Unexpected Haven for Bees
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08.30.05
Bees - as small as they may be - play a very big role in nature. Along with the wind, they are the main transporters of pollen, helping plants and trees to bear fruit and reproduce. Unfortunately, there was a 57% decline in bee colonies in the US between 1985 and 1997, "[it is] especially the case in areas that are heavily developed or dominated by agriculture". But there is some hope coming from an unexpected place: "The millions of acres of land-strips beneath power lines represent an untapped conservation resource for bees and other threatened creatures, new research suggests. [...] In the US, the land covered by power lines makes up more than 5 million acres. That is more land than almost every national park in the US individually, including Yellowstone, says Russell. [...] changes in management practice of this land appear to be offering a much needed home for bees [...] If all power companies can be persuaded to adopt the same management strategies it might just be the life line bees need. So far companies have been happy to help. "They have a huge PR problem because everybody hates power lines," says [Kimberly] Russell."
::New Scientist, ::Learn More About Bees at Wikipedia
This does sound like a great idea. I am not sure about other power line areas serving as general wildlife refuges. I seem to recall that there was some study done or some correlation drawn between people with certain types of cancer and their proximity to power lines. This will probably be a case of more good being done than harm. One hopes that if the power companies buy in, they implement the plan bearing in mind what particular kind of bee(s) are indigenous to the region, etc...
Nice idea. Why don't they go ahead and place small wind turbines on the pylons and use the power to top up the lines thus helping to offset the enormous loss of energy to resistance in the lines? I'm sure there are some issues like AC/DC and the relatively small amount of power from small turbines. But could it reduce losses without costing the earth?
You guys should listen to the Science Friday podcast on bees and beekeeping. It's got some great information about honeybees overtaking endemic species. Particularly bad for certain types of bees that "buzz" pollenate, instead of gathering pollen as honeybees do as certain species of plants need to be buzz pollenated and are then dying out and the obvious follow-on effects... (The podcast was dated either 17th or 24th of June '05)