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Post by freecharlie on Jul 7, 2019 16:05:17 GMT
From ALT-NPS
Let's stick our heads in the sand when it comes to the bee population. I mean they don't really do anything...right?
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Post by femalebusiness on Jul 7, 2019 16:25:21 GMT
OMG!!! That is crazy. Studying what is happening with bees is so important. We've become the country of ignorance and it will destroy us.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jul 7, 2019 17:23:24 GMT
A disaster in the making and getting worse. AS if the farmers are not having enough problems. But the Dept of Agriculture cares ... NOT! Washington (CNN) The US Department of Agriculture has suspended data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies report, citing cost cuts -- a move that robs researchers and the honeybee industry of a critical tool for understanding honeybee population declines, and comes as the USDA is curtailing other research programs.It's also another step toward undoing President Barack Obama's government-wide focus on protecting pollinators, including bees and butterflies, whose populations have plummeted in recent years. The annual survey, which started in 2015, gathers data on the number of honeybees per state by quarter, including those being lost with symptoms of colony collapse disorder, an issue that's made honeybees a darling of environmentalists and climate activists. It is at least the third bee-related dataset to be suspended under the current administration. "The decision to suspend data collection was not made lightly, but was necessary given available fiscal and program resources," according to a notice posted by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Survey. The USDA would not provide a figure for how much the agency was saving by discontinuing the survey.The suspension is "temporary," according to a USDA spokesperson, who did not say when or if it would be resumed. This year's report, scheduled to be released in August, will only include part-year data. Outside groups that have been critical of the administration see the move as another way to undermine federal research. "This is yet another example of the Trump administration systematically undermining federal research on food safety, farm productivity, and the public interest writ large," said Rebecca Boehm, an economist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.** Much more at link: www.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/honeybees-study-usda-donald-trump-budget-cuts/index.html |
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trollie
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by trollie on Jul 7, 2019 17:25:22 GMT
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Post by BSnyder on Jul 7, 2019 17:32:33 GMT
USDA sure cares about our farmers and our food! The USDA and the FDA have been suspect for a few decade about whether they look out for Individual Americans or large corporate farms and interest groups, big dairy, big pharma, sugar, just to name a few. Speaking of corporate interests, I am so tired of things like these being buried in the media vs. being front line. There are so many fucked up things happening behind the scenes that most Americans would be shocked and unified about if they only knew. Take a look at what is happening to scientists at the Department of Agriculture, which I am sure is a direct result of why the honey bee research is being buried. But instead, we get to hear over and over the same old crap that never changes and divides us, because the headlines make money. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-usda-climate-science-quash-squanders-us-science-leadership-63079493616 |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jul 7, 2019 18:59:47 GMT
Somewhere on here we have discussed to moving to Kansas City .... We had the videos of the employees standing with their backs to Perdue when he made the announcement...... What are they supposed to do with their homes and all the other stuff that takes time with a major move? Spouses' jobs, kids' schools? NO homes to go to, no building to go to work in......... |
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Post by lucyg on Jul 7, 2019 20:51:38 GMT
DOOMED!!
And I knew about the honeybee research and the move to Kansas City, just from my usual news sources, the Washington Post and NBC News.
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Post by BSnyder on Jul 7, 2019 23:36:17 GMT
DOOMED!! And I knew about the honeybee research and the move to Kansas City, just from my usual news sources, the Washington Post and NBC News. I would venture to guess that the Peas aren’t necessarily representative of the typical news consumption in depth or variety of sources. I am a confident that if I surveyed 100 people on the street, a large majority would be unaware of the bees and/or government scientists mandatory move. |
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Post by freecharlie on Jul 7, 2019 23:39:01 GMT
DOOMED!! And I knew about the honeybee research and the move to Kansas City, just from my usual news sources, the Washington Post and NBC News. I would venture to guess that the Peas aren’t necessarily representative of the typical news consumption in depth or variety of sources. I am a confident that if I surveyed 100 people on the street, a large majority would be unaware of the bees and/or government scientists mandatory move. agreed and those who did know may not care |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jul 7, 2019 23:42:14 GMT
I think more people know about the plight of Honeybees through the news but have no interest or knowledge of the scientists being moved to Kansas...
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Jul 8, 2019 0:22:33 GMT
Somewhere on here we have discussed to moving to Kansas City .... We had the videos of the employees standing with their backs to Perdue when he made the announcement...... What are they supposed to do with their homes and all the other stuff that takes time with a major move? Spouses' jobs, kids' schools? NO homes to go to, no building to go to work in......... I get that they're not happy about it, but people's jobs move around all the time. It's not ideal for the incumbents, but it's a fact of life. We DO actually have schools and homes and buildings and jobs here in Kansas City - on both sides of the state line, so if you'd rather live in MO, then hey, you do you! You know what else we have? An extremely low cost of living relative to D.C. Cheaper real estate and lots of other things can help make more efficient use of the taxpayers' money. I'm in no way in favor of cutting their budget - just saying they can get more for their money here. It's obviously very ag-friendly around here, and there's a LOT of bee-friendly people. We've got several hives ourselves, and a friend 3 houses up the road has about 200 hives. An interesting little aside here - we also have one of the leading scholars of pollinators in the country right here in KS. Dr. Chip Taylor at KU (about half an hour away from the metro) is an expert on bees, monarch butterflies, and similar helpful critters. And he's cranking out new experts who might be very interested in staying nearby. Again, I'm absolutely supportive of funding this agency, supportive of science, etc. For all I know, there could have been a dirty quid pro quo (I mean, we're talking Trump & crew) to get this move done. But moving an agriculture agency and specifically a bee research operation to KS does actually make a lot of sense. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jul 8, 2019 0:38:39 GMT
Again, I'm absolutely supportive of funding this agency, supportive of science, etc. For all I know, there could have been a dirty quid pro quo (I mean, we're talking Trump & crew) to get this move done. But moving an agriculture agency and specifically a bee research operation to KS does actually make a lot of sense. It is not just the bees, they are a tiny part, it is two WHOLE research departments... I have no qualms about Kansas... But it would be very difficult to move in weeks or a month or two. Let me see if I can find the articles....... |
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Post by lucyg on Jul 8, 2019 0:50:10 GMT
Somewhere on here we have discussed to moving to Kansas City .... We had the videos of the employees standing with their backs to Perdue when he made the announcement...... What are they supposed to do with their homes and all the other stuff that takes time with a major move? Spouses' jobs, kids' schools? NO homes to go to, no building to go to work in......... I get that they're not happy about it, but people's jobs move around all the time. It's not ideal for the incumbents, but it's a fact of life. We DO actually have schools and homes and buildings and jobs here in Kansas City - on both sides of the state line, so if you'd rather live in MO, then hey, you do you! You know what else we have? An extremely low cost of living relative to D.C. Cheaper real estate and lots of other things can help make more efficient use of the taxpayers' money. I'm in no way in favor of cutting their budget - just saying they can get more for their money here. It's obviously very ag-friendly around here, and there's a LOT of bee-friendly people. We've got several hives ourselves, and a friend 3 houses up the road has about 200 hives. An interesting little aside here - we also have one of the leading scholars of pollinators in the country right here in KS. Dr. Chip Taylor at KU (about half an hour away from the metro) is an expert on bees, monarch butterflies, and similar helpful critters. And he's cranking out new experts who might be very interested in staying nearby. Again, I'm absolutely supportive of funding this agency, supportive of science, etc. For all I know, there could have been a dirty quid pro quo (I mean, we're talking Trump & crew) to get this move done. But moving an agriculture agency and specifically a bee research operation to KS does actually make a lot of sense. They gave them practically no notice. Just, pack up and go in like two weeks, or your job is DOA. People have homes, children, spouses with their own jobs ... this kind of thing needs a lot more notice. It’s just one more move by this administration to shut down scientific research. Oh, and to make up for the drastic drop in tax revenues due to the unjustified tax cut.  |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jul 8, 2019 1:04:06 GMT
 Employees turn their back on Agriculture secretary over being relocated to Kansas City ** (CNN)Employees from the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, two Department of Agriculture research agencies, stood and turned their backs to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in silent protest at an all-hands meeting Thursday. Perdue announced earlier Thursday morning that the Economic Research Service, which provides research and statistical analysis for lawmakers, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which allocates federal research funding, will be relocated to Kansas City from Washington, D.C. -- the final announcement in a process that began last year. The moment of solidarity comes after both agencies -- the Economic Research Service last month and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture just this week -- voted overwhelmingly to unionize to push back against the move, which many view as politically driven. Perdue announced the final relocation site in a letter that was distributed to employees Thursday morning. Perdue and the department have argued that the move will lower standard of living costs, save taxpayer dollars and move the agencies closer to "stakeholders." **https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/13/politics/usda-employees-relocated-kansas-city-perdue/index.html Guessing they are NOT happy to be moving......... Hoping they still have theri jobs tomorrow. The whole article is a very interesting read! |
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Jul 8, 2019 1:13:25 GMT
I get that they're not happy about it, but people's jobs move around all the time. It's not ideal for the incumbents, but it's a fact of life. We DO actually have schools and homes and buildings and jobs here in Kansas City - on both sides of the state line, so if you'd rather live in MO, then hey, you do you! You know what else we have? An extremely low cost of living relative to D.C. Cheaper real estate and lots of other things can help make more efficient use of the taxpayers' money. I'm in no way in favor of cutting their budget - just saying they can get more for their money here. It's obviously very ag-friendly around here, and there's a LOT of bee-friendly people. We've got several hives ourselves, and a friend 3 houses up the road has about 200 hives. An interesting little aside here - we also have one of the leading scholars of pollinators in the country right here in KS. Dr. Chip Taylor at KU (about half an hour away from the metro) is an expert on bees, monarch butterflies, and similar helpful critters. And he's cranking out new experts who might be very interested in staying nearby. Again, I'm absolutely supportive of funding this agency, supportive of science, etc. For all I know, there could have been a dirty quid pro quo (I mean, we're talking Trump & crew) to get this move done. But moving an agriculture agency and specifically a bee research operation to KS does actually make a lot of sense. They gave them practically no notice. Just, pack up and go in like two weeks, or your job is DOA. People have homes, children, spouses with their own jobs ... this kind of thing needs a lot more notice. It’s just one more move by this administration to shut down scientific research. Oh, and to make up for the drastic drop in tax revenues due to the unjustified tax cut.  But from what I'm seeing, it's not two weeks. More like three and a half months, according to this: Notice June 13, report by Sept 30. They had a month to make their decision, which yes, is not a lot. But they don't have to actually move that quickly. And again, I'm not saying procedurally this hasn't been a shitshow, because basically everything with TPTB now is. I'm just saying that it makes a lot of sense work-wise that these jobs be located here, and people-wise, it's NOT like moving to Siberia or the desert or something. |
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Jul 8, 2019 3:32:03 GMT
Despite the scary media saying bees are endangered, they're not. Yes their numbers dropped a bit, but they're not in danger as of today. That said, fear of their extinction gets people's attention. It makes headlines, so the myth gets repeated ad nauseam.
I imagine there are hundreds and hundreds of subjects within the department with the same standards of data being collected that did NOT get cut because it's the bees that will make headlines. This will get the public's attention as to the damage being caused by these cuts.
Keep in mind though that there are scientists and various universities with independent studies doing their own data collection. I've met the some scientists and students doing the research out of UC Davis, and they give their data to the US.
Anyway, just my $.02 before anyone panics.
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Post by lucyg on Jul 8, 2019 4:04:21 GMT
They gave them practically no notice. Just, pack up and go in like two weeks, or your job is DOA. People have homes, children, spouses with their own jobs ... this kind of thing needs a lot more notice. It’s just one more move by this administration to shut down scientific research. Oh, and to make up for the drastic drop in tax revenues due to the unjustified tax cut. But from what I'm seeing, it's not two weeks. More like three and a half months, according to this: Notice June 13, report by Sept 30. They had a month to make their decision, which yes, is not a lot. But they don't have to actually move that quickly. And again, I'm not saying procedurally this hasn't been a shitshow, because basically everything with TPTB now is. I'm just saying that it makes a lot of sense work-wise that these jobs be located here, and people-wise, it's NOT like moving to Siberia or the desert or something. Yes, I guess I got my dates mooshed up ... sorry about that. And of course there’s nothing wrong with Kansas City. I have a stepsister there.  But it’s still a politically motivated move that will end with a bunch of people losing their jobs or having their lives badly disrupted, with fewer government scientists (mark my words), and with less scientific foundation to the dumbass decisions this administration is making. |
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Post by papersilly on Jul 8, 2019 4:26:18 GMT
If trump doesn't believe in global warming, why should he see how vital bees are to our ecosystem?
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