Fact based discussion about bee colony deaths

I have seen quite a few scientific studies that give proof or at least make solid links between pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, to some bee deaths to be sure that it is one of the foremost problems of these beekeeping times.

Having said that,  I have seen more in the form of rhetoric and hyperbole to make rational people be very cautious when beginning such a discussion.

Much like politics and religion, the trueth about how big of a role toxic pesticides play in overall bee deaths is very highly politicized and polarized by those who have a "dog in the race" so to speak.  The pesticide manufacturers have been less than forthcoming and their own studies have been shown more than once to be flawed in favor of a "safe" result simply to get the EPA to approve of them.

The EPA has been shown in publicly released e-mails to be less than honest in how they handle the process of approving said pesticides.  There is no question that both the EPA and the manufacturers need to be questioned and viewed skeptically.

The problem is, even with the shoddy science that has been put forth by the companies, there has been an equal amount of shoddy science by those who have a political agenda against them.  They provide just enough data to get the easy believers riled up and spouting half truths or pure blathering rhetoric bandied about the news media.

This leads us in the middle who are seeking an objective, rational, fact based discussion with few choices in regard to getting real, trustworthy data.

There are scientists who point out that neonicotinoids are the safest group of pesticides to ever have been released.  They are far safer than the previous classes of pesticides that came before.

This may very well be true, but then again, when we want to talk about things that are deadly but "safer" we can have the same conversation talking about stabbing people with knives or shooting them with guns as compared to smothering people with pillows.

Sure, smothering people with pillows has far fewer accidental victims or collateral damage, but it is lethal all the same.

In these times, we also take into consideration what are called "necessary evils".  Things that no one admits to liking or wanting very much, but see no realistic, effective alternatives to.  The use of chemical toxic pesticides is often framed in such a way.  "We feel really bad that these have to be resorted to at all, but what else can we do to save our crops?"

The farmers want to maximize production and profit. Increasing crop yields by reducing pest damage is a big thing for them.  At the same time, many specific crops require or heavily depend on honeybee pollination or there won't be much of a crop to protect.  It is in the farmer's best interest to make sure beekeepers are satisfied with pesticide precautions.  A very fine line to walk indeed.

CCD is blamed for a great many bee colony deaths all around the world, especially in the continental U.S.  Pesticides have been identified as one of the many vectors that contribute to CCD.

Going back to the main point of this post though, where are we to get reliable, fact based information that we can trust has no agenda or motive to see it used to push a particular end?

Even university studies that have usually been trusted are called into question when it is learned that a primary funder of the study was none less than the pesticide manufacturer itself.  Universities need money.  Extensive research requires lots of expensive tools, well educated and disciplined researchers and the space to put all that together.

Pesticide manufacturers are desperate to find some sort of credibility to give a heavily media manipulated public.

It really is a difficult issue to sort out.

Add to that confusion a plethora of politically motivated activists who make every effort to use emotional manipulation and prevent a fact based discussion from happening.  They would rather give their followers a list of things they want them to know and repeat as forcefully as possible to drown out anything they don't want known.

But with all that going on, it's still not over.  The government itself created a monster in the past few years by paying beekeepers for losses much like they offer to pay farmers and ranchers for heavy losses during "catastrophes".  There are many unscrupulous people who will swear on their mother's grave their bees were victims of CCD in order to get that money, even when their still very alive mother is standing at the ready to drive them to the bank.  This throws the accuracy of reporting how many colonies are really affected by CCD out the window.

And yet, once in awhile, we do get bits and pieces that are generally accepted as facts that come out multiple ongoing studies.  We lean forward and and mutter to ourselves, happy as Renfield at an ant farm for every fact we can get.

We are desperate for fact based, rational discussion about bee colony deaths.  How much of CCD is really just bad beekeeping?  How deep of an impact, especially regarding sub-lethal quantities do pesticides really have?  Are there other vectors that have been overlooked or even maybe suppressed that we haven't heard about?

Now there are even reports that the impact of CCD is lessening, that it isn't having the hard impact on bee colony deaths that it had even a few short years ago.

Stay informed, always question, but be calm and reasonable about it.  Letting emotions dictate the discussion is almost always a recipe for disaster.  The more people we can get demanding fact based data from reputable sources and refuting junk science, the better off we will be in the long run.