Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technology blamed?
 

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:49:56 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

Calif Bill wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in
message ...
Chuck Gould wrote:
On Apr 17, 5:23?pm, BAR wrote:
Dan wrote:
Are you serious? ?Cell phone theory aside, GPS's are receive only -
much
like an FM radio. ?On or off the signals are still there.
Isn't there a correlation between when GPS went into operation and when
the bees started to decline? Hasn't it been within the last 30 years for
both? Cause and effect.
If observations that something is interferring with the bees' ability
to navigate back and forth from the hive are correct, and if the
problem is indeed getting worse as alleged, then it could well be that
some technology that was introduced about the time the problem began
and has been increasing at about the same rate the bee populations
have been decreasing *could* (maybe!) be associated.

A lot of ifs and maybes at this point, but it ought to be easy enough
to run a controlled experiment to see if the insects are confused by
any sort of electronic transmissions.
I could buy into this theory in a New York minute. It's pretty much
proven that transmitted radio signals can screw up birds (think AF
PAVE/PAWS OTHR on the Cape) and there were all the problems the Navy
had with powerful sonar signals messing up blue whales and dolphins.

It would make sense that really high frequency signals could mess up
insects.

I'd like to see some hard experimentation though.

Maybe Autism is up in bees because of all the chemicals in the environment.
And they can not function.

Could also be that they are on strike for higher honey wages.

Whatever the cause, I know who Harry would blame.

Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technologyblamed?
 

John H. wrote:
On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:31:05 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:


Whatever the cause, I know who Harry would blame.
It has to be big honey!
Now there is a name for a band.

Big Honey.

Or a really large stripper.

EEEWWWWWWW........

Or a large striper!

YAAAAAYYY!

You name your fish?

Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technology blamed?
 

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:31:05 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:


Whatever the cause, I know who Harry would blame.

It has to be big honey!

Now there is a name for a band.

Big Honey.

Or a really large stripper.

EEEWWWWWWW........

Or a large striper!

YAAAAAYYY!

Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technology blamed?
 

On Apr 16, 9:55?pm, Chuck Gould wrote:
Interesting item regarding a suspected relationship between cell
phones and a current crisis with honeybees. Makes you wonder whether
GPS signals will be coming under scrutiny as well.......

*************************

Cell phones wiping out bee populations: Will your mobile be the next
SUV?
Posted Apr 16th 2007 8:01PM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Newspapers, Rants and raves, Economic data

It was only a few weeks ago that I started reading about the plight of
commercial bees in Oregon, where I live, and other nearby agricultural
states: some mysterious force was causing what's called "Colony
Collapse Disorder" for untold (but, by all guesses, large) numbers of
bees used for pollinating crops up and down the Pacific Coast. One
beekeeper said that the vast majority of his colonies had just
disappeared -- the bees would leave, and never return to the hive,
presumably dying from hunger. Despite the seeming widespread nature of
the problem, agricultural authorities wouldn't confirm its severity,
and no one had solid numbers.

Until now, a variety of unrelated and unsatisfactory theories had been
surfaced, though none even seemed half-right. Global warming. A bad
batch of the high-fructose corn syrup typically used to feed
commercial bees. Genetically modified crops. Pesticides. Mites. In the
past few days I've seen several bees around my home, buzzing in and
then fizzling out, dying slow, awful deaths on the sidewalk or
windowsill. My stomach began to sink. Bees are vital to the health of
so many of the world's plants. What could be done?

Now a report from Britain, where bee losses are still denied by
agricultural authorities, although beekeepers are raising the alarm
(U.S. beekeepers claim 60% of West Coast populations and 70% of East
Coast bees have vanished): cell phone signals are disrupting bees'
natural navigation systems. While alarmist, it makes sense; when cell
phones are on, they're constantly crying for attention, pinging
whatever tower is nearby every few minutes so that the home tower can
keep track of the signal and send in whatever calls or messages come
its way. Think of all the millions of pings that bounce back and forth
across agricultural areas every week.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist and never worried about fears that cell
phones cause brain cancer and cell death (although the reports seem to
indicate this could be true). But after reading these reports my first
urge is to turn off all the cell phones in the family and only use
them for emergencies. If this is true, cell phones could become the
SUV of 2008; a public display of a human putting its own comfort above
the needs of the environment at large. And I'm sticking to land-based
stocks for now!

***********************************

The world is changing in some pretty strange ways.

An additional link regarding electronic signals and bees:

http://news.independent.co.uk/enviro...cle2449968.ece

Also makes one wonder about VHF. Some of the broadcasts in that band
run continuously (like weather), while of course most use is sporadic.

Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technology blamed?
 

On 20 Apr 2007 08:53:23 -0700, Chuck Gould
wrote:

Also makes one wonder about VHF. Some of the broadcasts in that band
run continuously (like weather), while of course most use is sporadic.

Not likely. Marine VHF transmissions are very low powered compared to
the signals of VHF broadcast television transmitters which operate
relatively close in frequency, and have done so for 60 years.

On the other hand, cell phone signals of the new digital PCS variety
are at frequencies more than 10 time higher, and are relatively new to
that radio spectrum. One fact that may lend credibility to the bee
theory is that the sun also emits electromagnetic signals in about the
same frequency range as the newer digital cell phones. Consequently
if bees were somehow using that solar radiation in some way for
navigation or orientation, that could be a possible link.

My gut feel however is that this is probably related to chemicals in
some way. Perhaps a new pesticide formulation, fertilizer, fuel
additive, or something similar.

GPS is extremely unlikely given the low power density of the signals.

Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technologyblamed?
 

Wayne.B wrote:


My gut feel however is that this is probably related to chemicals in
some way. Perhaps a new pesticide formulation, fertilizer, fuel
additive, or something similar.

Wouldn't it be a giggle if it turned out to be ethanol?

Cell phones killing honey bees? Will GPS be the next technologyblamed?
 

Mike wrote:
Interesting article, right up until I read, "(although the reports seem to
indicate this could be true)." Another alarmist with absolutely no
scientific evidence to back his statements. Anecdotal evidence at best (if
even that). I ate a bagle this morning and got into a car accident this
afternoon. Therefore, eating bagles must cause car accidents.

Phooey.

--Mike

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
Interesting item regarding a suspected relationship between cell
phones and a current crisis with honeybees. Makes you wonder whether
GPS signals will be coming under scrutiny as well.......


*************************

Cell phones wiping out bee populations: Will your mobile be the next
SUV?
Posted Apr 16th 2007 8:01PM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Newspapers, Rants and raves, Economic data

It was only a few weeks ago that I started reading about the plight of
commercial bees in Oregon, where I live, and other nearby agricultural
states: some mysterious force was causing what's called "Colony
Collapse Disorder" for untold (but, by all guesses, large) numbers of
bees used for pollinating crops up and down the Pacific Coast. One
beekeeper said that the vast majority of his colonies had just
disappeared -- the bees would leave, and never return to the hive,
presumably dying from hunger. Despite the seeming widespread nature of
the problem, agricultural authorities wouldn't confirm its severity,
and no one had solid numbers.

Until now, a variety of unrelated and unsatisfactory theories had been
surfaced, though none even seemed half-right. Global warming. A bad
batch of the high-fructose corn syrup typically used to feed
commercial bees. Genetically modified crops. Pesticides. Mites. In the
past few days I've seen several bees around my home, buzzing in and
then fizzling out, dying slow, awful deaths on the sidewalk or
windowsill. My stomach began to sink. Bees are vital to the health of
so many of the world's plants. What could be done?

Now a report from Britain, where bee losses are still denied by
agricultural authorities, although beekeepers are raising the alarm
(U.S. beekeepers claim 60% of West Coast populations and 70% of East
Coast bees have vanished): cell phone signals are disrupting bees'
natural navigation systems. While alarmist, it makes sense; when cell
phones are on, they're constantly crying for attention, pinging
whatever tower is nearby every few minutes so that the home tower can
keep track of the signal and send in whatever calls or messages come
its way. Think of all the millions of pings that bounce back and forth
across agricultural areas every week.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist and never worried about fears that cell
phones cause brain cancer and cell death (although the reports seem to
indicate this could be true). But after reading these reports my first
urge is to turn off all the cell phones in the family and only use
them for emergencies. If this is true, cell phones could become the
SUV of 2008; a public display of a human putting its own comfort above
the needs of the environment at large. And I'm sticking to land-based
stocks for now!


***********************************

The world is changing in some pretty strange ways.



Kind of like when Rush says; " I am not making this up" ;-)

Liberally Yours

1.20.09

Fredo