Adrian Higgins, Washington Post Staff Writer
alleges at the end of his generally excellent article on threats to bees
Tuesday, May 14, 2002; Page A01
> a quotation attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared
>off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life
>left."

        Can anyone confirm or correct this attribution?
I doubt he said anything so far from his expertise.


Higgins also reports
>beekeepers from California to Virginia are scratching their
>heads at the Bush administration's proposal to close three of the four
>Department of Agriculture bee research laboratories, including the first,
>opened in the 1890s in Chevy Chase and moved to Beltsville in 1939.
>
>To save money and avoid possible duplication, the president has proposed
>closing the bee labs at Beltsville, Baton Rouge, La., and Tucson.  The
>laboratory at Weslaco, Tex., would remain open.  Funding would be reduced
>from $5.7 million to $2.5 million, and the number of positions cut from 21
>to 9.
>
>"We certainly recognize the concern, but at the same time we have to reflect
>some national priorities right now," said Alisa Harrison, spokeswoman for
>Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman.
>
>But beekeepers interviewed said any duplication of efforts by the
>researchers is warranted in this crisis, and the cadre of scientists at the
>four labs represents the honeybee's best hope for survival in the United
>States.
>
>"It's like cutting all research for mad-cow disease just when an epidemic of
>the disease reaches its pinnacle and decimates our beef industry," said
>Laszlo Pentek, an Arlington beekeeper.

        This seems to me a sober comparison by Mr Pentek.

R