Our current administration's answer to this is to just get rid of the EPA.
If we continue relying on chemicals, shortly we will be pollinating by hand as they are currently having to do in parts of China. Then imagine the cost of harvest. (The decline of wild bees in China threatens more than just its apple and pear harvests, says pollination expert Dave Goulson)
Pollinating crops by hand? That would help out the unemployment situation for sure. Might make food even more expensive though.
ReplyDeleteYep! That might make them rethink the immigration policies. :-)
DeletePerhaps we've become too dependent on crops that NEED honey bees. I'm sure that they weren't so prevalent when they were still wild creatures.
ReplyDeleteThere are hundreds of native pollinator bees and other insects that are also being killed. Some have already gone extinct. The honey bees actually are an imported species and not native. For crops like almonds, there is no way to pollinate them without bringing in honey bees. The ground is sterile for miles. Just cleaned off dirt and trees. Same thing here in Oregon with filberts, except I believe that they are wind pollinated.
DeleteThe EPA needs to be rebuilt. It started out as a good idea, but was ultimately used as a vehicle for the government to exercise control. It's one thing to control what's sprayed on our crops. It's another to declare a mud puddle on a farmer's land a "wetland." The EPA went too far for too long; it brought about its own demise...
ReplyDeleteBecause my father used to dump used motor oil on the dirt roads on the farm doesn't make it the right thing to do.
DeleteUhhh... how does that have anything to do with my comment?...
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DeleteIt doesn't have to. It's my blog. :-)
DeleteThe mud puddle (not sure what you are referring to) would be collateral damage. Anarchy is not the answer or solution. Better to repair, than destroy and attempt to start at the beginning.
I'm not talking anarchy; I'm talking about starting fresh with the EPA. Our town's police department was run by a really corrupt police chief back in the 1920's. The way the rules were written, it was practically impossible to fire him. The town's answer; disband the police department. The police chief wasn't fired; his job just went away. After a couple of months of the town's policing taken care of by the sheriff, the police department was reorganized, and, obviously, the old chief was the only one not re-hired. Sometimes, this is how you have to do it.
DeleteThat makes sense, but that is not a valid comparison. There are plenty of police departments to serve as a model. The EPA is vastly more complex and far too many corporations will take advantage of the lack of an overseer in the interim. Who will take care of things? The National Guard? It would take years to create a new organization. In the meantime, the billionaires and champions of industry will be raking it in at the expense of our health and the world's biota. In any case, I am not the only person that doubts the ability of the current administration of billionaires to consider anybody but themselves, and their associates first.
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