The Humble Honeybee

I should make it clear. I don't like cellphones. But I finally submitted last month and have been carrying the bare minimum cellphone. What I mean is it only has 50 minutes and costs 6 bucks, so I have incentives to not talk on it too long.

What does that have to do with honeybees?

Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.
--The Independent

The decimation of honeybee populations has startling implications for humans. World food production depends on the mutualistic relationship between bees and plants. Without bees, many plants can't get pollinated, and of course, we in turn depend on the plants for our food source. In other words, this is not good.

If destruction of the food supply isn't enough to make you re-think your cellphone use, consider the following:

A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of 4,500 users found a statistically significant link between tumor frequency and mobile phone use.

All cellphones communicate through electromagnetic microwaves with a cell site base station. I'm sure that can't be good for your brain cells.

Kids today are the first generation to heavily use these devices. They, in a sense, are guinea pigs for the long term health effects of cellphone use.

Studies in India and the US have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. This really concerns me because I carry my phone in my pocket right next to my nads.

Finally, in my opinion, a cellphone is an anti-social device. I've seen 4 passenger cars where none of the occupants were speaking to each other, but instead, they were on their cellphones speaking with someone else. Undoubtedly, this is because they can't stand the people sitting next to them in the car. Furthermore, a cellphone at a movie theater, funeral, wedding, library, bookstore, restaurant, or church can make you look like a supreme prick.

So, just say no to cellphones.

If you don't do it for yourself, then do it for the humble honeybee.


Thanks for reading the crap i typed.