Causes
We can observe the increased extinction of
bees. This problem has begun in USA due to the usage of chemistry and
biotechnology in farming. Probably
during the last winter 1/3 bee populations died. The probable cause are pesticides used during the florescence of
plants, parasites, viruses and malnutrition of insects.
(http://alikorkmaz.blogcu.com/balarisi-apis-mellifera-l-kolonilerinde-kulucka-alaninin-hesap/13245540)
The fight against destruction of bees
Nowadays,
the American scientists are trying to retrieve the bees population in their country,
by importing bees from other countries. Scientists want to invent some method
of transfer of good genetic material taken from the strongest bees from Europe.
The goal is to create genetically modified bees which will be resistant to chemicals.
Future
Scientists
from Maryland and Department of Agriculture confirmed that the typical
chemicals used in agriculture have been causing the extinction of bees but
Richard Fell doesn’t believe in it.
Reading
this kind of information we can conclude some groups of scientists simply don’t
care; still, they study them to create small
robots, similar to bees. It looks like some scientists know that the bees cannot
longer be rescued.
(http://robo-group.blogfa.com/author-aminalg.aspx)
1. How we can stop the extinction of bees?
2. Do scientists believe that the
creation of new robotic technology is more profitable than the rescue of bees?
Comments
I can't agree with Diana, that the best solution is to forbidden using fertilizers and other chemicals in agriculture. If we ban them globally in short period of time, it would cause massive food availability issues. We couldn't be able to produce enough food, as harvest wouldn't be so immune and that is way prices would increase rapidly too. It is better to make bees resistant for these chemicals. On the other hand I'm afraid that by modifing bees DNA we can start other, bigger problem.
I found the idea of replacing bees wit small robots interesting but very hard to achieve. Replacing a very complicated thing like a part of ecosystem with a machine is far beyond our technological capabilities at present time. Remember that bees not only are responsible for pollination of flowers but they are also a part of food chain in the ecosystem and that role can’t be replaced by a machine.
The extinction of bees is surely an issue that has to be resolved sooner than later, but I just don’t have any idea of how to achieve that.
In my opinion by extinction of this key spiece "mother nature" say to us that we are doning something wrong. How this food possibly could be good for us if it is covered in poison which kills insects? We should stop using such posions in the first place not create robotic bees
Many people are driven only by self-interests and profits. Theses people will not change their behavior. They won’t stop using toxic fertilizers. Money is the only thing that counts to them. I think that there are also people who are simply negligent. They don’t care or don’t understand the harm they cause to bees.
I had read before another article about extensions of bees. According to the article, when bees will die, doing their work will cost millions of dollars! Millions instead of free work… That’s just sad and scary.
I admit that bees are necessary to flora, but if they really have another solution which doesn't really require bees then hey, why not give it a try? I prefer that to bees which are genetically modified to resist certain pesticides. Robots are much more friendly, because in case they go rampage we can disable them with EMP :)