Happy Huuuummmppp Day. Sorry but the camel defected somewhere.
I get daily news from the Scottish Parliament (don’t ask) and one of their topics today was “The Parliament will (18 June) become a hive of activity when it welcomes its newest arrivals on site – honey bees.” http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/newsandmediacentre/78454.aspx#sthash.hXvFmzbY.dpuf
And they’re not kidding, they say they will be the first UK parliament to have their own honeybee hives on site. “The project was born out of people’s concerns about the dramatic decline in the area’s honey bee population in recent years and the negative impact this has on crop, wildlife and certain woodland trees pollination.”
So what’s all the issue about Honeybees you say–I can hear some of you saying “So what, they’re just a bother when I actually do wander about the outside.”
“…according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these…pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops which constitute 1/3 of everything we eat. Losing…dietary staples such as apples, broccoli, strawberries, nuts, asparagus, blueberries and cucumbers,(and)…may threaten our beef and dairy industries if alfalfa is not available for feed.
One Cornell University study estimated that honeybees annually pollinate $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the U.S. Essentially, if honeybees disappear (could)…potentially reducing mankind to little more than a water diet. http://www.mnn.com/local-reports/pennsylvania/local-blog/the-importance-of-honeybees#ixzz34zqbeWFY
Though honeybees are not a native to this country (http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/will-we-all-die-if-honey-bees-disappear/)
“…they have become a basic in our multi-million dollar crop system. If all honey bees disappeared, it would be catastrophic for agriculture, as we know it, and we would certainly suffer grievously, but we would survive.” However given our track record I would anticipate that it wouldn’t bee the easiest of transformations and that there might bee severe issues of survival with the change over.
One ray of hope the Univ of Maryland and US Depart Agriculture testing has shown that the bees ate pollen contaminated with fungicide which previously were thought to bee harmless to bees so regulations on these are being investigated. (see more at www.qz.com)
On to business: collectible GOOGLES EXTINCT ITEMS
Extinction is Forever – Busch Gardens Tampa – Souvenir Plate $5
Paleozoic Trilobite flexicalymene fossil extinct marine anthropod $11
Capulin, Extinct Volcano Raton, NM Postcard $12
Las Vegas Extinct Torn Down Casinos Souvenir Coffee …$18
Massive Stegodon Molar Fossil Teeth Organic …
Borneo artifact $312
Did you see the stamp that sold for $9.5 million–what’s in your closet? (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rare-stamp-set-record-nyc-auction-24169833) original purchase price 1 cent.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE PLANET? WE’VE NO WHERE ELSE TO GO!