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Hi Mary & All,
Yes I am aware of much of this but my experience as a scientist,=20
local scientific editor and associate editor on a journal persuades me=20
that it is very easy to reach wrong conclusions and, even in the most=20
simple system, very difficult to generate glitch-free results. If one=20
throws into this mix any personal bias or witch hunt then truly reliable=20
conclusions become unlikely.
In one such cameo, and I have forgotten details so am free to=20
disclose, the three authors were each from different universities, and=20
their data, supposedly log 10 transformations, were clearly not=20
possible. So I asked them to check their transformations which led to a=20
chain of "we are right; you are wrong" letters. Eventually I asked them=20
to photocopy their log tables and explain, by example, how their data =20
were transformed. They were using the tables incorrectly.
I will not bore you with details but even the most simple test or=20
measure may in fact be white noise if one does not have an exhaustive=20
structure of quality control tests. In several cross Canada blind sample=20
tests involving soil analysis, there was wide scatter around the true of=20
up to 10 fold error.
I learned early in the game to never trust a mathematical equation=20
in a paper unless I could derive it. The odds are about 2:1 that it will=20
be incorrect in some way. And sometimes rock solid methods/results are=20
shredded by some windbag.
Do you remember the brief excitement about cold fusion ? Their=20
meter, instead of being null point, was pinned to the left at zero=20
energy release. So they could detect release of energy but not detect=20
the balancing absorption of energy.
Ground truth is a good foundation from which to start. If Neonics=20
are so tough on bees why is there a glut of honey on the market ?
Looking back at environmental loss and degradation over the last 78=20
years of my awareness the 50s were natural heaven relative to even the=20
80s. So, I my view, Our present mess is a case of death by a thousand=20
cuts with much of this tied to mindless pursuit of the horizon.
One should not focus on one minor strand of a great destructive web=20
when as Pogo observed about 1956 "I have seen the enemy and he is us." I=20
spite of the mass killing of insects on the highway it may still not be=20
too late to observe this directly by driving on some warm, calm evening=20
at dusk with a net over the grill. In addition to collisions with=20
insects I suspect that the huge pressure changes associated with high=20
speed truck travel cause many insects to explode along the lines of a=20
French Press effect.
And increasingly we are face to face with the ultimate threat;=20
climate change. It is misplaced priorities to fuss about chipped paint=20
on a window frame when the house is on fire.
Yt, DW, Kentville
------ Original Message ------
From: "Mary Macaulay" <marymacaulay@hotmail.com>
To: "naturens@chebucto.ns.ca" <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: 4/28/2018 8:00:36 PM
Subject: [NatureNS] Re: Neonicotinoids extremely damaging to ecosystems=20
- should be banned here too
>Very surprised you are not aware and concerned about the extreme=20
>ecological damage attributed to neonics David. Here=E2=80=99s one link to=
get=20
>you started on an unfortunate journey of sad discovery.
>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4284392/#!po=3D3.17287
>
>
>With kindest regards
>
>Mary (Macaulay), P.Eng.
>Owner, Remember Adventures B&B & Caper Cafe
>Bed & Breakfast, Pedal Buggy, bike, kayak, coaster & snowshoe rentals,=20
>great bird friendly coffee, organic baking, breakfast & pasta, soups,=20
>stews, vegan curries & chili, pollinator meadow, games & more!!
>(Cafe/Buggies Open Wed to Sunday: 8:00 am - 3 pm; B&B 7 days a week -=20
>please book via Airbnb)
>HWY 6 & Station Road & Trans-Canada Trail
>Tatamagouche
>RememberAdventures.ca & InsectRecovery.org
>1-902-293-1533
>Twitter @RememberTata & @InsectRecovery
>
>On Apr 28, 2018, at 7:37 PM, David <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
>
>>Hi Peter & All,
>> Perhaps not such good news. The neonics ban is I think a case of=20
>>mob rule as opposed to experience based conclusions. Many farmers use=20
>>Bees and Neonics and they get along fine provided, relying on memory,=20
>>one doesn't use neonics on the field to be pollinated. Entomologists=20
>>are reluctant to get involved in a media firestorm but those who=20
>>comment privately just shake their heads in disbelief and say "What=20
>>next ?".
>> And for some ground truth, always a good starting point, there was=
=20
>>a surplus of bees in NS last year. Some hives had to be destroyed=20
>>because management costs can not be covered by honey production alone=20
>>and there was lowered demand for pollination services.
>> And worldwide there is a surplus of honey.
>> Mark Twain observed that a lie can travel around the world while=20
>>the truth is putting on its shoes. And "One of the most striking=20
>>differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine=20
>>lives."
>> Witch hunts may make the mob feel superior but they end badly.
>>
>> On a related vein, I fear for our wild bees. They overwinter in=20
>>the ground and we had very deep frost this year. I have seen Honey=20
>>Bees in my yard but, as I feared, not one wild bee.
>> One should not waste time on non issues, such as neonic use, when=20
>>the great problem, climate change, is extremely serious.
>>Yt, DW, Kentville
>>From: pce@accesswave.ca
>>To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>Sent: 4/28/2018 6:10:14 PM
>>Subject: [NatureNS] Some good news for a change
>>
>>>The following is not directly related to nature in Nova Scotia, but=20
>>>might be some day. Apologies if this is seen to be going too far=20
>>>beyond the NatureNS culture.
>>>
>>>I see in the news that the European Union is banning all=20
>>>neonicotinoids, a class of insecticide shown to pose a serious danger=20
>>>to bees. If you are interested in reading about this, there are lots=20
>>>of stories available on the web, for example on the BBC=20
>>><http://www