Planetary Ruin

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world’s harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world – the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon – which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe – was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive’s inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London’s biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.

Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: “There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK.”

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world’s crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, “man would have only four years of life left”.

No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.

German research has long shown that bees’ behaviour changes near power lines.

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a “hint” to a possible cause.

Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: “I am convinced the possibility is real.”

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BUCHANAN, N.Y. Investigators are working to determine the cause of Friday’s explosion and fire on the grounds of the Indian Point nuclear energy center.

The incident forced the shut down of the Indian Point 3 nuclear reactor, and caused plant owner Entergy Nuclear Northeast to issue a “notice of unusual event.”

Plant safety director Michael Slobodien said an electrical transformer exploded and caught fire near the reactor shortly after 11 a.m.

“It’s in an area outside the nuclear part of the plant,” Slobodien told reporters. “The plant shut down safely and is under control.

“Anytime you have something of this nature that affects a major component like the transformer, you would shut down for safety sake and to conduct an investigation,” Slobodien said.

The transformer takes electricity from the reactor and feeds it to overhead power cables. It was protected by a sprinkler deluge system that automatically knocked down much of the fire, Slobodien said.

The plant’s own fire brigade also worked to put out the fire. The Verplanck Fire Department sent several units to Indian Point to serve as mutual aid, but they were not needed.

Westchester County sent health workers to monitor air quality near the plant after the fire. The monitors detected no release of radiation, according to Tony Sutton, the county’s Commissioner of Emergency Services.

“We always want to err on the side of caution,” Sutton said. “That’s why we dispatched a couple field teams to monitor air quality and check for radiation.”

“We have nothing to indicate this had any impact at all on public health and safety.”

Smoke from the fire was visible across the Hudson River in Rockland County, and prompted concerned calls from many residents.

Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef complained it took Entergy 30 minutes to notify the county of the event.

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