I was interested in something recently written by Jim Pinto that made me decide that in reality we know a lot about nothing.
He mentioned: "Around the world, honeybees are vanishing, leaving humans desperately trying to figure out the meaning of the exodus. Entire colonies of bees are flying off and not returning."
Vivian MacFadyen
Some of the possible reasons are pesticides, genetically modified crops, cellphones, and many other theories.
Whatever it is, the bees are in serious trouble because somehow man is messing with their natural senses. The big question is "What is - whatever it is - doing to us?" There are so many things that we do not fully understand, affecting things we do not know about; and that in itself is quite scary.
We are now in the wireless age and our bodies are being bombarded from every direction with electromagnetic waves of all sorts, yet we are ignorant about the eventual effect on our bodies. Many companies have developed wireless instrumentation with the capacity to transmit diagnostics as well as the measured variable. What is the effect on living organisms, and most importantly us?
Engineers have used lead for about a thousand years yet it is only recently that we have recognised the danger of lead in paint, fuel and solder. Many instrument manufacturers have courageously moved away from the use of lead in their soldering of electronic components at considerable expense. This is most commendable considering the social impact.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers have scrapped developments that have cost them millions of dollars after finding that their medicines adversely affect the patients they are treating. An example is Thalidomide where the decision to abort the use of this drug had to wait for hundreds of deformities in children before it was banned.
It is impossible to forecast the results of a new development before they actually present themselves. Let us hope that (if there is a problem) financial and political forces combined with pride do not hamper safety considerations before any lasting damage is done.
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“Never have so many owed so much to so few.” This phrase is a famous quote by Winston Churchill, referring to the efforts of the Royal Air Force pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain during World War II. It highlights the immense gratitude owed to the relatively small number of pilots who played a crucial role in defending the United Kingdom from the German Luftwaffe.
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