Things are not looking any better in the continuing threat to our way of life that begins with some of the smaller American workers.
This week it was announced that “Northern California scientists say they have found another explanation for the honey bee die-off: A parasitic fly that hijacks their bodies and causes them to abandon hives.
According to the Associated Press report, “The study is another step in ongoing research to find the cause of colony collapse disorder. The disease, in which all the adult honey bees in a colony suddenly disappear, continues to decimate hives in the U.S. and overseas.”
As the AP reported earlier: “The proposal to set up a California Apiary Research Commission with the power to tax comes as bees nationwide are perishing in great numbers from colony collapse disorder and other health problems. California is the nation’s main producer of fruits and vegetables, and bees are essential pollinators of about a third of the United States’ food supply.
“But many beekeepers say they will vote against forming the commission in a summer referendum because they don’t want to be forced to pay fees when their industry continues to suffer big losses. The proposal would allow the commission to tax beekeepers doing business in California with more than 50 colonies at a rate of up to $1 per hive.”
What’s the big deal?
Just this: “bees are essential pollinators of about a third of the United States’ food supply.”
If we think we have a problem when we keep turning to foreign nations for financing or oil, imagine if we were no longer able to feed ourselves.
There was a time when European nations carefully guarded their formulas for producing gun powder, the time could be close when nations will carefully guard the answer to keeping bees active in their food production.
It’s just one problem, but in a national arena where the lack of leadership means only the noisy issues get attention, it’s one that could sting us in the end if we don’t pay attention now.
— Chuck Smith