# Cell phone radiation may be killing bees



## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 17, 2007)

Believe it or not, this may be the case!

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*Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?*
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross
Published: 15 April 2007
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.

Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.

German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.

Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."

*The case against handsets*

Evidence of dangers to people from mobile phones is increasing. But proof is still lacking, largely because many of the biggest perils, such as cancer, take decades to show up.

Most research on cancer has so far proved inconclusive. But an official Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10 years were 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumour on the same side as they held the handset.

Equally alarming, blue-chip Swedish research revealed that radiation from mobile phones killed off brain cells, suggesting that today's teenagers could go senile in the prime of their lives.

Studies in India and the US have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. And, more prosaically, doctors have identified the condition of "text thumb", a form of RSI from constant texting.

Professor Sir William Stewart, who has headed two official inquiries, warned that children under eight should not use mobiles and made a series of safety recommendations, largely ignored by ministers.

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

Barley


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## Wolfshead (Apr 17, 2007)

I read about this in the paper on Saturday. I haven't read the article you posted there, Barley, because it probably says the same as the Scotsman did. Mobile phones are just one of the speculated ideas. We really don't know the bees are dissapearing. We should probably endeavour to find out though!


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 17, 2007)

Wolfshead said:


> I read about this in the paper on Saturday. I haven't read the article you posted there, Barley, because it probably says the same as the Scotsman did. Mobile phones are just one of the speculated ideas. We really don't know why the bees are disappearing. We should probably endeavour to find out though!



The evidence seems to be piling up. It is a long-known fact that bees' behavior changes around the EM fields of high tension lines. And there seems to be a correlation between density of cell phone repeater towers and the disappearances. It shouldn't be hard to establish a definite correlation. I recommend you read this article as well.

Barley


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## Majimaune (Apr 17, 2007)

I am actually allergic to bees but this is bad. I mean at school we have several bee hives (which I try to avoid) but if all the bees left then the school would get no money from the honey. I love honey and it would be horrible if there were none.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 18, 2007)

Majimaune said:


> I am actually allergic to bees but this is bad. I mean at school we have several bee hives (which I try to avoid) but if all the bees left then the school would get no money from the honey. I love honey and it would be horrible if there were none.



The bad part is this: virtually all plants depend on bee pollination for their continued survival and propagation. No bees, no plants. No plants, no food. No food, no _us._ Bees are the vital link in the continued existence of the food chain for all animals including us. Einstein knew this well, and once said that were the bees to disappear, the human race would have no more than four years left to it.

Barley


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## Majimaune (Apr 18, 2007)

No more then four years?! Thats not very long. So in other words everyone should throw away their mobile phones and then we might be alright. It isnt actually proven is it the the radiation is killing them is it? It could be the change that we have made to the world such as all the green house gases.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 19, 2007)

Majimaune said:


> No more then four years?! Thats not very long. So in other words everyone should throw away their mobile phones and then we might be alright. It isnt actually proven is it the the radiation is killing them is it? It could be the change that we have made to the world such as all the green house gases.



It's not actually proven yet, but what _is_ known is that the EM fields around power lines do effect bees' navigational systems, because like birds, they utilize the earth's lines of magnetism to keep directional. If it is absolutely proven that cell phones and their cell tower transmitters are responsible, they I'd say that, yes, eradicating cell phones would be the answer. Try convincing people of _that!_ People have the maddening habit of believing what they want to believe, not necessarily what they _need_ to believe. Most people accept only that part of truth that's convenient for them.

Barley


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## Eledhwen (Apr 21, 2007)

... and sonar equipment is beaching dolphins and whales, and the Amazon is disappearing, and the polar ice caps are melting, and El Niňa is drying up a continent, and killer hornets are destroying honey bees across Europe and polar bears are losing their hunting grounds, and grey squirrels are destroying songbird nests in the UK; and that's all off the top of my head.

Oh, and cell phones are also killing road users - or at least those who use them while driving are.

Let's face it ... the orcs are in charge.

(and why is The Tolkien forum edit window flagging up Tolkien and orcs as bad spellings?)


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## Ermundo (Apr 21, 2007)

Let me get this straight; if the bees go extinct, than will *ALL* the plant life go down the drain also? If so, than that means our own technology could bring about the end of life itself on earth. Now that's Science Fiction.


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## Majimaune (Apr 21, 2007)

Eledhwen said:


> ... and sonar equipment is beaching dolphins and whales, and the Amazon is disappearing, and the polar ice caps are melting, and El Niňa is drying up a continent, and killer hornets are destroying honey bees across Europe and polar bears are losing their hunting grounds, and grey squirrels are destroying songbird nests in the UK; and that's all off the top of my head.
> 
> Oh, and cell phones are also killing road users - or at least those who use them while driving are.
> 
> ...


Thats a fair list there even and that continent that is drying up happens to be the one I live on. If all the bees in Europe die then the Southern Hemisphere will become nice and rich from all the exports of food and then we will die to because we have been giving you all out food.

Oh and with the spelling thing it is because you have to add them to the dictionary. I added Tolkien for mine but havent had orcs before.

Also Ermundo your avatar is trippy.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 22, 2007)

In response to posts 8, 9, and 10: In this morning's email from _The Nation_ magazine, someone said that the fight to prevent global warming is over. The fight to survive it has begun.

Yes, the orc _are_ in control, and _we_ are the orcs as far as our wanton disregard of the unforeseen/unintended consequences of our various technologies are concerned.

The crises are building to a tipping point. Each of them sends out ripples that cause more unforeseen/unintended consequences, the cumulative effect of which will be a radical and probably sudden rearrangement of our ecosystem. What remains to be seen is whether or not the new configuration will support human life or _any_ life. What frightens me is that the deniers in power will hold back the things that need doing _now._

As for the bees — some experimentation has been going on, including setting cell phones about in the vicinity of beehives, and their radiation causes serious disruption in the bees' navigational abilities. (It's not just the phones themselves, but the repeater towers and satellite systems that are also part of the transmission system.) The hard likelihood: we may have to dump the whole industry.

Let's hope the human race reacts in time. Now you know more of why I include that short exchange between Gimli and Legolas in my signature: it is prophesy pure and simple.

Barley


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## Eledhwen (Apr 23, 2007)

Barliman Butterbur said:


> As for the bees — It's not just the phones themselves, but the repeater towers and satellite systems that are also part of the transmission system. The hard likelihood: we may have to dump the whole industry.Barley


It won't be a big loss! (losing the phones, that is, not the bees). 

I saw a phone mast in Scotland. The mast was a repeater in the middle of nowhere, and was on the opposite hillside. It stood out in spite of being disguised as a Douglas Fir tree, because it looked ridiculously robotic in shape.

Also, (an aside) I saw the first installment of a new series on TV last night called "Kingdom" (the surname of a solicitor played by Stephen Fry), in which he was balanced next to his rooftop weathercock to use his mobile phone, because his village had successfully resisted attempts to install a mast. A shame there was no-one in the vicinity of the Scottish mast I saw, to object to its installation!


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 23, 2007)

Eledhwen said:


> It won't be a big loss! (losing the phones, that is, not the bees).



Personally I'd welcome it. There's nothing more rude than some idiot holding a loud conversation on their damn cell phone in an otherwise nice quiet restaurant.

And thank God, Eledhwen, there's someone besides me who knows to spell "losing" and "lose" correctly! (For those who need to know, and there are LEGIONS of you out there: "lose" is the opposite of "win;" "loose" is the opposite of "tight." And while we're at it, the past tense of "sneak" is _sneaked,_ not _snuck._)

Barley


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## Wolfshead (Apr 23, 2007)

Eledhwen said:


> I saw a phone mast in Scotland. The mast was a repeater in the middle of nowhere, and was on the opposite hillside. It stood out in spite of being disguised as a Douglas Fir tree, because it looked ridiculously robotic in shape.


I live in such an area and it doesn't bother me too much that there's a big mobile phone mast on top of a nearby hill (it helps me get a good signal when so often in the countryside you can't get any!).

More controversial than phone masts (ignoring bees for a minute) is wind farms. This one was built near me recently, despite massive opposition from the local community. They argued that it's an eyesore and will drive tourists away. Personally I don't mind them that much, but I'm very much in the minority.



Barliman Butterbur said:


> Personally I'd welcome it. There's nothing more rude than some idiot holding a loud conversation on their damn cell phone in an otherwise nice quiet restaurant.


There _are_ morons who have no respect for those around them, but for the majority (including myself), a mobile phone is infinitely useful for keeping in touch with friends and family.


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## Gandalf White (Apr 23, 2007)

Snuck has occasionally been considered nonstandard, but it is so widely used by professional writers and educated speakers that it can no longer be so regarded.

In other news, the sky is falling.

Again.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 23, 2007)

Wolfshead said:


> ...There _are_ morons who have no respect for those around them, but for the majority (including myself), a mobile phone is infinitely useful for keeping in touch with friends and family.



Oh, I agree with you! My wife and I have them, and we both feel much better about being able to get in touch with each other quickly for any number of reasons. But being old dodderers from a prior generation, we actually use them to TALK on, rather than all the other things they can be used for...  

Barley


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## Eledhwen (Apr 23, 2007)

Wolfshead said:


> More controversial than phone masts (ignoring bees for a minute) is wind farms. This one was built near me recently, despite massive opposition from the local community.


Am I being ignorant here? Surely with all those mountains to the west and north, wouldn't Hyroelectric be a better bet?

I know what you mean about mobile phones being useful. I hardly ever use mine, but my mother got seriously ill a couple of weeks ago, so I took my phone to work and laid it on the desk in case the hospital phoned. However, I was so distracted by Mum's condition that I left it at work. The dreaded phone call came, and my inability to communicate with my family was upsetting. To make things worse, the public payphones have vanished from rural locations. Fortunately, my kids have phones, so it could have been worse.

So, if they ban mobile phones to save the bees, they'll have to start re-installing those payphones. Here's Ofcom's page on the issue in case there are any phone geeks here.


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## Wolfshead (Apr 23, 2007)

Eledhwen said:


> Am I being ignorant here? Surely with all those mountains to the west and north, wouldn't Hyroelectric be a better bet?


Most definitely, and we already have lots of hydro-electric plants. However, there is a current obession with wind farms and 'alternative' energy sources. Apparently the windfarm constructed on Beinn Tharsuinn doesn't even provide enough electricity to power my village! The Highlands, and infact Scotland as a whole, produces more electricity than it uses - we put power into the national grid that gets used in England.

Infact, now that I think about it, I heard the other week that some hydro-electric stations are not running at full capacity because they have exceeded quotas and would lose out on funding, or have to pay more taxes, or something stupidly beaurocratic like that. Basically, we could get more electricity out of existing hydro-election power stations, and not have the need to build such large, expensive and inefficent wind farms.


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## Eledhwen (Apr 24, 2007)

The mind boggles! (or it would if it wasn't all too familiar).

I just heard on the news this morning that a nearby beekeeper is experiencing 'colony collapse' in his hives. It was the BBC so there was no speculation as to whether mobile phones have anything to do with it, but they did say the phenomenon had spread from America. It seems to me that, with the huge distance, it's unlikely to be a spread of anything physical; but more a simultaneous spread of a negative influence on both sides of the pond - eg: phone masts.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 24, 2007)

Here is a long, serious article about the situation from the 4/24/07 issue of the New York Times:

BELTSVILLE, Md., April 23 — *What is happening to the bees?*

Kalim A. Bhatti for The New York Times

SUSPECTS The volume of theories to explain the collapse of honeybee populations “is totally mind-boggling,” said Diana Cox-Foster, an entomologist at Penn State.

More than a quarter of the country’s 2.4 million bee colonies have been lost — tens of billions of bees, according to an estimate from the Apiary Inspectors of America, a national group that tracks beekeeping. So far, no one can say what is causing the bees to become disoriented and fail to return to their hives.

As with any great mystery, a number of theories have been posed, and many seem to researchers to be more science fiction than science. People have blamed genetically modified crops, cellular phone towers and high-voltage transmission lines for the disappearances. Or was it a secret plot by Russia or Osama bin Laden to bring down American agriculture? Or, as some blogs have asserted, the rapture of the bees, in which God recalled them to heaven? Researchers have heard it all.

*Complete article here.*

Barley


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## Eledhwen (Apr 26, 2007)

I like the 'rapture' theory! 

Seriously though, the only reason this has come to light so quickly is that honey bees are farmed. I am reminded of a TV article last week urging viewers to construct artificial 'nest boxes' for bumble bees, whose numbers have declined significantly. The thought was that they were suffering from pesticides and neat gardens; but maybe their fate is the same as the honeybee? Who would notice if wild bumblebee hives collapsed? Maybe other species too are suffering but, being pests (or at least not seen as valuable), we're just glad of their absence instead of rushing to find out more.

It's time we kept a look out for icebergs. This civilisation is definitely sinkable!


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## Barliman Butterbur (Apr 26, 2007)

Eledhwen said:


> It's time we kept a look out for icebergs. This civilisation is definitely sinkable!



If those who are paid to deny the truth stay in power, you're absolutely right.

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (May 4, 2007)

The latest on the dying bees:

*Honeybee die-off threatens food supply*

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Wed May 2, 10:49 PM ET
BELTSVILLE, Md. - Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet.

Honeybees don't just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have. Among them: apples, nuts, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash and cucumbers. And lots of the really sweet and tart stuff, too, including citrus fruit, peaches, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cantaloupe and other melons.

In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Complete article here

Barley


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## Eledhwen (May 5, 2007)

Barliman Butterbur said:


> The latest on the dying bees:
> 
> *Honeybees don't just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have. . . .
> 
> ...


*I can see it now ... the dollar a day fruit pickers will be joined by spring posses of pollinaters armed with feathers!

... and apples will cost a small fortune.*


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## Barliman Butterbur (May 25, 2007)

Finally: a reasoned response to the bee die-off:

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mvanishingbees.htm

Barley
• Wow, they have the Internet on computers now! —_Homer Simpson_


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