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<DIV><FONT size=2>The editor's letter in the recent <EM>Let's Live</EM> magazine
has some pithy and memorable quotes:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>“[Harvard naturalist] Edward O. Wilson has stated that without
pollinators, humans would only live a few months,” says Stephen Buchmann, author
of </FONT><I><FONT size=2>The Bee Tree </I></FONT><FONT size=2>(Cinco Puntos
Press, 2007) and </FONT><I><FONT size=2>Letters From the Hive </I></FONT><FONT
size=2>(Bantam, 2005). “Albert Einstein gave us four years without
pollinators.”</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The trouble is neither of those are actually correct.
:)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Steve knows I'm posting this; I've already discussed it
with him. In fact, he encouraged me to write this email. The editor apparently
took written materials from Steve and cobbled together some quotes. Steve didn't
see it before it was published.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>My concern is that we as pollinator advocates should be
careful to avoid repeating these things. They are short and very quotable, and
leave an impression in people's minds. We're all searching for such things,
something that will make it easy to get our message across. But, it doesn't
take long before a misquote becomes a "truth" simply by it being used again and
again, particularly if it appears in print -- and especially if it can be
attributed to a respected and well-known person such as Steve.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>For the record, what E. O. Wilson wrote was "So important
are insects and other land dwelling arthropods, that if all were to disappear,
humanity probably could not last more than a few months." (<EM>The Diversity of
Life</EM>, p. 133). This is quite different from only pollinators
disappearing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The </FONT><FONT size=2>Einstein quote has been debunked by
various people, including some on the beekeepers listserv who consulted the
Einstein archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and on the urban
legends web site, Snopes (</FONT><FONT size=2><A
href="http://www.snopes.com/quotes/einstein/bees.asp">http://www.snopes.com/quotes/einstein/bees.asp</A>).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you're unsure about the power and speed with which bad
information can spread, just think of the cell phone stories associated with
CCD. That began as one article in a British newspaper that picked up a
conference presentation in Germany. Within a week or so, it had spread across
the world and it seemed everyone was talking about cell phones and honey bees.
Friends and neighbors of mine who hadn't mentioned CCD to me before began asking
me about whether they should be using their cell phones! The trouble was the
original research didn't look at cell phones -- it used the base units of
household cordless phones.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>Matthew</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>The Xerces Society is an international
nonprofit organization that </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>protects the diversity of life through
invertebrate conservation. </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>To
</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>join the Society, make a </FONT></FONT><FONT
size=1>contribution</FONT><FONT size=1>, </FONT><FONT size=1>or read about our
work, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>please visit </FONT><FONT size=1><A
href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</A>.</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Matthew Shepherd</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Director, Pollinator Conservation Program</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215,
USA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Tel: 503-232 6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233
6794</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Email: </FONT><A href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org"><FONT
size=1>mdshepherd@xerces.org</FONT></A><FONT size=1> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>