TED Community » Sarah Lange

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  A comment on Conversation: Calling all teachers! What do you need to teach your students effectively?

  Mar 17 2012: I think that teachers need to feel supported from all directions, from their peers, from the head of their department, from their principle/president, from the district, from parents, and even feel support from their students. The other thing that I think is super important is strong training and development. Both in their grade/subject area, but also in classroom management and how to effectively communicate with parents. Just a few thoughts.

• A comment on Conversation: Are you concerned about the spread of invasive species?

  Mar 17 2012: In relation to your last question, I think that it's completely possible for an invasive species to contribute both positively and negatively in the environment. Because somethings are changing rapidly, it might be possible for an invasive species to fill in an ecosystem service gap that is created by a species that can't adapt as quickly, especially if the invader is a strong competitor. What is hard about this type of situation is trying to determine if the negatives outweigh the positive contributions. I think it would take a great deal of time and study to determine that, and unfortunately, in that amount of time, it might then be too late to control the invasive.

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 15 2012: Another thing about the pesticide theory is that honey bees are very loyal to certain plants. They tend to follow a set pattern until those flowers are no longer providing them with pollen and nectar and then they will move on. If the pesticides are truly getting into the plants then every time that worker bee obtains resources from the same plants, it's as if they are bringing more pesticide into the hive and exacerbating the situation. Thank you so much for the information.

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 15 2012: Sounds wonderful. I think this is the one you were thinking of...
  
  If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.
  
  And here's another EO Wilson quote that I feel is fitting.
  We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.
  
  Thanks Craig!

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 15 2012: Solidus, I think you make a great point that WE know about colony collapse disorder being a problem. Where I think we're lacking is that the majority of people around the world are just learning about it. Colony collapse disorder was first observed in the US over the winter of 2006/2007 and it's now 5 years later and the general public is just beginning to get the word and the understanding. Do you have any ideas on how we could get help to get the word out to more people around the world and how we can motivate them to encourage their respective governments to support research and action?

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 15 2012: I believe that's part of the problem Ken. If a honey bee knows that it is dying, it will leave the hive. Bee keepers have seen the sizes of their hives decreasing and yet there are no bee carcasses for them to study or take somewhere for study. Without a body, it's hard to determine the cause of death. As for the strange behavior, the hard part there is that it could be caused by a lot of things. Internal parasites could be having an affect on organs. Pesticide poisoning could be affecting them. It's a situation where we need the dead bees to study and determine what the cause is, because as you stated, they look normal and then they're dead.

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 14 2012: It's definitely something to consider. If there were to be a vacancy in pollination from the loss of the honey bees, would something else step in to meet the need for pollination, be it mason bees, or hummingbirds, flies, bats, etc.? I know from watching an episode of Nature called Silence of the Bees, that in China they experienced a loss of honey bees that were pollinating their pear trees and now those trees are hand pollinated by humans. It's a rather lengthy process of collecting the pollen, drying it for 2 days and then returning with chicken feathers and using those as a paintbrush to apply the pollen back to the flowers.
  
  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/video-full-episode/251/
  
  Here's a link to the episode.

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 14 2012: Zane, thank you so much for adding this link. I agree with Krisztian that CCD is something very mysterious, but I feel like your link shows just how important honey bees are to society. The PBS show Nature did a program in 2007 called Silence of the Bees, discussing CCD, and in that they discussed pear trees in China that used to be pollinated by honey bees. Due to the loss of bees in China humans now have to collect pollen, dry it, and then hand pollinate each flower using chicken feathers as a pollen dispersal device. (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/video-full-episode/251/) Overall, I feel that CCD is mysterious, but it's something that needs to be considered before we lose yet another species and it's associated ecosystem service.

• A reply on Conversation: Where would you place Colony Collapse Disorder in relation to the many other problems facing our society?

  Mar 14 2012: Hi Sharon! Mason bees are also excellent pollinators and are not an aggressive species. Here's a link with a little information about the great pollination that they support.
  http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/mason_bee/
  
  The other interesting thing about honey bees and Colony Collapse Disorder is that some of the possible causes are more universal than others. An example of this is that the honey bee mite Varroa destructor is only found in honey bees.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: When it comes to vaccine intervention for disease control, should personal liberty go before the benefit to society?

  Mar 8 2012: Not to open up a huge can of worms near the very end of this great conversation...but I feel like the decision on whether to obtain an HPV vaccine is something that women (and children along with their parents) need to decide on their own. While I know that this pertains to a matter of public safety, I feel the same way about the HPV vaccine as I do about abortion. It should be up to the individual (or in the case of a minor, the individual and their guardian). No one likes to be told what to do, and this is no different, so I think we should focus on educating the public about HPV and the vaccine and give them the information so they can make that decision for themselves.