skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Study: Global Bee Populations on Decline

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 26, 2021   

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A new study confirms mounting evidence bee populations are on the decline in Nebraska and across the globe.

Researchers scoured an international network of databases, from universities, museums and government agencies, filled with more than three centuries of data. They found there have been zero sightings for nearly a quarter of all known bee species in more than 30 years.

Eduardo Zattara, biologist at the Institute for Research on Biodiversity and the Environment, and the report's co-author, said that's a problem in part because bees are critical for food production.

"Many crops that are actually of high value, like fruits, almonds, are highly dependent on pollinators, and so we need bees," Zattara explained. "No bees, you get no fruit."

Climate change, loss of pollinator habitat to human development, and the growing use of neonicotinoid insecticides are seen as primary drivers of declining bee numbers.

Neonicotinoid manufacturers have argued honeybee populations are on the rise globally, and have conducted studies showing no harm to colonies when their product is used correctly.

Zattara said honeybees have become the poster child of bee conservation efforts, which he believes is misguided.

He said once farmers figure out the right levels of chemical insecticides, honeybees are likely to do just fine, and their populations can be restored with enough investment.

"The problem is that it's all the other bees," Zattara observed. "There's 20,000 species of bees. If you put all of the focus on the honeybee, you're going to be missing the other ones. The other ones are actually providing a lot of support for what honeybees cannot do."

Zattara pointed to a Twitter post he came across comparing bird and bee biodiversity to illustrate the challenge facing conservationists.

Zattara said honeybees are like the chickens of the insect world. Preventing the loss of diverse bird species will not happen by raising more chickens.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021