Honey Bee Population Drops Sharply, and More From CRS
A “sharp decline” in the U.S. population of honey bees is examined in a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service.
“This phenomenon first became apparent among commercial migratory beekeepers along the East Coast during the last few months of 2006, and has since been reported nationwide,” the CRS report said.
Various potential causes have been postulated, including parasites, pathogens, chemical contaminants, poor nutrition, and “stress.”
The declining bee population is the subject of a hearing today before the House Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
See “Recent Honey Bee Colony Declines,” Congressional Research Service, March 26, 2007.
Despite the best efforts of CRS management to impede public access to CRS products, the following CRS reports were obtained by Secrecy News (all pdf).
“Federal Advisory Committees: A Primer,” updated March 20, 2007.
“Critical Infrastructures: Background, Policy and Implementation,” updated March 13, 2007.
“Defense Acquisition: Use of Lead System Integrators (LSIs) — Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress,” March 26, 2007.
In recent months, we’ve seen much of these decades’ worth of progress erased. Contracts for evaluations of government programs were canceled, FFRDCs have been forced to lay off staff, and federal advisory committees have been disbanded.
This report outlines a framework relying on “Cooperative Technical Means” for effective arms control verification based on remote sensing, avoiding on-site inspections but maintaining a level of transparency that allows for immediate detection of changes in nuclear posture or a significant build-up above agreed limits.
At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.
tudents in the 21st century need strong critical thinking skills like reasoning, questioning, and problem-solving, before they can meaningfully engage with more advanced domains like digital, data, or AI literacy.