To bee or not to bee

In England recently, a farmer admitted that pollution from dirty water, that came from his property, was responsible for thousands of fish dying in the Enler River near Comber. Mind you in mitigation, he gave a ‘total apology’ on the matter. All's well that ends well; if only that was enough.

Here in Ireland too pollution is a permanent problem and farming is always at the forefront of that, from a practical sense as well as the perception of it.

Farming land is not outside environmental law but a law that is very hard to implement. There are some farmers attitude that it is their land alone, believing it to be unfettered and immune to outsiders concerns. This is only in their heads, thankfully; like everything else, it is just a question of belief. Facts offer a different and harsh reality from a ribbon dressed opinion. 

I live in Connemara. Here, overgrazing by sheep has stripped mountains bare while also polluting the tributaries that joins the rivers that run into the Corrib. Land pesticides everywhere is still one of the biggest killers of fish, wildlife, insects, and more importantly bees. It isn’t just farmers. There is the run off from septic tanks, local and commercial sewage, ageing local authority water plants, and litter thugs. Of course farmers and politicians or whatever other vested interests will point to this survey and that one, trying to tell us how it is all improving. The reality is social fishermen come here in lesser numbers now and the gathering grey and dirty foam that I see in the river right in front of my house coincides with the timing ritual of pesticides spread by farmers every year. 

I also wish I had a bee on my bonnet for there are so few of them around here lately that I can count the ones that are. In fact it is the bees or lack off asks all the other questions: Will the greed instinct outweigh our survival one?

Without pollination, the rich and diverse make up of flowers, forests, fruit and vegetation will end any survey or discussion on the matter decisively. The Honey Bee, so aptly named, is more than that. That cute insect needs a lot of loving more than ever in order to survive so that we can. That alone should be enough to encourage us to ensure the bee's survival and any short term gain otherwise will be a loss permanently.

They say no man is an Island, it is more than a truism: We are all connected to the land and water and every species in it. If the ongoing pollution and un-replenished destruction of our resources of the land, the sea, and rivers continues, we will not be standing long as we try to finish what we started. To bee or not to bee is more than a question now.

Barry Clifford