"New Delhi, Nov 28 (IBNS): The Indian Environment Ministry is examining a report by an expert committee that has studied the possible impacts of cell phone towers on wildlife including birds and bees. In a written reply to a question posed by lawmakers, Natarajan said that the Ministry had formed the expert committee on Aug 30 under the chairmanship of Dr Asad Rahmani, Director, Bombay Natural History Society.

"Media reports have said that the environment and forests' ministry study has blamed electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from communication towers for the declining numbers of sparrows and bees.

"The study titled 'A possible impact of communication tower on wildlife birds and bees' said the radiation decreases egg production in the bees.

"It also added that in the case of honey bees, the group observed that high radiation resulted in an unusual phenomenon known as 'colony collapse disorder' which is characterized by sudden disappearance of a hive's inhabitants, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers behind.

"The vanished bees were never found. Also, the navigational skills of the bees were affected by high-tension lines . . ."

"India is one of the fastest growing mobile telephony industries in the world. It is estimated that by 2013, 1 billion plus people will be having cell phone connection in India. To support this growth of cell phone subscriber in the country, there has also been a tremendous growth of infrastructure in the form of mobile phone towers. Today, in absence of any policy on infrastructure development and location of cell phone towers, large numbers of mobile phone towers are being installed in a haphazard manner across urban and rural areas including other sparsely populated areas in India . . ."

"If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man has not more than four years to live; no more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more humanity!" credited to Albert Einstein

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"This first week of November (2011) our population surpassed seven billion humans. And in the last week of October (2011) scientists from the University of California at Berkeley irrefutably proved that over one billion temperature sensors registered warming between 1-2 degrees Celsius, in some cases more than three times greater than the IPCCs average of 0.64 degrees Celsius. Humans are forcing the climate by burning carbon-based fuels releasing over 82 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, daily, on our planet.

"All life forms are in jeopardy. Our food chain is perilously close to collapsing; yet the lawmakers in Washington regularly ignore this message. My biology and environmental students at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and I are miffed at why this issue is not front and center in DC.

"Prices at the grocery store have been rising dramatically since February 2011 and will continue to do so with no foreseeable end in sight. The climate has changed that much -- it's disrupting our way of life and costing governments around the world billions of dollars in infrastructure damage . . .

"Surprisingly, bees and humans share a number of similarities. For example, we both require restful and rejuvenating sleep. Sleep deprived bees, just like humans, experience communication problems like finding food and performing an accurate waggle dance to reveal locations of nectar, pollen, water and tree resin. Stressed bees like humans become anxious, depressed and pessimistic; they display emotion-like qualities. Moreover, bees that exhibit a high defensive behavior or optimism are likely to survive a winter rather than perish . . .

"The amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted from your cellular phone is enough for you to strongly consider using the "hands-free" mode to obviate harmful brain radiation. Researchers from Switzerland discovered that the amount of radiation given off by just one mobile phone has a noticeably negative effect on bee behavior, causing them to immediately become anxious. People would be wise to take note at what the bees are showing us about cellular phone radiation levels.

"At the end of each day I take a tablespoon of local beekeepers' honey and marvel that it took 12 bees laboring their entire foraging lives of three weeks, combined flying time of about 6,000 miles, to produce 21 grams or a tablespoon of delicious and nutritious honey."

Please read this. I am not the only one, and I won't be the last.

"I knew about colony collapse disorder and other bee problems but since I live in a wooded area free of pesticides and GMO close by, on a river facing a mountain outside cell phone range, I thought our bees would be safe.

"They thrived for over a year but have now disappeared. Only a few are left inside, frozen yet there is plenty of honey and capped brood - exactly how colony collapse is described.

"Bees do not voluntarily leave a hive where there is capped brood. What happens is that bees leave the hive to go forage or get water, and get lost due to their navigation system being disrupted by electromagnetic fields. So they wander aimlessly until they die of exhaustion. The result is that we find empty bee hives.

"The few dead bees inside, dead of cold because of too few bees to keep the hive from freezing, are perfectly shaped, showing they were healthy, without parasites. I never thought I would see this here.

"Three weeks ago they were fine. So what happened?

"I have now found out Hydro installed a smart meter on my property without my knowledge and I think it was early fall. I am writing Hydro to get it removed and trying to find out if I can have any legal recourse.

"I am very sad for my bees but most of all depressed to think we are creating a world in which even beneficial beings such as bees cannot survive.

"Since there are other animals on this property I am determined to try and get everyone in the area to refuse smart meters.

"Please let people know about this."

"During a recent visit to Africa, a gentleman took me to a field full of plants and said "What do you hear Barrie?" I replied: "Nothing." He said: "Normally you and I would not be able to hear each other now, there would be so many bees buzzing, however, since that mobile phone transmitter went up, we haven't seen a single bee." I received other similar reports concerning bees, birds, even ants during my stay in Africa. It was explained to me that the ants are very important for their symbiotic relationship with plants. The plants produce a sweet substance to feed the ants and in return the ants prevent insects landing on and eating the plant's leaves. Hence, ants guarantee plant crop safety and harvest.

"It appeared that the common denominator in all cases was the proximity of mobile phone transmitters transmitting low-level continuous microwaves with added modulations (pulses) causing cellular distress to species within range. Residents who complained were told that such installations were within 'International Safety Guidelines'; other residents were either totally ignored, mocked or ridiculed.

"Yet proof of such effects from low-level microwave irradiation has been known to Government(s) and published since 1932. (1) By 1971 the US Naval Medical Research institute referenced 2300 research articles listing in excess of 120 illnesses from low-level microwaves. (2) This was reinforced by confirmation from the US Defence Intelligence Agency Documents from 1972-76. (3)

"So what does all this have to do with bees, birds and ants? Well, quite a lot really . . ."

"Mobile phone towers could have an adverse long-term impact on birds, bees and other species. An expert panel headed by Asad Rahmani, Director of Bombay Natural History Museum, has suggested steps to minimise the impact. Among them are curbing installation of mobile phone towers in the vicinity of wildlife protected areas, bird sanctuaries, Ramsar sites, turtle breeding areas, bee colonies and zoos, apart from constructing towers on a platform which can be relocated, writes Kalyan Ray.

"As cell phone networks grow exponentially connecting every corner of the country, researchers and environmentalists are jittery about the impact of electromagnetic radiation on birds, bees and other animals.

"While there is no conclusive scientific evidence on how it works, a large volume of scientific literature shows that the electromagnetic field does have an adverse long-term impact on the biological and behavioural systems, though the causal mechanism remains unknown . . ."

In this updated bestseller (with new science and data related to North America, the United Kingdom and Australia), Dr. Reese Halter continues with his passionate crusade to save the world's most important group of flower-visiting animals: the honeybee. Responsible for pollinating over 110 different crop types throughout the world and accounting for a quarter-trillion dollars' worth of commerce, the incredible efforts of the honeybees are vital to humanity in terms of the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the medicines we use. And yet, all around the globe, billions of honeybees are dying from colony collapse disorder, the effects of global warming, introduced mites, bacteria, fungi, diseases and modern insecticides. Our civilization as we know it depends on the health and well-being of all 20,000 known species of bees, and each of us is required to lend a helping hand to ensure that the bees survive.

"In recent years the public discussion has been focused increasingly on possible unhealthy effects of high-frequency electromagnetic fields (particularly of mobile-phones) on human beings. Whereas thermal effects of this radiation could be explained very well, non-thermal effects could hardly be clarified. In our last works, we pointed out that - from view of Educational Informatics - honey bees are suitable bioindicators to serve as a model of a living being to study learning processes especially in this aspect.

"In this paper, we describe a first pilot study, which explores the non-thermal influence of high-frequency electromagnetic fields. Therefore we observe the behaviour of honey bees (apis mellifera carnica) by exposing them to the radiation of DECT-phones. In this study four respectively eight bee-colonies were used as experimental group and were irradiated, whereas the same numbers of comparable bee-colonies was field-free. The observed parameters were the building behaviour of the bees within the beehive, its weight and especially the bees' returning behaviour . . ."

The connection between "Colony Collapse Disorder" and the detrimental influences of radiation from electromagnetic and radiofrequency fields is only now beginning to emerge.  

"Honey bees help pollinate 1 in every 3 bites that we eat... They are vital in our agricultural industry and essential for the survival of the almost 7 billion people who inhabit this planet. And, as the world's population continues to grow, so does our reliance on honey bees. Unfortunately, most pollinating insects throughout the world are endangered today, including the honey bee. On this edition, we'll discuss the honey bee's fight to survive amidst a rapidly changing landscape filled with pesticides and parasites. We will also learn the latest about colony collapse disorder and hear from beekeepers, researchers, and gardeners who are trying to protect them . . ."

"Apiculture has developed into an important industry in India as honey and bee wax have become common products.  Recently a sharp decline in population of honey bees has been  observed in Kerala.  Although the bees  are susceptible to diseases and attacked by natural enemies like wasps, ants and wax moth, constant vigilance on  the part of the bee keepers can overcome these adverse conditions.  The present plunge in population (< 0.01)  was not due to these reasons.  It was caused by man due to unscientific proliferation of towers and mobile phones. 

"Bees and other insects have survived and evolved complex immune systems on this planet over a span of millions of years.  It is not logical that they would now suddenly die out now due to diseases and natural parasites.  This suggests another factor has been introduced to their environment that disrupts their immune system.  This man made factor is the mobile towers and mobile phones.  The public is not being informed of the threat due to deliberate attempts on the part of mobile phone makers to mask the direct causal relationship . . ."