Question & Answer About the Vanishing Bees

Dr. George L. Carlo provides insight into the disappearance of the honeybees

Dear Dr. Carlo:

I have read recently in Salon.com that the theory that bees are disappearing because of exposure to EMR is not supported by any science. You were on Good Morning America supporting that theory. Who is correct? Carol H Amherst, MA

Dear Carol:

Unfortunately, the situation with the bees is a page out of the playbook that we deal with all the time with the mobile phone industry. When the bee story first broke, it was based on a German study that showed information carrying radio waves disrupted the ability of bees to make it back to their hives. That work was made public about two months ago. There were other data to support it as well. You can see some of that on our SWI website -- note especially an exceptionally insightful article by Milt Bowling posted there.

The news media ran with the story, bolstered a great deal by a quote attributed to Albert Einstein something along these lines: 'watch the bees. when they disappear, man will disappear within four years'......The mobile phone industry was caught off-guard by the widespread media attention the story garnered.

After the first news cycle, the mobile phone industry 'hit squad' went into action. First, they planted stories that cast doubt on the Einstein quote. Never before have I seen such a desperate attempt to distance a quote from a figure as revered as Albert Einstein. In the process, his name was besmirched. Very sad.

Next, they conscripted scientists from a number of universities to begin going public with other explanations...viruses, bacteria, pesticides etc., etc., etc.. These alternatives have been making the rounds over the past month. The mobile phone industry is putting quite a bit of money into the pockets of these scientists by supporting their work regarding viruses and alternative explanations. The industry is dealing with it as a politics and public relations problem....thus, manipulation of the public perception is the appropriate remedy for them. Sadly, this is business as usual for the mobile phone industry.

Most people in the public don't know the back story, so they do not see the manipulation coming or have the necessary bases for skepticism to see through it. But here is the bottom line:

The colony collapse disorder has occurred concurrently on four continents within a very short time frame. If the reason was biological or chemical, there would be a pattern of epidemic spread....we would be able to trace the spread of bee disappearance or Colony Collapse Disorder from a source similar to the spread of SARS a few years ago. That is not the case. The condition has hit each continent at roughly the same time. That would mean the cause has to have hit the continents at the same time as well. Mobile phones meet that criterion.
None of the biological or chemical hypotheses actually have a mechanistic explanation that is plausible. The science for the biological and chemical alternatives is far thinner than the science supporting the EMR connection. A case of the pot calling the kettle black.
The disruption of intercellular communication hypothesis that we now know effects cell membranes in most species is biologically plausible...and no other theory has that support.
The basis for a biological mechanism, coupled with the saturation in information carrying radio waves we have globally in the past 14 months, provides the underpinning. In 2004, we had the first billion cell phone users globally, the accumulation over 20 years; by mid 2006, we had the second billion; today we have surpassed three billion. That suggests we are near a saturation point of these waves in the ambient environment. The bees are likely the harbinger or the proverbial 'canaries in the coal mine'.
Taken together, EMR is the only explanation that makes sense regarding the disappearing bees: the timing is correct -- the problem has occurred primarily within the past two years....when we have nearly tripled the background level of information carrying radio waves; the pattern is global so that suggests a cause that is globally present; there is at least one peer-reviewed study that supports it, and there is a mechanism documented that lends biological plausibility.

In our view, this is a serious 'red flag' of risk that should be heeded. This is yet another example of mobile phone industry orchestration aimed at distracting the public from data that can save lives.

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