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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2007-04-22, 23:42

I read about this several weeks ago but saw a fresh article on it on CNN.com (link) tonight. It seems that the honeybee populations in the US, Brazil and Europe are experiencing mass disappearances of worker bees and no definitive cause has yet been discovered. Other pollinators are experiencing diminished populations too.

Some theories about cellular/radio interference have been floated, though I'm more of a mind this might have to do with the notion that the Earth's magnetic field is on the brink of flipping poles. If the planet's magnetic fields are in heavy flux I imagine we should be seeing more misplaced migratory animals as well as the pollinators

Regardless of the reason, a significant drop in the population of the pollinators would have a direct impact on food production. While it isn't as sexy as a meteor strike, a period of light pollination would lead to low fruit production, which could lead to substantial changes in localized ecosystems.

I need to go back and read how long geologists believe these pole-shifts last.

Is this type of event large enough to cause extinction for species already living on the fringes of viability?

It's kind of scary.

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