> There is little available evidence to suggest that recent 
> pollinator declines in North America have resulted in smaller 
> populations of wild plants, possibly because the challenges 
> of obtaining evidence are formidable. More research is needed 
> to assess ecological consequences of current and future 
> pollinator declines.

Thus we see how these "Status of Pollinators" reports from
the academic community have multiple grant proposals
embedded within them:

1) They propose funding to determine the ecological 
consequences of current and future pollinator declines.

2) They propose funding to determine the cause(s) of the
declines.

3) They propose funding to determine what mitigation
measures might be effective.

Can society really afford to bankroll what amounts to 
a self-reinforcing treadmill of native pollinator research;
i.e. the more society expands, the more native pollinators 
decline and the more grant money the scientist will seek? 

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

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