So there’s stupid.
Then there’s really damn stupid.
Then there’s “thinking that Karkat is actually a mean person” stupid.
If you aren’t totally quaking in your boots at the news of millions of bees dead, yet again, you’re nuts.
this should be concerning a lot more people than it is
not only because bees are one of the most important animals in the world and their job is a lot more than gathering honey but also because they are what scientists refer to as an “indicator species"
this means that when their populations start dwindling and then rapidly dropping, humans need to watch their shit because that means that environmental factors are too difficult for THEM to live in, so it might be difficult for US to live in, too. bees basically act as an indication that humans have a lot to worry about and when they start dying like this it deserves a lot more than a few headlines.
:((((((((
Mind you the source MSN live, sources itself, and then finally a grassroots organization who’s goal is global change. So of coarse they are going to report these numbers. While things for the honey bees seems dire you must research the numbers before you point fingers.
While much of the honey bee die off has been attributed to neonicotinoids there are other combined factors that have resulted in honey bee die off such as parasites, practices of beekeepers, and some of you might have read about cell phone signals
There were honey bee die offs on a similar scale in the 1980’s and run in a cycle of around every 20 years. Meaning since commercial honey bee beekeeping began there’s been massive die offs every 20 years starting in the earliest recordings in the 1869.
If you look further into the Oregon numbers it was actually the result of spraying 50 tree to kill aphids in an area near a local mall. These were wild bee colonies, meaning not domestic, meaning not commercially pollinating the food you eat. Unfortunately, the workers who sprayed the insecticide didn’t look at this handy dandy list of poisonous insecticides for honey bees published by Purdue University’s entomology department.
The recorded loss in Canada which touts over 30 million honey bees was a single beekeepers farm of 600 hives. In Canada there are over 7,000 beekeepers with in total, 600,000 hives, which is .001% of the total domestically owned bee population in Canada.
Another issue is that presently there are only 2.5 million beekeepers in the United States in comparison to 5 million 50 years ago. So any loss is going to be magnified just because of the limited number of beekeepers. While many people have tried to start their own backyard hives, city and state legislation has barred future beekeepers feeding the problem of less and less beekeepers in the United States.
As far as the neonic sprays go, they were actually implemented to save honey bees! That’s right. I said neonic parasite sprays were used to save honey bees. Organophosphate sprays are bad news and when they were proven to not only harm the wildlife, but cause neural damage in people, the move to neonic sprays was a must. Studies that have been used to prove neonic sprays effects on honey bees have been shown to be inaccurate and have been DEBUNKED.
So where does this leave the honey bee and us? Well, we still need to avoid insecticides for our own health. While become propagators of our own environment as well. Putting further restrictions on a declining food supply and declining honey bee population is not beneficial to either side. Personally, I want to see a honey bee sperm bank put into action, but that’s just me.
Additional Sources:
Bee-ing Smart: Regulators must Distinguish Activists’ Bad Dreams from Good Evidence - Forbes
Neonicotinoids and Honey Bee Health - Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
American Beekeeping Federation - For Future Beekeepers
YOU WANNA TALK BEES. I CAN TALK BEES ALL DAY.
I love being friends with smart people.
Reblogging because sensationalist media, and this is a nice companion post for what is alone a pretty scary article.
Be concerned, tumblr! But don’t be terrified.
(via krudman)
[video]
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time (and space)
Well, if you want to learn more about the story, I wrote an introduction here Check it out, it’s the homestuck cast in a drama club. So if you love homestuck, highschookstuck, theater, drama, or shipping, you’ll love this!
Plus there will be lots of quadrants being filled. How many quadrants, you ask? Aaaall the quadrants :3
(The coding is messed up but it shall be fixed later when I get my computer back)
(via krazieleylines-deactivated20140)
drpuellasuperdanganoffstucklock:
This is a doorknob.
so you can feel like breaking someone’s wrist every time you enter your home
I just want a hand to put my genitals in that isn’t my own.
There are, apparently, THREE types of people…
no, four types, including the unoriginal dork who says “there are x kinds of people”
Now there are 5 types, including the new wave of people who hate on the “there are x kinds of people” people.
There are y kinds of there are x kinds of people people
I give you a hamburger
No it says “lettuce”
Let me tell you about homestuck.
why do we always end up here
(via dacadaca)
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I know it’s summer but, sweaters!! (and stockings, ooh la la)
(via dacadaca)
(via tangarang)
