Animals
S

Evil Rays

Famine is Coming to the U.S.: Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Crops and Keepers in Peril

ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
NY Times
Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:21 UTC
VISALIA - David Bradshaw has endured countless stings during his life as a beekeeper, but he got the shock of his career when he opened his boxes last month and found half of his 100 million bees missing.

In 24 states throughout the country, beekeepers have gone through similar shocks as their bees have been disappearing inexplicably at an alarming rate, threatening not only their livelihoods but also the production of numerous crops, including California almonds, one of the nation's most profitable.

Comment: While we cannot yet say what might be behind this strange phenomenon, there are two suspects in view: EM waves in the atmosphere - either natural or artificial - or some other kind of disruptive frequency such as cell-phone towers.

It would be an event of the utmost irony if our civilization's mad rush to have the latest gadgets brought the whole kit and kaboodle to its knees via starvation.

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Question

Mystery Bee Disappearances Sweeping U.S.

Stefan Lovgren
National Geographic
Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:21 UTC
Without a trace, something is causing bees to vanish by the thousands. But a new task force hopes to finger the culprit and save the valuable crops that rely on the insects.

Pennsylvania beekeeper Dave Hackenberg was the first beekeeper to report to bee researchers what's become known as colony collapse disorder (CCD).

In October Hackenberg had delivered honeybees to a Florida farm to pollinate crops. The bees typically return to their boxed hives when their work is done. But this time was different.

"I came to pick up 400 bee colonies and the bees had just flat-out disappeared," Hackenberg said. "There were no dead bees, no bees on the ground, just empty boxes."

"In almost 50 years as a beekeeper, I've never seen anything like it."

CCD has spread throughout 24 states and ruined hundreds of thousands of bee colonies.
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Life Preserver

Something Fishy On 90 Mile Beach


The Northland Age
Fri, 23 Feb 2007 05:54 UTC


©The Northland Age
There has been no clear explanation as to what caused hundreds of fish to wash up on 90 Mile Beach at Hukatere a day after nearly one thousand fishing enthusiasts brought a close to the biggest competition in New Zealand.
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Magnify

New Zealand fishermen catch rare colossal squid


UK Independent
Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:00 UTC


©AP
Notice that the body of the squid is flattened out and extends way to the back in this photo.

Comment: Interesting that, just recently, a Giant Squid was caught by Japanese researchers and now a Colossal Squid has been caught. Is something driving these squid up from their deep water ranges?

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Health

Dead birds everywhere, "experts" claim to be stumped


Idaho Observer
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:21 UTC
It wasn't "experts" who figured out that when a canary stops singing and starts teetering on his perch, its time to get out of the coal mine. Not surprisingly, the "experts" claim they cannot determine conclusively why reports from all over the world describe flocks of birds dying by the thousands. The forensic sciences have improved to a point that causes of death can be accurately determined upon autopsy - if the death is not political. Recent bird kills have been reported in Idaho, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Australia, Turkey, SE Asia and Africa. Though the dead birds in SE Asia, Turkey and Africa have been blamed on "bird flu," the causes of death remain mysteries in the U.S. and Australia.
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Bizarro Earth

Dead fish flood shores at Salton Sea


California Desert Sun
Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:21 UTC


©Desert Sun

Cold snap [or global COOLING?] blamed for winter die-off

Last month's cold snap has caused waves of dead fish to flood shores along the Salton Sea in a rare winter die-off.

It's unclear how many of the sea's estimated 200 million fish perished, but hundreds of thousands of rotting fish floated along the shoreline at Desert Shores on Friday.

"It smells worse than cow (manure)," Desert Shores resident Chuck Friedly said Friday.
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Bomb

Mystery illness killing U.S. honeybees


Xinhua
Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:45 UTC
A mystery ailment labled Colony Collapse Disorder is killing tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across America.

The illness -- reported in at least 22 states -- is threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, honey production and possibly crops that need bees for pollination.
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Attention

Emergency relief for Sweden's starving reindeer

AFP
Terradaily.com
Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:48 UTC
STOCKHOLM- Sweden said Wednesday it would give its reindeer herders millions of euros (dollars) in emergency aid to help them feed their animals, which are starving because of thick ice that is preventing them from reaching the lichen they eat.

"You can't just stand by and watch animals starve," Agriculture Minister Eskil Erlandsson said in a statement as his ministry earmarked 37 million kronor (4.06 million euros, 5.3 million dollars) in aid.
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No Entry

Hundreds Of Sharks Prompt Warnings in Florida

Associated Press
local6.com
Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:31 UTC
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Visitors to Palm Beach are being advised not to go in the water because of shark sightings.

Warnings posted said hundreds of bull sharks and lemon sharks have been seen swimming along the surf, the sand bar and farther out in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Clock

Hibernating Animals Suffer Dangerous Wakeup Calls Due to Warming

Scott Norris
National Geographic
Sun, 04 Feb 2007 11:08 UTC
Sun-worshipping humans might welcome the news, but for groundhogs and other hibernating animals, a longer winter could be a blessing.

A recent trend toward increasingly mild winters is disrupting normal hibernation patterns for many high-latitude and high-elevation species-and in some cases it may be a matter of life or death.

From marmots in the Rocky Mountains to bears in the Moscow Zoo, animals are spending less time napping. The change may be placing some species fatally out of synch with their environment.

When animals hibernate they're able to conserve the energy stored in their fat during periods when food is scarce. So when they are abnormally active, they risk using up their stored energy before they can replace it.
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