Save The Bees - from blue view lane

The Plastics Problem-

2010-01-08T09:59:00.003-05:00

We were first made aware of this problem when Deb's son George, a world class sailor, participated in the Volvo round the world race a couple of years ago on ABN AMRO II. 'Bear' telling us that in the far southern ocean below Australia, they were finding plastics in the sea, plastics wrapped about albatross, and then as he traveled the earth's circumference there were more reports. Every where- plastics, on beaches, but mainly loading up the waters, sailing in the midst of no where, hundreds of miles from land, sometimes thousands, and plastics. So Sad, We must ban the dumping of garbage in our Oceans. Even Now the plastics will remain for ever?

Peace

2009-12-21T12:15:00.001-05:00

Thoughts of Trees

2009-12-16T05:22:00.001-05:00

Trees, I hear them daily on my walks, and think how trite to think these thoughts, the conversation and the wisdom of trees. Why trite, it seems such a simple thought. Like almost all thoughts, certainly it has been thought by others walking in the forest for as long as forests and man have been on the surface of this planet together...Trees and forests, time, and the wisdom that comes from watching and experience.

I think Tolkien said it best in his characters the Ents and their Entwives. There it was; the nature of time, of man, of woman, of order, of chaos, of old growth and mold, and rugged, and spring, and happy gardens, all in these characters he had conjured up. My mother told me of these books when I was little. I remember when they were first released in the United States. I would have ordered a copy months before. We would have been at the bookstore five times or more getting books for her, and always the Tolkien volume would not be there. Not yet, and then, I would have the book in hand and I would rush home and devour it. As fast as I could, in bed and reading until it was finished and I was awed, and frightened, and unhappy I would need to now wait for the next one. So, I think of trees, and this is only a fraction of what they mean to me.

My mother, she is dead now. I hear her voices in the trees when I go on my walks through my forest that was her forest. She probably had thoughts just the same or similar. I think of her as I listen to the trees, the crack of their sap freezing in the winter and rising in the spring, their structured complaints as they bend and tug at their roots. I think as I walk through the forest, at night, in cold, in wind, with snow whirling in great white sweeps. I hear the trees and think of man, and then I try to conjure up the difference between the man of the present, the man so angry, the man of Washington, so greedy and confused. Then I think of man imagined, man of fairy tales, and forests, man of wizards, demons and ghostly goblins, bright queens and princely poets. Then, I retreat from the horrible present man. I look forward. I look back. I wonder, will we make it as a species and I don't think so? I think the trees will be shouting and they will whisper long after man has screwed it up so badly that he is gone. Then I think good riddance.

But, with this observation comes a form of wisdom. Perhaps not, perhaps. The same stumbling, shoddy mess that makes up man will improve. I doubt it, but perhaps. And, we can only hope that this is the case because it is Christmastime. The snows are blowing round me now in clustered flakes, and they are talking too. I am drifting off. Is this what happens when you freeze to death? I do not know, but it is not unpleasant, so, so be it.

Climate Protests in Copenhagen

2009-12-15T05:03:00.003-05:00

Every time we hear Copenhagen. We remember Danny Kay and Hans Christian Anderson, and the song Wonderful,wonderful,Copenhagen. But things are not so wonderful there at the moment and it does not look like the nations of the world are going to be giving our old Planet any gift this Christmas. Not that the planet cares if it is hot or cold or stormy or full of tranquility, but humans do. For some back ground here is an interactive link to the timeline of the situation from the New York Times oddly provided on Pearl Harbor Day.

Video from Blue View Lane Oct 7

2009-12-12T06:59:00.003-05:00

Obummer, World Peace-and the Prize

2009-12-11T05:42:00.004-05:00

Deeply is reminded of Woody Allen in one of his movies, acting the beauty queen and mouthing, world peace, with a strange, stupid, ridiculous grin on his face.

And yes, Deeply saw bits and pieces of our President's speech. They were as usual excellent. But, so what, the man can speak, we've got it. It is the doing that is the problem. I know, I know, after the Doofus, with his inept strides, his lack of curiosity, his wars, his lies and his onslaught on all but the very rich, well, anything would have been better. And after W's mangled syntax, a warbling bright President seemed heaven sent.

Wrong, big wrong, solid wrong, completely wrong; one wonders if the Europeans get us at all. Deeply doubts it. Come on people the peace prize was nothing more than hope and a bribe of expectation. Sadly, it seems, the last European to really get the good old USA was De Tocqueville. And while he wowed and wondered at our experiment he also thought we were a bunch of drunks. De Tocqueville would not have given any Peace Prizes before the pudding.

But these are just thoughts, perhaps the looking glass will eject us, and we will find that we have not fallen down that rabbit hole. That our verbose and warbling President didn't just send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, didn't continue hit squads and drones a drumming ( just imagine it must be like the Empire strikes back if you are some peasant in Pakistan) The death star courtesy of America.

Hello Noble Boys and Girls, either you are idiots, wishful thinkers, or like we said two paragraphs ago, you just don't get America. How and the hell could you give a Prize of Peace to a Warmonger.

Sorry For the Lack of Posts

2009-12-11T04:57:00.003-05:00

Well, Fall came and went, along with ill health, a lack of industry, and then a whole lot of catching up. So while we have kept the site running, we, and or I, have been remiss in posting. Whoop de do this shall now be remedied with a video from yours truly in a different incarnation, plowing snow, yes plowing snow, and after you watch plowing snow we recommend you poke about a bit for articles and videos on A Bee in Winter, not to be confused with that great movie A Lion In Winter, starring Peter O'Toole and Kathryn Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, and many more. What a use of language. Happy Holidays. Now clang, clank bang, and bluster... Voici

New English Film Agrees With Michael Schacker

2009-10-01T07:38:00.004-04:00

A new English Film, ninety minutes long, on colony collapse disorder, claims what has been pointed out in Michael Schacker's Book, A Spring Without Bees. Mr. Schacker was on the forefront and should be commended. See the book on the left hand side of the page. Bayer Drug company is the problem.

New Device to Harness Wave Power

2009-08-09T23:20:00.002-04:00

Known as the Oyster and being tested off the Orkney Islands this could be an answer for power generation for seaside cities. Clickety Do.

New Battery research

2009-08-02T21:05:00.002-04:00

Click Click For article on battery research for wind, for cars, for the future, for you. And perhaps Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

Beautiful

2009-07-28T10:25:00.002-04:00

Bamboo Boom

2009-07-22T10:45:00.001-04:00

See This Article from Scientific America on the many uses of bamboo.

Replacing The Honey Bee

2009-07-14T16:24:00.001-04:00

Scientific America- Entymologists search for Honey Bee replacement.

Shepard Fairey Energy Sticker

2009-07-10T23:48:00.003-04:00

Get This Shepard Fairey Energy Sticker Free From Move-On.org

Green Education

2009-07-09T01:37:00.002-04:00

We learned of The Green Education Network when they began to follow us on Twitter. The offer a wide variety of information and educational materials, for students, for teachers, for us all. Poke about a bit if you have interest. Save The Bees.

Green China Rising In The Desert

2009-07-02T21:34:00.005-04:00

Pictures-beautiful green in the vast desert
Article

Ethanol From Algea and CO2

2009-06-30T05:20:00.004-04:00

Dow chemical plans to produce ethenol from algea, carbon dioxide and water through the magic of photosynthesis. A source for fuel and a replacement for natural gas in plastics.

Pictures From The Bees Daily Bread

2009-06-29T20:23:00.006-04:00

Andrea From the Bees Daily Bread has sent us some magnificent and beautiful pictures from Tampa.

You will find the rest on our site at flickr

The Planet In Peril, The Hapless Congress

2009-06-29T08:48:00.002-04:00

Read Paul Krugman, Noble Prize economist, straying to his concerns for the Great Green. Read

Off Shore Windpower Catches Some Air

2009-06-25T15:55:00.001-04:00

Scientific America- green posts

The Bad Nasties Are Trying To Sink The Energy Bill

2009-06-25T08:29:00.001-04:00

Nasties Link

Physics and the Bees

2009-06-24T08:02:00.001-04:00

Melissa Hronkin Suggested This Video

2009-06-20T07:33:00.002-04:00

Bee Population Continues to Plummet

2009-06-15T17:34:00.002-04:00

Honeybee population plunges in six months
Expect pricier produce if mystery not solved

By Diane Petryk
For The Daily Item

Food will cost more if no one solves the mystery of the disappearing honeybees — and time is running out.

The situation has gone from bad to worse, Penn State honeybee researcher Maryann Frazier said Thursday.

We were alerted to this article by John Hibbard...Please all of you who care about the bees out their in the big wide reading world.. Send us any information we may have missed.

Maple Seeds and Flight

2009-06-14T05:44:00.000-04:00

ScienceDaily (June 13, 2009) — The twirling seeds of maple trees spin like miniature helicopters as they fall to the ground. Because the seeds descend slowly as they swirl, they can be carried aloft by the wind and dispersed over great distances. Just how the seeds manage to fall so slowly, however, has mystified scientists.

Saving Butterflies

2009-06-07T06:33:00.000-04:00

Establishing Butterfly waystations... see video

Pesticides from Bayer continue to be implicated in colony collapse disorder

2009-06-06T01:13:00.000-04:00

Article

Honey Bee Losses 30 percent 2008-2009

2009-06-01T00:33:00.002-04:00

Article

Wild Bill Secrest Loves His Save The Bees Hat

2009-05-31T21:54:00.001-04:00

Forest Wild Flowers on Blue View Lane

2009-05-27T08:56:00.004-04:00

Dieing Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder Continues As A Major Problem

2009-05-24T16:01:00.002-04:00

See the article from Science Daily

Alaska Is Expanding Like A Dented Pillow Relieved of Stress

2009-05-18T05:07:00.003-04:00

As the glaciers retreat, melt and vanish, the land in Alaska rises, and locals are wondering where the water went. Forget those stories of swamped ports. In Juneau, as in few other areas of our planet, the result of global warming is drying streams and land rising from the sea as much as three inches a year. Buy that swampland today, in the future it may be the tenth hole of your new golf course.

Heat pump energy storage System- Very Cool

2009-05-15T08:11:00.004-04:00

See this article on a low tech-high tech energy storage system developed by a group of English engineers. The system uses silos and gravel and an advanced heat pump as a way to store energy generated from wind, solar, a gravel battery ...

The Renewable Energy Map

2009-05-06T21:59:00.001-04:00

And other cool stuf

The Wild Side

2009-04-29T16:01:00.001-04:00

Let's Hear It For The Bees

Vanishing Bees- Scientific America

2009-04-29T04:44:00.003-04:00

Solving The Mystery of The Vanishing Bees

Honeybee Collapse Strikes Japan, Up to Fifty Percent of Honeybees Gone…

2009-04-29T00:27:00.000-04:00

Natural News Article

Honey Bees - A History

2009-04-28T22:08:00.000-04:00

New York Times Blog

White House Imports Russian Bees

2009-04-23T06:56:00.002-04:00

That's correct. Thinking on this is the Varoa mite may be the cause of colony collapse disorder (note Save the Bees places the burden on pesticides and noecicotinoids, but mites have also been listed as one of the possible causes of this disease/phenomena) So, imagine dancing bears and frozen tundra and large glasses of vodka and leaping buzzing Russian Bees, with their tiny legs extended Cossack style, wearing those baggy Zhivago pants.

See Article

President Obama on Closing The Carbon Loophole

2009-04-20T15:26:00.002-04:00

A new idea for the electric car

2009-04-18T07:24:00.001-04:00

Swap the Batteries like you fill up...

Colony Collapse Disorder

2009-03-25T12:19:00.001-04:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

Native Bees as Pollinators

2009-03-23T16:26:00.001-04:00

Article and site

A series of articles and videos - Honey Bees Decline

2009-03-17T23:46:00.001-04:00

link

Washington Energy Summit

2009-02-26T04:56:00.000-05:00

Green Plastics -Grown from plants

2009-02-23T00:37:00.002-05:00

How green can one get. Forget those plastics filling up the landfills, destinied to last for thousands of years... Scientists are researching new Green Plastics, produced from plasts and grown from plasts. Great for the farmer, and they degrade over time when disposed.

How Colony Collapse Disorder Works

2009-02-19T06:09:00.001-05:00

Read and watch

A Big Green Cheer For The Stimulus Bill

2009-02-14T15:55:00.002-05:00

Read Article

News On Colony Collapse Disorder

2009-02-04T07:26:00.003-05:00

This article discusses colony collapse disorder and another book on this major problem. There is a new book on the subject 'A Fruitless Fall'. The title echos that excellent book, linked to our site, Michael Schacker's 'A Spring Without Bees'. I have not read this new book, but encourage all to read Mr. Schacker's. See Story

British Co-op Bans Neonicotinoids.

2009-02-03T09:27:00.003-05:00

Neonicotinoids continue to be recognized as the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.

Article

Solar Manufacturing Slumps

2009-01-15T09:58:00.002-05:00

T'was to be the panacea for the economy, a place to spend, to creat jobs, to aid our nation while helping our nation for the future. However with the coming world wide depression, with the decline in oil prices, alternative energies are no longer such a bargain. From hybrid cars, to wind, to solar, to anything new and expensive... these new jobs are going to be a tough sell.

Unless the nation, subsidizes the new cars, the new wind plants, the new hybrid cars... this path to employment will not work... because no one will be buying.

Tough times for easy answers and the Republicans are out there lying in wait and stalking.

See article

Food Dance Gets New Life When Bees Get Cocaine

2009-01-10T03:30:00.002-05:00

Article

AOL Top Twenty Five Things Vanishing From America

2009-01-03T10:34:00.006-05:00

Number four on AOL's New Years List of the top twenty-five things vanishing from America is the Honey Bee. A bit Amerio-centric since the honey bee, specifically the European Honeybee, the one which pollinates fruit and nuts and so many good things, is vanishing all over Europe too. The solution is to get after the Bayer drug company, stop pesticides, eliminate golf course fertilization, and generate a symbiosis between flowers and crops, bees and pollination. Remember to plant those wildflowers this spring. http://www.savethebeesshirts.com/ will be selling seeds. And Remember wear that Save the Bees Stuff or your blueberry pancakes will soon be vanishing as well, along with your Marzipan and all your berries.

"4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood."

There's No Such Thing As Clean Coal

2008-12-22T06:35:00.001-05:00

Video Add

George Bush's Last Stand Against Clean Air

2008-12-21T08:26:00.003-05:00

W, The Doofus, George Bush, war criminal, duplicitous half-bright scammer, and the slimiest president to dirty the White House in over a hundred years has done it again. His EPA is allowing last minute approval of Coal Fired Electric Plants without consideration of carbon dioxide as a pollutant in spite of a recent Supreme Court ruling to the contrary. One can only wonder who or what entity has bribed Bush for this.

I know Jesus told him! Article.

Wave Energy In Sweden

2008-12-14T07:49:00.002-05:00

Research in Sweden has come up with a new form of generator adapted to the movement of waves.

The Bees In Winter

2008-12-13T08:39:00.007-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM THE BEES
WE'RE TIGHTLY CLUSTERED
SO WE WON'T FREEZE
NO HOLIDAY CHEER
OR YULE FOR US
QUITE FRANKLY, HUMANS
WHAT'S THE FUSS
An article from last january's New York Times

From Bees online

2008-12-06T07:43:00.002-05:00

We received this Holiday Guide from the NRDC. And don't forget Save The Bees Shirts for the holidays. A note Save The Bees has affiliated with a Florist so now those festive flowers, or flowers for any occasion are available at Save The Bees. Your friends get flowers and A student Receives money for college. A Win Win. Happy Holidays

New Forms of Natural Gas

2008-11-30T09:46:00.004-05:00

Here is a series, of articles from Science Daily, on new forms of natural gas, forms which may open the door for easier transportation of the fuel and possible use in automobiles.
Zoom Zoom

Bush and Team Republican Rush To Enact New Rules Limiting Worker Safety

2008-11-29T23:04:00.002-05:00

The Bush Bastards and the Republicans just will not let up....Mumbai them anyone?
Read article

Watch The CBC The Nature Of Things

2008-11-27T07:40:00.004-05:00

23 episodes to pick from

My Wife Debra

2008-11-26T08:51:00.003-05:00

Wearing her fine new Save The Bees Shirts Women's Fitted Vest.

See New Link

2008-11-26T08:33:00.005-05:00

I have posted a new link on the left side of the page just below A Spring Without Bees.
The link concerns the Bayer drug company and its manufacture of pesticides which are decimating the Honeybee population. The prime reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, premised by Michael Schacker's excellent book. Again I highly recommend this book... It would make a fine Christmas Gift for a friend concerned for the environment.

Beautiful Late September Flowers

2008-11-22T11:58:00.002-05:00

I just found this shot of late September flowers growing in our meadow. I hope it brightens up your day.

Solar-Wind Powered Sign to tower over Times Square

2008-11-16T10:50:00.003-05:00

A new mega watt sign like so many in Times Square, but this one will be powered exclusively by the wind and sun.
Bill Board

Renewable Energy World Report

2008-11-15T07:28:00.002-05:00

Here is the link on Wind energy and the reduction of c02 emissions.
Wind Machine

How The Doofus Trashed The Environment

2008-11-09T15:45:00.002-05:00

George W Bush's seven deadly environmental sins.

Gore's Green Goals

2008-11-08T08:39:00.003-05:00

Hurrah for Obama. Well we will at least not be doing things like leasing uranium mines adjacent to the Grand Canyon. One of the Doofus's final assaults on the environment. However to the point. Here is an article from the daily green- with links

More on George's Environmental Destruction.

2008-11-02T13:27:00.002-05:00

The Bastard Bush, as previously noted, and in one final nasty, is losening environmental regulations to ruin the scenery, the planet, polute the waters and destroy the mountain tops, all this and more to benefit Big Business. What did you expect? Decency?
Article

Rust Belt Goes Green

2008-11-02T01:21:00.003-04:00

Rust Belt towns from Toledo to the edges of Iowa are going green. Where they once made washing machines in Iowa they are now building blades for wind turbines. In Toledo, where they manufactured glass for the automobile industry, glass companies are going solar. New technology is starting to go and grow...hopefully it will not get stalled by the coming depression. Hopefully, Obama has the energy and will to drag the country into the future.

See Article

Bush Bent on Final Environmental Destruction

2008-10-31T12:02:00.005-04:00

The Bush Admininstration is on a race against time to leave their final negative stamp on America. Hell bent to deregulate, in one last gasp of Bush Cronyism, W. Aka the Doofus will leave his mark on our nation whether we want it or not. Make sure you vote for Obama....Never Again!

See Article from the Washington Post.

Happy Halloween- Pumpkin Templates

2008-10-30T08:00:00.003-04:00

These pumpkin templates from the World Wildlife Fund look fun And they are free!

Honey Bees in Fall and Winter-Spring

2008-10-27T07:53:00.002-04:00

Seasonal Cycles of Activities in Honey Bee ColoniesBy: Norbert M. Kauffeld 1(From Beekeeping in the United States)
Spring Activity Swarming
A colony of honey bees comprises a cluster of several to 60,000 workers (sexually immature females), a queen (a sexually developed female), and, depending on the colony population and season of year, a few to several hundred drones (sexually developed males). A colony normally has only one queen, whose sole function is egg laying. The bees cluster loosely over several wax combs, the cells of which are used to store honey (carbohydrate food) and pollen (protein food) and to rear young bees to replace old adults.

The activities of a colony vary with the seasons. The period from September to December might be considered the beginning of a new year for a colony of honey bees. The condition of the colony at this time of year greatly affects its prosperity for the next year.
1Research entomologist, Science and Education Administration, Carl Hayden Center for Bee Research, Tuscon, Ariz. 85719.

In the fall a reduction in the amounts of nectar and pollen coming into the hive causes reduced brood rearing and diminishing population. Depending on the age and egg-laying condition of the queen, the proportion of old bees in the colony decreases. The young bees survive the winter, while the old ones gradually die. Propolis collected from the buds of trees is used to seal all cracks in the hive and reduce the size of the entrance to keep out cold air.
When nectar in the field becomes scarce, the workers drag the drones out of the hive and do not let them return, causing them to starve to death. Eliminating drones reduces the consumption of winter honey stores. When the temperature drops to 57° F, the bees begin to form a tight cluster. Within this cluster the brood (consisting of eggs, larvae, and pupae) is kept warm-about 93° F - with heat generated by the bees. The egg laying of the queen bee tapers off and may stop completely during October or November, even if pollen is stored in the combs. During cold winters, the colony is put to its severest test of endurance. Under subtropical, tropical, and mild winter conditions, egg laying and brood rearing usually never stop.

As temperatures drop, the bees draw closer together to conserve heat. The outer layer of bees is tightly compressed, insulating the bees within the cluster. As the temperature rises and falls, the cluster expands and contracts. The bees within the cluster have access to the food stores. During warm periods, the cluster shifts its position to cover new areas of comb containing honey. An extremely prolonged cold spell can prohibit cluster movement, and the bees may starve to death only inches away from honey.

The queen stays within the cluster and moves with it as it shifts position. Colonies that are well supplied with honey and pollen in the fall will begin to stimulatively feed the queen, and she begins egg laying during late December or early January-even in northern areas of the United States. This new brood aids in replacing the bees that have died during the winter. The extent of early brood rearing is determined by pollen stores gathered during the previous fall. In colonies with a lack of pollen, brood rearing is delayed until fresh pollen is collected from spring flowers, and these colonies usually emerge from winter with reduced populations. The colony population during the winter usually decreases because old bees continue to die; however, colonies with plenty of young bees produced during the fall and an ample supply of pollen and honey for winter usually have a strong population in the spring.

Top of pageSpring ActivityDuring early spring, the lengthening days and new sources of pollen and nectar stimulate brood rearing. The bees also gather water to regulate temperature and to liquefy thick or granulated honey in the preparation of brood food. Drones will be absent or scarce at this time of the year.

Later in the spring, the population of the colony expands rapidly and the proportion of young bees increases. As the population increases, the field-worker force also increases. Field bees may collect nectar and pollen in greater amounts than are needed to maintain brood rearing, and surpluses of honey or pollen may accumulate).

As the days lengthen and the temperature continues to increase, the cluster expands further and drones are produced. With an increase in brood rearing and the accompanymg increase in adult bees, the nest area of the colony becomes crowded. More bees are evident at the entrance of the nest. A telltale sign of overcrowding is to see the bees crawl out and hang in a cluster around the en trance on a warm afternoon.

Combined with crowded conditions, the queen also increases drone egg laying in preparing for the natural division of the colony by swarming. In addition to rearing workers and drones, the bees also prepare to rear a new queen. A few larvae that would normally develop into worker bees are fed a special gland food called royal jelly, their cells are reconstructed to accommodate the larger queen, and her rate of development is speeded up. The number of queen cells produced varies with races and strains of bees as well as individual colonies.

Regardless of its crowded condition, the colony will try to expand by building new combs if food and room are available. These new combs are generally used for the storage of honey, whereas the older combs are used for pollen storage and brood rearing.

Top of pageSwarmingWhen the first virgin queen is almost ready to emerge, and before the main nectar flow, the colony will swarm during the warmer hours of the day. The old queen and about half of the bees will rush en masse out the entrance. After flying around in the air for several minutes, they will cluster on the limb of a tree or similar object. This cluster usually remains for an hour or so, depending on the time taken to find a new home by scouting bees. When a location is found, the cluster breaks up and flies to it. On reaching the new location, combs are quickly constructed, brood rearing starts, and nectar and pollen are gathered. Swarming generally occurs in the Central, Southern, and Western States from March to June, although it can occur at almost any time from April to October.

After the swarm departs, the remaining bees in the parent colony continue their field work of collecting nectar, pollen, propolis, and water. They also care for the eggs, larvae, and food, guard the entrance, and build combs. Emerging drones are nurtured so that there will be a male population for mating the virgin queen. When she emerges from her cell, she eats honey, grooms herself for a short time, and then proceeds to look for rival queens within the colony. Mortal combat eliminates all queens except one. When the survivor is about a week old, she flies out to mate with one or more drones in the air. The drones die after mating, but the mated queen returns to the nest as the new queen mother. Nurse bees care for her, whereas prior to mating she was ignored. Within 3 or 4 days the mated queen begins egg laying.

During hot summer days, the colony temperature must be held down to about 93° F. The bees do this by gathering water and spreading it on the interior of the nest, thereby causing it to evaporate within the cluster by its exposure to air circulation.

During the early summer, the colony reaches its peak population and concentrates on the collection of nectar and pollen and the storage of honey for the coming winter. After reproduction, all colony activity is geared toward winter survival. Summer is the time for storage of surplus food supplies. The daylight period is then longest, permitting maximum foraging, although rain or drought may reduce flight and the supply of nectar and pollen available in flowers. It is during the summer that stores are accumulated for winter. If enough honey is stored, then the beekeeper can remove a portion and still leave ample for colony survival.

Building A Better Bee

2008-10-26T07:16:00.001-04:00

Article from the Science Daily.

And For The Cynical-There's Gold In Global Warming

2008-10-25T09:34:00.003-04:00

Read this article from salon.

An excerpt:

Take Pat Broe, a businessman from Denver, who bought the Canadian Hudson Bay port of the town of Churchill for $7 in 1997, back when it was nothing more than a chunk of tundra suspended in ice. Over the past decade, Broe has seen his investment appreciate in ways less cynical observers never dreamed it would. As the northern Canadian ice pack diminishes, a shortcut shipping lane that was once purely hypothetical -- the overseas passage from Churchill to Murmansk in Siberia -- inches closer to becoming one of the most important trade routes on the planet. Right now, the route is only in business from July until October. But if current warming trends continue, it should soon be open for most of the year. Canadian officials estimate the increased shipping traffic will net Churchill upward of $100 million a year, and Broe -- the first to see economic potential where once there was only permafrost -- will be the prime beneficiary. (The media-shy Broe did not respond to a request for comment.)

Stumbled into this Penn State Magazine

2008-10-21T21:52:00.002-04:00

Articles in 2008 winter-spring issue of Penn State Agriculture magazine on the missing bees. I stumbled into this on the net. Seems interesting.

Interest in Alternative Energy Slows

2008-10-20T22:47:00.001-04:00

See Article

Very Cool Electric Motorcycle

2008-10-18T21:37:00.001-04:00

This is a beautiful, albeit expensive, little machine.

World Wildlife Fund Greenprint for the new administration

2008-10-18T17:00:00.003-04:00

The world wildlife fund lists their goals in this pdf link

The Arrogance of Man

2008-10-15T07:26:00.005-04:00

Here is an excellent article discussing the impact of roads on the migration of wildlife. Man in his arrogance and hurry to divide the world and do the "no boundary" dance, filled swamps, hauled gravel, destroyed valleys, and wasted rivers just to get from A to B. Scientists today are re-examining, envisioning roads more eco-friendly.....highways that don't destroy the migration patterns of the animals which also live on our planet. Animals who, judging by the current state, and perpetual state of man, deserve more dignity than we do. See Article

Possiblility of Waterborn Epidemics Increases on Great Lakes

2008-10-13T08:29:00.004-04:00

See Save The Fresh Water

Biofuels Boondoggel Promotes World Hunger

2008-10-08T02:28:00.001-04:00

Article

The Last Flowers of Fall Still Attract Bees

2008-10-07T15:23:00.008-04:00

TO OUR MEADOWS ON BLUE VIEW LANE

Bush Administration Tells Americans-Drink Rocket Fuel

2008-10-05T09:04:00.005-04:00

You'll be breathing fire like that fellow in the circus if you get a lighter to close to your mouth in certain states if Bush's EPA has its way. You will also get a thyroid condition, and possibly be sent on many other medical adventures. THANK YOU GOP-THANK YOU REPUBLICANS!!
See Salon article

In Memory of Jeanne Heininger

2008-09-28T18:38:00.002-04:00

I celebrate the DNA that is the best of me. It was my mother’s too. My thoughts of prose, my music, my creativity, this DNA came from my mother. I am writing now because she died today. A kind and stern and quiet, proud and private, joyful lady, who had many friends. She worked, she played, she sang, she read, she studied, she saw the world as it was and wished it better. She saw the human condition and she was saddened. She skiied and sailed and felt the essence of our planet without the need of the formal religion of her missionary parents, but with a deists perspective that we are all one and part of everything. I share the same beliefs and know she exists still in the air we breathe, in the trees that now will turn the bright colors of fall then shed their leaves and bloom again next spring. She has lost her self and in losing self she is now a part of everything. I will miss her.

McCain Disses the Wind, but He Loves Big Oil

2008-09-27T07:40:00.001-04:00

See this blog

The Business of Green

2008-09-24T02:08:00.002-04:00

click here for a series of articles from the New York Times on a variety of green enterprises

John McCain's Lies as dirty as his stand on the environment

2008-09-20T06:59:00.003-04:00

Don't let this aging fraud fool you. McCain is as much for alterntive energy as a Polar Bear is for sunspots. Read the shabby truth about this most dishonest of candidates

Sarah Palin's Dead Lake

2008-09-20T01:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, she turned her town into an armpit, stripmalls, big box stores and so much development that the lake she lives on is now essentially dead. Beware Sarah Palin

German Coalition Sues Bayer Over Pesticide Honey Bee Death

2008-09-18T20:38:00.004-04:00

Information and legal action continue to show that Bayer and Gaucho and IMD is likely the culprit in colony collapse disorder. This agrees with the conclusions in the excellent book by Michael Schacker (down the page on the left) A Spring without Bees. We again highly recommend the book, for its readability, research, and conclusions.
Click here

Call Your Congressman: Please

2008-09-09T20:49:00.004-04:00

Friends, neighbors, countrymen, please call your congressman and senator regarding the continued funding of clean electricity which is about to run out this week. Here is the link for We can solve it.org

Cell Phones Responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder ?

2008-09-09T16:10:00.003-04:00

Nicole Barrett alerts us to this article in the English newspaper the Independent. Dr Ulrich Warnke, a lecturer at the University of Saarsbad in Germany believes that an unprecedented dense mesh of artificial electromagnetic fields is disrupting the bees natural system of information keeping them from navigating back to the hive. See article

Sarah Palin's Wolf Program

2008-09-08T07:53:00.003-04:00

Here is a story from Salon which speaks to her environmental concerns or lack of them.
Shoot Fish in a barrel
Kill wolves from a plane

Are You a Golfer-Worried About Pesticides

2008-09-07T08:41:00.004-04:00

I know, it seems an odd combination, the sport of fat men riding about in carts, waddling from shot to shot and bashing their balls badly. And yes, of course, as Mark Twain said " a good walk spoiled". But I must admit it, I on occasion play golf, and the world is full of lawns and golf courses which fill the aquifers and streams and lakes, the tidal pools with pesticides. Here is a link to an article on pesticide free golf courses. click here

Of Wind Interest

2008-08-31T14:52:00.004-04:00

Wind Powered Vent Mobile places first in race. The first time vehicles were required to drive directly into the wind with no tacking. See article.

Wind Power-no grid to ride on

2008-08-29T00:43:00.003-04:00

While expanding wind power across the nation is a realty, most of the turbines sit distant from their markets. And the grid is inadequate. To quote former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. "we have a third world grid". Fragmented and misaligned like a bunch of rambling country roads, there is no super highway for new Solar and Wind generated electricity to travel. With out congress acting to establish an updated national power grid, wind and solar alternatives to oil cannot remotely meet their full potential. See Article.

Pickens Plan-Ad blocked by NBC

2008-08-28T15:38:00.002-04:00

Click here for information and to sees the ad.

The Florida Citrus Industry in Peril

2008-08-26T07:45:00.004-04:00

In this case green is not good, because the the distructive insect driven phenomena of dying trees and lopsided fruit has been, perhaps, misapropriately named Greening.

The Last Flight Of The Honey Bee

2008-08-24T23:26:00.005-04:00

This article from the English newspaper the Guardian is worth the time

EPA REFUSES TO DISCLOSE NEONICOTINOID INFORMATION

2008-08-24T02:39:00.012-04:00

We read in the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/19/MNKR12DBPO.DTL&hw=Colony+Collapse+disorder+of+the+

(08-18) 18:37 PDT -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States, a lawsuit filed Monday charges. "

There has been a muddying of the waters about Colony Collapse disorder. The government and the large chemical companies and the endowed chairs of the Universities of our nation have been trying to obscure and hide this information. See other posts on this subject in the blog. We first became aware of this pesticide by reading the excellent book A Spring Without Bees by Michael Schacker. See the link on the left side of the page. We highly recommend this book, and in light of this lawsuit and the EPA's response, anyone, and this means everyone, who is concerned about our existence on the planet, should read his research and narrative on this subject.