CCD

A lot is being made of this Einstein quote: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left of life. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Apparently people are disputing whether Einstein said this or if it even means anything since he wasn’t an expert on bees, and I’d like to examine what he’s really saying here.

Einstein was a genius, especially at theorectical physics. He may be the most world reknowned scientist ever simply because people respected his intelligence. Examining the quote, one could speculate that Einstein isn’t talking specifically about bees, but moreso about the fragility of humankind. Humans are notoriously unable to recognize the danger of their own situation. and furthermore, pay little attention to what the consequences of a given action will be. Einstein, in his wisdom, may have been suggesting that our place on this Earth is fairly precarious.

I think the bees were a rhetorical device to try and allow people to understand the uncertainty of life (particularly human life). Einstein had no way of knowning that bees would one day become threatened, although they have. Einstein certainly did not know scientifically that a bee extinction would lead to a human extinction. That is, Einstein wasn’t being prophetic, and his quote does not tell the future.

The quote does, however, force us to analyze our environment. The bees are disappearing and we don’t know why. We do know that it’s probably our fault, be it pesticides, cell phone signals, or genetically modified crops. We do know that power lines cause erratic bee behaviors. Ultimately, the point of this rambling post is that we’re going to have to start taking responsiblity for the damage we cause the environment on a daily basis. Our way of life is not sustainable and in order to survive we will have to change. It’s about time we grow up about it, stop leaving these problems for the next generation to solve, and understand that the complex systems at work in nature are, at this point, beyond our understanding.

If all the bees die, our food supply will be crippled. I, for one, don’t want to eat Soylent Green. I purpose we stop raping the planet to further a meaningless way of life.

-MBC

Einstein’s quote was probably prompted by comments by his life-long friend and author Immanuel Velikovsky who was himself considered one of the greatest alarmists of all time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the quote finally attributed to him.

Einstein’s quote was probably prompted by comments by his life-long friend and author Immanuel Velikovsky who was himself considered one of the greatest alarmists of all time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the quote finally attributed to him.