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Global Warning - July 10, 2007 - Printable Version
- Hey, Mehitabel, Can You Get Archy For Me?
by Robin Buckallew
"When life gives me lemons, I make beef stew.” Jimmy Gilifinakis
In recent weeks, my e-mail has been flooded with articles about the honeybee. In the manner of most insects, this small colorful buzzer goes largely unnoticed in the public mind, but has recently been thrust into the spotlight in the same way that most innocuous characters are usually thrust into the spotlight – by disappearing. Hive owners have been reporting that their hives of underpaid, underappreciated pollinators are failing to return to the hive at the end of the work shift. Busy as a beehive has become quiet as a tomb. News reports are all abuzz about the mysterious disappearance, and speculation runs wild about the possible implications for human society (few bother, of course, to consider the possible implications for bee society). Predictions of the end of human society (4 years, I think, is the usual figure I see, based on a quote by the respected and brilliant Albert Einstein) have led everyone to forget rule number one: Don’t Panic.
DON'T PANIC! How can I not panic when human society is doomed to end within 4 years if the honeybee fails to thrive? When the end of the world is at hand, there is only one possible answer, right? We put on a sandwich board, roam up and down the streets ranting and raving madly, hoping someone, somewhere will take notice and DO SOMETHING. OK, I ask. Do what? If the predictions are true, there is precious little we can do, so we might as well enjoy the time we have left. If, however, the gloom and doom scenarios are not true, or are perhaps a bit overstated, there is nothing to gain and everything to lose by panicking prematurely. So, calm down, take a few deep breaths, and let’s consider the situation rationally.
Fact. The honeybee as a species is not native to North America. It was first introduced to this continent by European settlers who preferred the honeybee to our own native bumblebee, and also were quite fond of the honey that it produced. Upon installment in its new home, the honeybee proved to be somewhat of a challenge to the native bumblebee, also a world-class pollinator, which declined substantially in numbers, but did not disappear and still hangs on to this day. The honeybee has become, by default, the preferred pollinator, but this role is still also filled in part by the bumblebee.
Fact. The disappearance of the honeybee is not a sudden, new phenomenon. This happened once before, a number of years ago. One year, suddenly, without warning, bees failed to return to their hives. The reason for this mysterious disappearance was never discovered. Then, as now, the queen and the young bees remained in the hive, seemingly unharmed by the unusual occurrence.
Fact. The vast majority of the human diet worldwide comes from about 5 plant species. More than 50% of the total human diet comes from 3 species: wheat, corn, and rice. None of these three species are reliant on bees, as they spread their pollen far and wide on the wind.
Fact. Because insects have short life-cycles and are notoriously prolific at reproduction, they tend to be subject to rather rapid evolution. In fact, this particular thing has been somewhat of a downside to farmers, who find that many insects are able to evolve resistance to pesticides within one to two growing seasons. When an empty niche is opened up, an insect will usually evolve to fill it rather rapidly. As a case in point, during the expensive exercise in futility known as Biosphere, in which a handful of scientists were barely able to be kept alive in an artificial dome environment for the course of the experiment, most of the usual pollinating insects died off. To the surprise of the team doing the research, another insect stepped in to fill the breach – the cockroach. Yes, that most despised of all insects, that most disgusting of creatures, managed to fill a necessary role within the ecosystem when the species currently filling that role died off.
Fact. While Albert Einstein is one of the most brilliant minds the world has ever known, and I share the reverence with which he is regarded by most, it is important to keep in mind that Einstein was not an ecologist. In addition, he lived at a time when ecology was a science still in its infancy, and much of what was believed to be true at that time has since been demonstrated to be inaccurate and/or incomplete. Quoting a highly respected and revered expert such as Einstein on a field that is about as far removed from his own as dentistry is from podiatry simply serves to confuse the issue.
So, what exactly do these facts mean? Where am I going with this? Well, where I am going is precisely this. According to most of the ecologists I have consulted with, including specialists in insects and specialists in pollination biology, it is highly unlikely that the disappearance of the honeybee will lead to the sudden, rapid die-off of the human race. It could lead to a restriction of our overall diet, as many tasty fruits and vegetables disappear for want of a pollinator; even that much is not certain, although it could lead to a lack of honey as a staple food on human tables. It could lead to a resurgence of our native bumblebee, which will resume the role it once fulfilled within the native, pre-European ecosystems. It could lead to rapid evolution among other insect species, eager to take up the job (and the subsequent food supply) so recently dominated by the honeybee – I’m not saying that has to be the despised and despicable cockroach, but I’d rather have cockroaches assume an important ecological role than give up blueberries altogether. It could be that the repeat disappearance of the honeybee hives, so mysterious a few years ago, will now be able to be solved, by comparison of ecological parameters existing at that time that are being repeated this year – parameters we might otherwise have not noticed. This, in turn, could lead us to find out some very important things about ecosystems that might prove ultimately to be the savior of human society, rather than the destruction of it; the proverbial canary in the coal mine, as it were. While I think it is perfectly valid to be concerned about the plight of the honeybee, and to take appropriate action, I feel convinced that it is equally important that we not panic. Jumping immediately to panic will almost certainly lead us to make the wrong decisions and take the wrong actions. Panic nearly always has that effect.
I think the situation with the honeybee could be very grave. I think it is probably symptomatic of many of the larger problems facing commercial agriculture today, as humans force nature to operate in ways more friendly to economy than to ecology. I also think that it is the initial human instinct when such a potential tragedy occurs to automatically assume the absolute worst, and begin to sink into despair and panic, and this could well be much more fatal an the actual disappearance of the honeybee. In a world where it is estimated that at least one species goes extinct each day, we should take this as a wake up call. There are millions of other species surrounding, competing with, and coexisting with humans on this pale blue dot. It’s time we began to notice them – not only when it’s useful to us.
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