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US Government Introduces Pollinator Action Plan To Save Honey Bees
An anonymous reader writes The White House has announced a federal strategy to reverse a decline in the number of honeybees and other pollinators in the United States. Obama has directed federal agencies to use research, land management, education and public/private partnerships to advance honeybee and other pollinator health and habitats. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Agriculture Department will lead a multi-agency task force to develop a pollinator health strategy and action plan within six months. As part of the plan, the USDA announced $8 million in funding for farmers and ranchers in five states who establish new habitats for honeybee populations.
Isn't that a rounding error for an organisation the size of the US government?
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
How about banning the pesticide that's killing them off?
Anonymous Cowards generally receive no replies because you're a coward and I'm a bitch
Come get the )(*)!# Bees Nest in my tree please, they're doing fine. Also I thought the pesticide link was conclusive? How about banning imidacloprid and clothianidin as well?
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
That's one citation.
Wow, only about 15 years after beekeepers and alternative media started noticing the problem
Now that everybody else in the world is starting to zero-in on the solution, they want to step out in front of the parade. Typical.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Good point.
Even bees carry NSA backdoors.
Reputable enough for me.
No! No! Leave them there. You are missing the point of the grant.
You need to find out how to apply for a part of that $8 million for providing habitat.
Have gnu, will travel.
Yeah, introduce foreign proteins and compounds into food crops and then wonder why dozens of birds, honey bees and other animals are on huge declines.
I got an idea, put Monsanto and all these other GMO "I wanna rule the worlds food production" companies and make THEM PAY to restore the honey bees, birds and other species they destroy through pollution of destructive genetic engineering of our biosphere.
Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
I can't tell if you are being serious or sarcastic.
At least they noticed while there are still bees.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Rich farmers and ranchers already get huge government subsidies. Why should we pay them any more at all?
If farmers need honeybees, they will pay bee keepers for them. If there's a shortage of bees, farmers will pay more. Seeking profit, bee keepers will expand their hives to produce more bees.
No government meddling and no government money is needed. Let some rich guys pay their own money to solve their own problems for once.
Actually, there's evidence.
http://www.triplepundit.com/20...
Of course, don't let that stop you.
Citation please.
How about not just assuming it's pesticides?
Citation granted.
http://www.triplepundit.com/20...
Pretty sure it was excellent sarcasm.
*Sigh*. I was even careful not to call it Obamacare - although it does sorta make you wonder exactly which political party/lobby he belongs to, doesn't it?
(n/t)
The only reason I wasn't sure was because I have met some pretty extreme libertarian science-deniers that really do think this way.
Their belief is that the government just makes up the science as an excuse to control the populace. (they also think jet contrails are full of mind-control poison)
Do I have to wear a jacket with question marks all over it to get the grant? Where's my government cheese?
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Beware Poe's law.
Isn't that what got Clinton in so much trouble?
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
I could use some honeybees to pollinate my girlfriend's garden. If the USDA is handing out hives, I'll take one!
Sounds like it will pretty much do nothing but give out money to people who really don't need it.
Then justice will actually be served when even the corporate leaders starve
Native bees are actually better pollinators than non-native, imported honey bees. You don't have to wait for the government to do something in order to help them, you can do something right now in your own back yard. Simply add plants native to your area and the pollinators will come! These aren't usually available at mainstream nurseries, so seek out nurseries specializing in native species. Native insects rely on native plants. The typical suburban yard is basically a dead zone when it comes to inviting any pollinators, with all the chemicals, invasive and exotic non-native plants that people use in their landscaping. I've been on a 7 year journey in my own back yard to eliminate invasive species and replace with natives. It's been a huge learning experience as I am not a knowledgeable gardener. One of the first things I noticed right away was that suddenly there were so many bees!
The corn has nicotine in it's design so as to keep insects away. Similar approaches for other vegetables and fruit. Bees come, they are mutated, and there is no reproduction. Ergo, there is much much reduced crop fertilization.
So, where losses were low due to insects, they are now truly low due to killing the insects that did the pollination. Time to reconsider GMO and it's cost benefits, leaving aside health issues.
And I bet if in-depth research was performed, there would be an argument against GMO foods.
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
The US administration should rather curtail the rampant use of poison that kills bees and also strictly regulate if not even prohibit bee travel. Bees are shipped across the country for thousands of miles causing tremendous stress to the bees and playing a role in the drastic decline. As so often, the US should look at Europe where many countries added bees to the list of protected animals, basically outlawing the killing of bees. Such straight forward ideas will not work out in the US. They are cutting into the profits of chemical and trucking companies and since that is not pro-business and not cutting taxes it is instantly anti-american, socialist, and liberal hogwash. Besides that, all the food comes from supermarkets...so what do bees have to do with it?