Cell phones play key role in bee decline

It sounds like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror movie. But some scientists suggest our love of cellphones could cause massive food shortages, as global crops fail.

They advance the theory that radiation emitted by cell phones and other high-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the strangest mysteries to ever arise in the natural world – the abrupt disappearance of bees that pollinate crops.

Honey bees are one of the most important species in the world and life without them would be virtually impossible. You may have heard that a world without bees means a world without fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds and nuts. It’s true, Albert Einstein once said that “if the bee were to disappear from the face of the globe, man would only have four years to live”.

Electromagnetic waves emitted by cell phone towers and cell phones can pose a threat to honey bees, a study published in India concluded.

Beekeeping (technical term for beekeeping) is a well-developed industry in India, which is why the majority of research on the impact of mobile radiation on honey bees is provided by this country. The potential phenomenon of extinct bee populations around the world is known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). This could be caused by several reasons, for example climate change and pesticides, as well as the radiation emitted by cell phones, WiFi routers and cell towers. Radio frequency radiation occurs everywhere.

In their report on bee populations in India, scientists Ved Prakash Sharma and Neelima Kumar noted that an increase in the use of electronic devices has led to environmental pollution. “The behavior and biology of bees have been affected by electrosmog because these insects have magnetite in their bodies which helps them navigate,” they said.

According to Dr Sainuddin Pattazhy, who conducted the bee study, “if towers and cell phones continue to increase, bees could be extinct in 10 years.”