceful enough in explaining it would take months to vaccinate everyone and early rationing would be necessary.

 

*Appointment scheduling programs crashed under overwhelming demand, leading to chaos as people tried to get in line. Digital scheduling systems advantaged people who are internet-savvy and had hours to spend waiting for their turn.

 

*Full-scale manufacturing didn't start until late last year; though 100 million doses initially were promised by the end of the year, 20 million were available in December and 30 million in January.

     I know personally trying to get the vaccine is like trying to buy a Cabbage Patch Doll during the craze.  It is a hit a miss situation. There is no agency you can call and get a definite appointment, regardless of how far into the future you are willing to wait. This underground network to get a vaccine is insane, especially considering the gravity of the situation.

     It is not like we haven't had mass vaccinations before. We vaccinated 46 million for Swine flu and 81 million for H1N1 and nearly half the population 45% get the regular flu shot each year.  So what's the problem? Shortage? Biden claims his administration has procured 200 million doses  of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioTech vaccines. This according to National Geographic. That is enough to cover every adult in the US. Currently, in Phrase 1 and 2, we need only a fraction of that amount to cover  those in need of the vaccination. Yes, of course, eventually we will have a surplus of the vaccine, and everyone who wants a  shot will be able to get it as easy as filling a prescription. But time loss, is life loss as a well as a delay in  getting the economy back to semblance  of normalcy. We had/have the technology to do a better job. Here are some suggestions:

     *Get an accurate account of how many doses are available and the current rate of  production. 

      

      *Demographically and geographically map the areas that are in the greatest need and demand.

      * Subsidize State and Local governments.

     * Use All current resources that normally and routinely give vaccinations.

     * Train additional personal to give vaccine shots. 

    

     * Fairly distribute the vacancies to the  designated  areas  

    

     * Have full transparency

     *  Have a State and National Hotline to anyone who can't an appointment.

We can do a better job. Our lives and economic future depends on it.  And I am afraid that this is just a dress rehearsal for something much worse to come. We botch it in the beginning, let us not blunder in the end. 

     

     

Biden and Harris are Care Packages-Not Fine Cuisine

There will be few people happier than I when that narcissistic prevaricator leaves the White House. The damage he has done to this country and the integrity of the office cannot be overstated.  Biden will have his hands full, trying to bring some sense of sanity and unified acceptance of facts and science back to some 70 million people who did not vote for him. Correcting the attitude towards regulation, climate change, systemic racism, and immigration will be a daunting task. Getting a spiraling deficit under control that has funded a "booming" economy will not be easy.  Trump was a craven captain on a sinking ship. Biden/ Harris are our life preservers.  They truly save our lives. But there is nothing in their history that would indicate they will improve them. This is not to say we should not rejoice. We should just not lose sight of reality, lest we be like ardent Trump supporters and exchange one set of blinders for another.

Don't get me wrong. I thought Biden's short speech before actually being declared the winner was the best speech he ever made. It is so refreshing to hear dignified rhetoric encouraging a unified America. And though this ticket would not have been my first choice, it very well may have been the best choice. This was a narrow win. Very narrow.  I am not sure Yang (my first choice) or Sanders (my second choice) could have pulled it off. The fact Harris is a heartbeat away from the Oval Office is not reassuring but pales in comparison to four more years of Trump. I am not sure the Biden/Harris victory warrants CNN Newscasters like Van Jones to be brought to tears on the air or the victory will deter racial slurs to his relatives in parking lots. That is really an overemotional display of one's personal feelings than a rational outlook of the future. Trump suspended reality for four years with lies, innuendos, and slogans that had more subliminal messages than direction. Still, we cannot shelter the new administration from sharp and swift criticism when warranted. I hope this new administration continues the non-involvement policy in the Middle East that resulted in the fewest military causalities since 2006. If they do not, I will be disappointed. I will take notice. I will protest.

It is hard to imagine a scenario where I would regret voting for Bidin. This is certainly a case where we did not let perfect become the enemy of good. However, I recommend, after the party, we remain cautious and vigilant.   

COVID-19: Exposes the Myth of Capitalism

       I am not taking any moral high ground here, but it appears evident, if not embarrassing, that when capitalism falls short, we all have our hands out. The economic remedies put forward by both the Republicans and Democrats have clearly exposed the hypocrisy of Americans and the myth of the "free enterprise system." It would appear by both anecdotal observation and the cold hard stats on the running deficient, that Bernie Sanders won both the nomination and the presidency. He just hasn't taken office.

     While many thousands of Americas grasp for their last breath because of SAR-CoV-2, there are many more who sigh a breath of relief due to the menagerie of economic benefits available to them. Now, this is a case of if the shoe fits wear it. Individuals who have fallen through the cracks, the thriving cash cow businesses that have come to a screaming halt, and businesses that have fallen completely are clearly noted.  Yet, Americans, in general, have found a socialistic oasis in stimulus checks, exaggerated unemployment compensation, deferments on loans, low gas prices, work at home options, cease and desist orders preventing evictions, repossessions, and shuts offs of every order.  Though some have taken to the streets and FB to open the economy, there is a silent majority shelter in place reaping the benefits of a maladjusted system enjoying and embracing quasi socialism at its best. 

    These new programs have turned the needy into the greedy and have exposed the true sentiments of the working class as well as their character, or so it would appear. As stated earlier, I am not taking any moral high ground here.  Americans love money, no matter how it appears, as long as it doesn't come with a subpoena.

 1. People who made more than $99,000 did not get a stimulus check. That is fair because
        ............. You fill in the blanks.
 2. People on a fixed income, Welfare, Pensions, SS, etc. who made less than $99,000,
      got a check.  And exactly how were they impacted?
 3. A federally funded $600 bonus was extended to everyone who collects UC benefits
      regardless of their previous base income as opposed to a system to make high earners
      Impacted by COVID-19 whole.
 4. Extending UC benefits to anyone who claims to be self-employed with no     
      verification of such status. Raise your hand if you think you like to be an
     entrepreneur or if you "were" going o work for one.
 5.  No way of cross-references income once one is on PUA.
 6.  Many businesses got windfalls because of PPP "loans."

     Bailouts of big businesses are of course worst. They have a corporate welfare system in place that can't fail and is endorsed by both parties with greater sanctity than the First amendment. But we always knew they were avaricious amoral entities, but not middle-class MAGA Americans.  All they want is their fair share as long as you don't paint them with the same brush as all those pre-pandemic "freeloaders."

     But with all these mysterious deposits and unexpected checks in the mail, that line is blurred. And when we  finally do focus the lens, it will be clear there is little difference between us and "them."