Honey bee's, food, and the environment???

Yea, see here's the problem. There's people who see problems, throw their hands up in the air and panic because they are being told bad things are happening. Thank God you didn't live during the Dust Bowl Days when tere were real problems.

The answers are already known. A virus is killing the bees, and there's no political will to drill for more oil, and we're taking food to burn it in our cars.

Honeybees have had rapid population drops in the past and the current problem is almost certainly due to a parasite or microbe, not people or pollution. I don't think there's a problem with the environment and neither would you if you compared today's air and water in the US with what we had a generation ago. The rise in food prices is partly a weak US dollar and partly the stupidity of our politicians and the greed of large farm corporations. They'd rather grow corn for ethanol than wheat or a food crop, so food prices go up, it's not rocket science to see how detrimental the bio-fuel fantasy is to human life.

It's very unlikely the bees will die off but if it happens we'll just have to switch to food crops that don't require their pollination. They've been around for millions of years though and I'm sure they'll weather this in time.

The reason naysayers don't like the solutions proposed is that the problem itself is unclear and the solution is horribly expensive. Wouldn't it be better to spend $25 billion to save half a million lives today than $2 Trillion to save 10,000 lives 100 years from now? We are a smart species and there are many new technologies coming out to replace fossil fuels so don't panic so much. Solar thermal power is very efficient and will cost no more than a coal power plant in a year or two. Nuclear power is very clean and can be made vastly more efficient than the old plants were. Cars will soon be sold that run on compressed air for power, as well as the promise of hydrogen fuel cells and better batteries for electric cars. Let's spend the money on that research and not trying to reduce our CO2 emissions by .02% for twice as much money.

it's a real worry. i'm not sure they have so neatly decided the cause of colony collapse disorder jello, i understod they were working on it being a combination of weakened hives from varroa etc., and overcrowding of hives on seasonal plots and the use of corn syrup by commercial beekeepers. i also understood small keepers and those that dont move their hives had not been nearly so badly affected. its going to be touch and go if they can get the tree crops all pollinated this year in california.

i blame intensive practices. a sign of all that is wrong with agriculture. ecosystems are not machines!

Your asking to much in one question. Honey bee's are having trouble because of mites. I strongly believe in the power of honey and the bee itself. Break down your question and a little it would be easier to answer.