A Spring Without Bees: How Colony Collapse Disorder Has Endangered Our Food Supply - Hardcover

Schacker, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1599214326 ISBN 13: 9781599214320

Publisher: Lyons Pr, 2008

Synopsis

A century after the birth of Rachel Carson, the world faces a new environmental disaster, from a chemical similar to DDT. This time the culprit appears to be IMD, or imidacloprid, a relatively new but widely used insecticide in the United States. Many beekeepers and researchers blame IMD for Colony Collapse Disorder, which has wiped out 23% of America’s beehives. Even trace amounts make bees unable to fly back to their hive. Since honeybees are essential to the production of most major food crops, their demise could spell catastrophe.
 
In a riveting, scientific/political detective story, Michael Schacker examines the evidence and offers a plan to save the bees. Like An Inconvenient Truth and Silent Spring, A Spring without Bees is both a powerful cautionary tale and a call to action.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Schacker is an investigative science writer and is the founder of The New Earth Institute, a lifelong learning center on the Internet. He has served as a strategic consultant and contract writer in the field of regenerative agriculture, and believes that there is a solution on this Earth for each of our many problems if we but look for them.

From the Back Cover

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson, the world faces a new environmental disaster, from a chemical similar to DDT. This time the culprit appears to be IMD, or imidacloprid, a relatively new but widely used insecticide in the United States. Many beekeepers and some researchers think IMD is the new prime suspect for the devastating syndrome known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, which has raised the annual die-off rate of honey bees to 30% of all the beehives in the United States. They say even trace amounts of IMD make bees lose their desire to feed, which would quickly lead to the collapse of their colony. After several days, there are few or no bees left in the hive. Since honey bees are essential to the production of fruit, nut, and vegetable crops around the world, their demise could spell catastrophe for our food supply and global economy.

In a riveting detective story that melds science and politics, Michael Schacker investigates the case of the missing bees, examining the many theories on the cause, including cell phones, mites, new pathogens, and bee management. He then examines the evidence against IMD. The book does much more than illuminate the scientific research, however. Using CCD as a metaphor for our own human hive, Schacker asks: Are the bees trying to tell us something? Could this be the warning sign of a much larger crisis looming directly ahead? Might humankind suffer someday from ?Civilization Collapse Disorder ? And how must we change our human hive in order to ensure its survival?

Like An Inconvenient Truth and Silent Spring before it, A Spring without Bees is a compelling cautionary tale and a clarion call for action.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lyons Pr
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1599214326
• ISBN 13: 9781599214320
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 292