Beelieve it

I was up early a few days ago and listened to the Morning Chorus- such as it was. A bird here, a bird there; a pathetic echo of the tremendous sound I recall from my childhood. Similarly, the sound of bees harvesting their nectar is not what it was. The bee population has fallen by 30% in the last few years, and it's hard to avoid the conclusion that human activity, as with the reduction of the urban bird population, is responsible.  The reasons for these declines are complex and diverse: we know, for instance, that bee numbers were falling even before the age of neo-nicotinoidss, though it now becoming clear that that agent is speeding it up alarmingly.

The introduction of neo-nicotinoid pesticides have been a boon to farmers. It has reduced spoiling of oilseed rape plants almost to zero; hence farmers who have converted their land almost to a monoculture of the yellow cash-crop have seen their profit margins increase substantially. So it is scarcely surprising that it is they and the manufacturers who have been most opposed to any moratorium on its use. It's money, man.

Fortunately the EU heard wiser council when they put in place a temporary ban on its use until more research has been carried out. But we've seen all this before. When DDT was invented towards the end of World War II it was hailed as a miracle. It killed the lice that carried typhus so well we thought the problem had been solved. Meanwhile it was leeching into the environment, where it continued to reek havoc on all kinds of life forms decades after its use was finally ended, most notably when it was absorbed by birds of prey, especially peregrine falcons, whose eggshells became more fragile, causing their chicks to hatch prematurely and die.

I'm sure there was a body of opinion out there at the time saying "So what if falcons become extinct? We have our profits to think of."  Just like today, when farmers and the pesticide companies will say "What's the problem with wiping out a few insects?" despite the fact that bees are actually vital to the rural economy. I've heard of cutting off your nose to spite your face, but baby, this is crazy.