Rochester Bee Problem

by Frank J. Regan 

I am glad to see that the Democrat and Chronicle is finally on this story. "A honey of a mystery stings area" - Democrat & Chronicle (March 29, 2007).  It’s been news around the country for awhile now, but even though New York State and Rochester depend heavily on pollinating bees our major media has been slow on this story. This is the kind of story our local major media needs to be out in front on because a potential problem with pollinating bees could have a major impact on our agricultural economy, but more importantly it might be a harbinger of environmental problems.  

In order for the public to contact their public officials so aid can be brought for important studies on why Bee Colony Collapse Syndrome is occurring we need preemptive reporting by our media long before the consequences of this type of problem gets in the headlines. The sooner the media gets on these stories, the sooner the public and our public officials can monitor and support measures to solve these kind of environmental problems before they become unsolvable.  

The article above is good as far as it goes, but what measures are underway to conduct a comprehensive scientific inquiry into this bee disease? What will our public officials do to solve the problem? What kinds of potential causes (pesticides, invasive species, pollution, etc.) are behind this problem and what measures will be taken to solve this kind of problem?  

I hope our major media stays on this story, coordinates with other news media in other communities (which have long been reporting on this problem) and keeps the public informed on the specific solutions being tried and what the overall (connecting the dots) message is about Colony Collapse Syndrome. --

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