About two weeks ago I published this story about the loony idea that was proposed by some researcher in Europe about “cell phone radiation may be killing bees”. I pointed out that it was garbage then, as it is now. Here’s a portion of the original post I made:
There’s an article on UK’s The Independent website about a most unusual scientific theory: “Cell Phones kill bees.”
Well today in the LA Times, it seems that UC San Francisco researchers have uncovered what they believe to be the real cause, and its not loony ideas like cell phones. Its fungus.
From the article:
A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.
Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder, and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.
Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country — as well as in some hives where bees had survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half a dozen viruses in the dead bees.
The researchers caution that the results are preliminary, and data sampling represents just a fraction of hives, but they are encouraged by the findings. Hopefully they’ll be able to come up with a solution.
Yet it appears that the “Cell Phones kill bees” lunacy has caught on, since there’s a comment today in the ER’s “Tell it to the ER” that furthers that nutball idea. What a public disservice that column is.
Thanks to Lon Glazner for the tip.
Fungi, schmungi, clearly electrosmog is the root cause. If not electrosmog directly, then mutant bee killer fungi created by electrosmog —
Electrosmog Veil Apparatus
Hey there Anothony,
Sure hope they figure out the bee situation/solution.
Hard to imagine Chico summers without peaches,plums or nectarines.
It’s encouraging that the list of potential culprits is narrowing.
By the way, since there’s been talk of potentially purple primitive landscapes and fungal phenomena, here’s one for us to wrap our minds around.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/24/wmush124.xml
Long link; hope it works.
As an entomologist once told me…”have a beer..it’s complex. Life will always have more imagination than you.”
By the way David, I like the hat.
John
You have no idea how tempting it is to write this woman off as an off-the-scale whacko. However, I had a similar experience while living in Las Vegas in 1999.
I had just purchased a cordless phone for my new apartment. I came home from the store and plugged it in. I let it charge for an hour or so and then I picked it up to call a friend. As soon as I pushed the TALK button to make the call I heard a faint scream through the wall.
I thought nothing of it (It was Las Vegas, after all) and made my call. I called a few more people and while I was on the phone, I heard a knock at my door. I opened the door to find woman in obvious distress. Like a burglar caught red-handed, I must have looked like the antichrist to her because she just waved violently at me. All she could get out of her mouth was “t-t-turn that th—ing off.” I told me friend I would call him back and hung up.
I invited her in and she told me that she had been going door to door to our neighbors (there were 4 apartments in each building) asking them if they had a cordless phone.
Over the next few minutes, she explained to me her “electrosensitive” condition. At first, I was in total disbelief and was about to write her off as a nut. But about 10 minutes into our conversation, she screamed and was in oobvious pain again. I hadn’t picked up the phone and thought it was something else this time. But she explained that phones like mine regularly communicate with their base units. I called (from my old regular phone) the manufacturer and confirmed her suspicion that my particilar phone communicated with the base every 10 minutes.
Needless to say, I was shocked. I stopped using my phone after that and never heard another word from this woman except the occasional “hello” in passing. I don’t know if she heard the beep of my phone when I dialed that fateful first call and decided to have some drama in her life or if it was legit, but the second painful episode right in front of my eyes with no obvious cause other than the phone silently communicating with the base unit convinced me to not use that phone again. Science or drama? I don’t pretend to know but definately weird.
I wonder where the evolutionary branch for electrosensitive people is leading?
Lon
I’m electrosensitive and watched all but one of my pets die following installation of a cell phone mast up the street from me.
One died of fatty liver disease – a male cat, age 2 – but before he died, he suddenly began spraying the corners of the house a year prior – no cause for it ever found.
One died of FIP – a fatal feline virus – a male cat, age 2. The vet noticed that ‘I’ glowed green under a black light while I had him there, too.
The next male cat (also age 2) almost died of renal failure – twice – it’s a miracle he’s alive today.
A hamster developed some sort of abdominal tumor that was so large he had to drag it to eat – he died.
A female cat died of renal failure.
Two other cats, a male and a female, died of sudden heart attacks.
Another cat developed bladder stones and had to eat a special diet her entire life. She’s dead.
My dog had some ongoing infection – she’s dead.
And I have chronic Lyme, unresponsive to antibiotics.
So if you think this technology is safe, you aren’t thinking clearly. You’ll see – google the Bioinitiative Report if you don’t believe me.