Food or Phone, Is That the Question?

The Independent has a fairly unnerving story as to how bees may be effected by the radiation given off by mobile phones and other electronic devices. The UK has already been hit hard by Colony Collapse Disorder, and there have been a few theories why this has occured.

The theory in the article is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing them from finding their way back to their hives. Sounds a little buzzy, but there is now evidence to back this up - a former German study found that that bees' behaviour changes near power lines, and this new study discovered that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Note that it doesn't prove that cellphones are directly responsible for CCD, but it does provide evidence that mobile phones are implicated in the death of hives.

This might turn out to be a devil's bargain - either give up the cell phones, or give up eating as the world's harvests fail. It's hard to get excited about either option, but if it comes down to it, I would rather eat than talk.