Guest Column: Free-Market Environmentalism Todd Myers | Environmental Director, Washington Policy Center The Washington Policy Center is an independent, non-partisan think tank promoting sound public policy based on free-market solutions. Todd Myers is one of the nation’s leading experts on freemarket environmental policy and is the author of the 2011 landmark book Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism is Harming the Environment. His in-depth research on the failure of the state’s 2005 “green” building mandate receives national attention. He recently became a contributor to The Wall Street Journal.
Why I don’t count on politicians to save my honeybees A
s spring arrives, we soon will begin seeing honeybees as they collect pollen and nectar, and pollinate flowers and fruit in the area. The bees in my own hives near Issaquah are getting ready and, with luck, they will survive the winter and I can look forward to a strong year of pollination and honey. Honeybees are an especially welcome sight to beekeepers because of recent concerns about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Over the last decade, the percentage of hives that fail to survive the winter has increased from about 15 percent to over 30 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A great deal of debate goes on among beekeepers about the cause of this worrisome decline. Some talk apocalyptically about a world without bees. Many environmentalists have quickly pointed to causes ranging from pesticides, to genetically modified crops (GMOs), to cell phone towers. Research shows, however, that none of these suspected causes is the likely source of increased winter die-off of honeybees. For example, while bees in the 98 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM
United States have struggled, honeybees in the Canadian prairies where a large amount of GMO crops grow, have fared better. In Europe, on the other hand, where GMO crops are banned, honeybees have seen declines.
Bill McKibben, a wellknown environmental activist, even blamed climate change for the decline. Honeybees are not native to North America and they have thrived from California to North Dakota. Blaming a onedegree global temperature increase for the decline of honeybees that have already adapted across a wide temperature range is the sort of unscientific nonsense that makes it difficult to address the real issues.
Some have blamed pesticides called neonicitinoids that are seedbased. The evidence of a link to honeybee death is sparse, however. Recent studies found if honeybees become exposed to the pesticide, they can be harmed. Studies also show, however, that honeybees are unlikely to be exposed to neonicitinoids because the pesticides are not expressed in pollen or nectar. Neonics actually are less toxic than some pesticides they replace. Banning neonics, as some activists have proposed, might increase the use of other pesticides that are more harmful to bees. Bill McKibben, a well-known environmental activist, even blamed climate change for the decline. Honeybees are not native to North America and they have thrived from California to North Dakota. Blaming a one-degree global temperature increase for the decline of honeybees that have already adapted across a wide temperature range is the sort of unscientific nonsense that makes it difficult to address the real issues. Beekeepers worry more about other threats, like the varroa mite, which has the appropriate scientific name of varroa destructor. Varroa mites attach themselves to bees, weakening them and transmitting illness. Reducing the threat from varroa is a common topic among beekeepers.