"We Speak for the Bees"
Marchers Urge EU-Wide Ban of Killer Pesticides
"Ministers can't ignore the growing scientific evidence linking neonicotinoid insecticides to bee decline," said Friends of the Earth's campaigns director Andrew Pendleton. "Their claims to be concerned about bee health will ring hollow if they fail to back European moves to restrict the use of these chemicals."
He continued: "If we lose our bees and other vital pollinators it'll have a devastating impact on our food, gardens and environment. We urgently need tougher pesticide restrictions and a British Bee Action Plan to tackle all the threats they face."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/04/26-2
As BeeKeepers, my Wife & I applaud these efforts!
Small Scale, decentralized, No Chem, Low Stress Bee Keeping may be one of the answers to the disappearing Honey Bees.
In 2006, we moved to The Woods, far away from AgriBusiness, Industry, and Suburban toxins and pollution,
for OUR benefit as well as our Bees.
Naturally, all of these toxins, as well as genetically modified crops are forever banned from our little hill top.
We have not had an incidence of CCD,
and our Bees seem healthy, happy, and stress free.
I post Bee stuff in the Rural/Farm and Gardening Groups if anyone are interested.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1182412
= new reply since forum marked as read
That is what keeps us sane these days.
Honey Bees, Frogs, Lightening Bugs, Earth Worms....
all are Canaries in the Coal Mines.
I have occasionally thought about the Titans of Industry and their lackey politicians.
I have asked myself, "Why are they doing this?"
Don't they understand that their children must live in this World too?"
An answer came to me one day.
The answer is, They do NOT care.
There ARE people that are THAT selfish and THAT self absorbed.
In most places, they are called Sociopaths.
In the USA, they are rewarded with positions of Power and Wealth.
Many are intelligent, "charming", and know how to Play the Game.
They have learned to say things like, "I feel your pain",
but they really don't.
That is the ONLY answer.
Now why is that? In any event, thanks for getting the word out.
And how bout a Friday afternoon 
One Heart!
Lets get together and feel alright!
I peeked your profile,
and see you are in beautiful Northern California,
and listed the Desiderata under the "About" heading.
"Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in
silence..."
We share much,
including your forebodings about the not-so-distant future if the current trends continue.
Sometimes, I'm glad I'm old.
----bvar22 & Starkraven
Living well on a low "taxable" income & stuff we learned in the 60s.
The Bees appreciate all you do for them,
and Starkraven & Myself do too.
I will tell our Bees that they have a friend in you.
From what I hear in the Media, there are a lot of meth labs everywhere,
not just in rural areas. I would guess that Arkansas is no exception.
My Wife & I are active Firefighters with our rural Fire Department,
and my wife is the only Medical First Responder for over 60 square miles.
We get to see parts of the county and private property most others don't get to see.
While we have been notified to Be-On-the-Lookout for Meth labs,
have been trained in what to look for,
and what to do if we find one (Hazmat),
in our 7 years with this department, we haven't seen one yet,
none have Blown Up in our Fire District, or any neighboring Fire Districts in our county,
and we haven't received a single emergency medical call in our district from anyone suffering from the effects or side effects of Meth usage or manufacturing.
We would know.
We haven't found a Moonshine Still yet either. 
Closer to town may be a different story,
but we still would have been notified about any Meth labs found in the county through the Fire Dept and Law Enforcement.
So, at least in this little part of the state,
I can testify with some professional certainty that Meth labs are not All Over the Place.
but it is not 100% yet.
Most of us believe it is a number of Stress Factors in addition to the new, more powerful pesticides.
These other Stress Factors include:
*Climate Change
*The use of High Fructose Corn Syrup manufactured from Genetically Modified Corn
as "food" for high concentration Factory Bee Yards.
There is NO WAY that bee populations of this density, hundreds of hives per acre, can forage for their natural foods, so Factory bee Farmers feed their bees HFCS.
It is THESE commercial "Factory Bee Farmers" that you see on TV complaining about CCD.
They are usually standing in front of about 50 hives crammed into 100 square feet,and complaining that their Bees are leaving?
I wouldn't live there and be forced fed an unnatural food. Why should their Bees? 
*Ever more toxic air
*The burgeoning population of pests like Varroa Mites that are intensified by the high Bee Density of Commercial Bee Yards, just like Humans when too many are crowded into small areas.
Bees shouldn't be mistreated, any more than other farm creatures.
One of my favorite herbalists, Juliette de Bairacli Levy, wrote a book called "Herbal Handbook For Farm and Stable". It includes a section on keeping bees. Ms. Levy said bees should not even be robbed of so much of their honey that they have to be fed sugar as a substitute. I can just imagine how horrified she would be that commercial bee keepers are feeding them high fructose corn syrup. 
She was a strong advocate of treating all creatures with kindness, and using herbs and natural methods and remedies for caring for them. She strongly condemned cruelty, greed, and harmful unnatural practices.
She said bees were consummate herbalists and should be treated with respect.
I really hope more people wake up, and quit supporting the poison merchants.
