Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:23:57 -0400 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
On Thu, 15 Mar 2007 09:22:14 -0400, Adony Melathopoulos
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Rephrased: which inputs give us
>the most profitable and sustainable (eg takes less non-renewable energy,
>produces less greenhouses gases, retains more wealth within our rural
>communities) increase in yield.
At the risk of being told to just shut up about it I'd like to bring this
back to the Canada/US border. The study that Adony suggests would be very
interesting to read but difficult to carry out. But I expect someone with
more time and brains than me could come up with some fairly accurate
figures on just one of these factors.
I think I am correct in assuming that a beekeeper with 5000 hives in
Canada would burn more fossil fuel trucking his hives down to pollinate
almonds in California each year than he would keeping his bees in Canada
year round. I'd be interested to know how much more fuel would be burned
and what that carbon is worth these days in the way of carbon credits. It
would then be easy to compare that figure with the value of pollination
achieved and with the beekeepers profit. Another variable is how much
pollination fees would drop with this new source of bees avaliable but
there are a lot of "if's" in that one.
I also feel it is a safe assumption that ten, 500 hive beekeepers in
California contibute more wealth/volunteer service/stability to their
local communties than the Canadian beekeeper with 5000 hives who moves is
bees down in October and takes them back north (home) in April. For that
matter I expect the California beekeeper with 5000 hives contibutes more
to his community/state/country than the Canadian migrating in with 5000
hives. If you agree with these assumptions then how do you think
governments should act? It seems to me that some advantage should be given
to the local beekeeper. This is assuming of course that our goal is to
have safe, stable, low-polluting communities.
Braced for the incoming,
Ted
******************************************************
* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm *
******************************************************
|
|
|