Professor
James Thompson of the University of Toronto in Canada observed that
pollination of some plants has dramatically decreased in the last 17
years, some by as much as 50%.
His study in the Rocky Mountains
of Colorado, USA is one of the longest-ever observations of the
pollination process. He comments that although bee numbers have
declined, what was most crucial was that climate change has driven the
plants and flowers to open at times that are no longer matched to when
the bees
emerge from hibernation to pollinate them.
Other
insects vital to pollination, such as butterflies, have also suffered
declines due to habitat loss and climate change. Professor James
Thompson said: “This is sobering because it suggests that pollination is
vulnerable even in a relatively pristine environment that is free of
pesticides and human disturbance but still subject
to climate change.”
Such
a finding is especially alarming as one-third of the world’s fruits and
vegetables depend on pollinators including bees to flower and grow. Our
gratitude Professor James Thompson for this comprehensive study that
reflects another aspect of the disturbing implications of climate change
on our natural world.
Let us turn toward conscientious
decisions and concern for the environment that ease these conditions and
restore our pristine planet. During an August 2009 videoconference in
Thailand, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke about the important roles of
all animal species, including the bees, while also noting their keen
awareness of human-caused climate change and what must be done about it.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
It is almost too much to try to convey the importance of each and every
inhabitant friend to the environment as a whole. The tiny bees
contribute to pollination, that we could not replace, not only for
flowers but vital food crops. We cannot replace their work even, as a
human.
The animal friends are in pollination more aware of
climate change than we are because they are the ones on the frontlines
holding up nature’s delicate web of life. They are also, sadly, the
first-hand victims of global warming, as we have witnessed and
discovered.
They are in our hands, the humans’ hands. They know
that the solution lies not so much in words but in daily actions, and
the essential change that will be the most restorative for our world is
to be vegan.
That is the essence of what we need to stabilize
the planet, to bless the world through our everyday benevolent actions,
meaning be vegan.
http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-news-world/climate-change-affecting-bees-20100906-14wz6.htmlhttp://www.physorg.com/news202966309.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7980954/Bee-decline-already-having-dramatic-effect-on-pollination-of-plants.htmlhttp://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/bee-decline-could-slash-food-output-finds-study_100423925.html#ixzz0ylPRrEyV