Tag Archives: Bees

clean ponds and encouraging bees: Bayer influences public debate on future of farm subsidies

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Miles King

A public survey, paid for by mega Agrichemical industry business Bayer, has found that three quarters of the public supports farmers continuing to receive subsidies. So far the survey has received little publicity, just a couple of articles in the … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, agrochemicals, bees, biodiversity, Brexit, Common Agricultural Policy | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ecosystem Services for whom?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Miles King

Ecosystem Services – the idea that we benefit from goods and services provided for free by nature. To be frank, the phrase is ugly. It’s ugly language to use to describe so much beauty – Nature; the bringer of joy, … Continue reading →

Posted in bees, Dieter Helm, dogs, ecosystem services, Natural Capital, Neonicotinoids | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

O Rose thou art sick: on bees, flowers and pesticides

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Miles King

It was national poetry day on Thursday. After reading something today I thought of this poem which was in an anthology I had long ago: O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the … Continue reading →

Posted in bees, Neonicotinoids, poetry | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Beavers: Common Sense may have broken out at Defra

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Miles King

The Beavers of the River Otter in Devon have been under threat of being “rehomed” in a zoo, thanks to pressure from The Angling Trust (no beavers do not eat fish). This was partly due to paranoia that the beavers … Continue reading →

Posted in angling, badgers, Beavers, bees, Defra, Liz Truss, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Bye Bye Benyon

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Miles King

So Richard Benyon, Biodiversity and Fisheries Minister, has gone. One of the innocents sent for sacrificial slaughter yesterday in the first reshuffle run almost completely on Twitter. Benyon had done nothing wrong, he was just too old and too rich. … Continue reading →

Posted in bees, biodiversity, climate change, farming, George Eustice, Richard Benyon | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment