4 ms·
That's an infuriating headline. The upshot of the article is, the bees that were recently in the news for newly being endangered are a small number of species
by reidacdc 10y ago
That's an infuriating headline.
The upshot of the article is, the bees that were recently in the news for newly being endangered are a small number of species in a geographically confined area.
The commercially-important bees that are important for pollination are not endangered, and while mortality for these bees remains anomalously high due to colony collapse disorder, available stocks remain high because beekeepers have largely compensated for the additional mortality with larger investments in breeding additional queens and splitting of hives. This effort is reflected in the cost of honey, which has doubled since 2006, and the cost of commercial pollination services, which has also risen.
I suppose it's a useful description of the scope of the new "endangered" status, but to my mind, there's a pretty big difference between "the bees are doing just fine" and "commercially important bee populations remain stable because the economic burden of colony collapse disorder has been passed on to consumers of bee services".
- M_Grey 10y agoAnother day, another rung down the ladder of journalistic quality from the WaPo.
- beardicus 10y agoAgreed, annoying headline. I was ready to write some angry rant in response, but at least the article actually does address (unlike the last time this same article was written) the economic realities of constantly treading water to keep your bee population up.
- stormcloud 10y agoI think the headline of this article should be considered in the context it's presented, namely the context where I've seen several variations on the same headline "Bees added to US endangered species list for the first time" shared dozens of times across social media. Personally, I find that headline to be much more infuriating than this articles.
- tptacek 10y agoThe bees that are used to pollinate crops and produce honey are livestock, and --- the central argument of the post --- there are more of them today than there were when the CCD phenomenon began. The price of honey is a relevant counterargument, but demand for honey has also increased, and there are cyclical changes in honey bee output. In the middle of the time period we're talking about, there was also apparently a worldwide honey shortage that was tied primarily to poor crop production; honey is a global commodity, so that also impacts prices.
- tedunangst 10y agoHow does the price of honey relate to fake honey? Like does honey cost more because people cracked down on fake honey, or is fake honey on the rise because of increased demand, or what?
- sametmax 10y agoEspecially, I find it amazing this article considers that preserving only the bees we breed is important. It's precisely the contrary. The important bees are the wild ones, holding the biodiversity, pollinating non agricultural lands and being a responsive part of the ecosystem. Not the ones we are mechanizing with specialized intents, decorelated with their purpose in the natural order, unable contribute in a balanced way because we shape them for something.