Jeffrey R. Hills wrote: "This may be an important discussion for the posters, but probably not for most readers of BEE-L."

Not only do I find this whole discussion very interesting for the information provided, but I think it gives valuable context for when the players in this argument post about other things.

Randy Oliver wrote: "This appears to be on the ground evidence that the seed treatments were not the cause of CCD. Yet some environmental groups are currently engaged in preparing a suit against the EPA that is based upon the claim that seed treatments cause CCD."

When CCD first hit the news, all kinds of people came out of the woodwork with their pet causes: See, we told you the neonics were bad; see, we told you the GMOs were bad; etc. etc. (Not sure where the cell phone thing came from!) I was working in a beekeeping booth for our local club about that time, and a lady came up and asked us what the big honeybee die-off was all about. A co-worker immediately responded, "Pesticides." The lady nodded knowingly and said, "Yeah, I thought so."

My point is, there is a tendency to believe what we want to believe and pay closest attention to the evidence that backs us up. Knowing where certain people stand in these broad discussions about technology, big agriculture and government comes in handy when assessing their opinions about some of the smaller issues that come up.

Eugene Makovec
Missouri USA

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