Disappearing bees

Disappearing bees would definitely keep me interested for 6 months, unless of course they found what is happening before then. There are so many different theories about what is causing Colony Collapse Disorder, that I think that 6 month is just enough time to thoroughly research them all.
I believe there is enough going on around this topic to make research worth while, this phenomena is effecting Bee keepers all around the country. Bee keeping is there lively hood and many people are writing about what's happening to their hives, and will be until the problem is solved.
Yes, I think I will be able to find an abundance of information on bees and their tragic disappearance. In this area, there are a few bee keepers, I could interview them about the changes they are seeing in the hives and bees in general. Also, what they think is causing CCD. There is at least one short film that I know of that was full of information, and there may be others.
CCD is a very important topic in our nation whether people realize it or not, honey bees pollinate around 90% of the nations food, and maybe over the next few months the nation may take notice.
I think that the mysterious vanishing of honey bees will be some what challenging, because there are so many aspects. With out bees our lives would be tremendously altered, and in my paper I will have to cover each and every way why that is true.

My Comments

I agree with Kaite that the topic of visual arts as therapy would probably be more slowly changing than either wind energy or disappearing bees. I don't know very much about using art for therapy but it sounds like it could be beneficially to people that are injured, traumatized, or elderly.
There must be lot of information on wind energy. On vacation in California this summer, I passed through an area at the foothills at the Sierra Nevada that had over 1000 wind turbines! It sounds like you already found information regarding a proposed wind farm in Cape Cod. Have you heard about the proposed, large wind farm off the coast of Maine?
The disappearance of bees could become a vital issue if it starts to have a significantly harmful effect on crops and food supply. I am also concerned that you will be able to find new information on a regular basis. Colony Collapse Disorder is an interesting scientific mystery and maybe they will come up with a solution this year while you are writing your blog.

energy, arts, and bees...

I like your wide range of topics. Your topics on the arts would be very interesting. I had an article, a long time ago, about how dance was used as therapy for metally retarded people. If that is something you would be interested in reading, I could try to find it for you. The topic about bees would be interesting to read about. I did not realize that bees were disappearing, so it would be a good eye-opener. You might want to mention how bees and their work effect everything people do.

bzzzz

I agree with you that it would be best not to do the benefits of art as your topic. It is definitely more static than the other two potential topics. I also agree that you should do bees, simply because so many people at least partly know about alternative energy, but not the bee crisis (if it is classified as a crisis...?) You could incorporate energy into your isearch along with the bees, like if the shortage of pollen has created a shortage of crops which has decreased biofuel? maybe? You could contact local farmers and get their opinion on how the situation is going. There seems to be a lot of agricultural people in this area. Also, it may be a good thing the bees are down. Has there been a significant decrease in death from bees lately? Do those effects outweight the other negative effects from not having bees? What are the possible solution, if any? Why are the bees down? I look forward to hearing more!

Comments from Everett

Therapeudic art sounds like an interestic topic, but if there is not much news regarding that subject... also, I can't imagine that the news that you would find would change considerably over the time period that we are doing this project. I agree with you that alternative energy would be easy to talk about. Are you trying to find the "best" one? What are you trying to accomplish here? I had heard about the issue of the disappearing bees, and was interested into why this was happening, no one really knows from what I have heard, and I am interested in what you think.

I am a little worried that none of these topics will change throughout the year. That said, the bees seems to be the most interesting and judging by the title of your blog, your favorite.

EM

deciding on a topic

Kelsey Weber

October 23 2008

Research essay

While researching in the library, I found useful information on all three of my topic ideas. The first of which is, the nations honey bees have been disappearing rapidly over the past few years, and I would like to know more about why that is happening. My second topic idea is alternative energy, more specifically wind turbines. There have been proposals to build a wind farm off Cape Cod. I would also like to research other sources of renewable energy. Finally, my third idea is the benefits of visual art.

I found the least amount of information on the benefits of visual arts. In all I found three articles actually about the benefits of visual arts, the other results for this search were unhelpful. I found the three significant articles, one each, on The Student Resource Center, Google news, and Opposing View Points. I was looking for how art can be therapeutic, and can release stress in everyday life, but the majority of the articles I found didn't mention anything about that.

When searching my other topic ideas, however, I was much more successful. Alternative energy had all kinds of different results. On every site there were numerous articles on alternative energy. Because it is such a concern to many people, there were an unlimited a number to choose from.

In Proquest there was an article about a man who redid his house to run on 100% renewable energy; he installed solar panels, and radiant flooring by heated water. His town prohibited him from installing a wind turbine because it exceeded height regulations.

Alternative energy and my final topic, bees, I think would be the easiest to research. Bees have been disappearing by huge numbers over the past 2 years; this discovery has many people concerned. On each source I found a handful of articles on the case of disappearing bees. Bees help to pollinate a serious amount of Americas food, including the alfalfa used to feed cattle and 80% of the worlds almonds. It’s no wonder bee keepers and scientist alike are worried about ‘Colony Collapse Disorder,’ and are writing much about it.

When I decide on a final idea for my isearch, I think it will be on bees. I do find alternative energy interesting and relevant to today’s culture, but I would rather research something that isn’t as widely known. There are lots of different aspects and consequences to the disappearance of bees and my other two topic ideas are not as dynamic. Especially the benefits of visual art, I don’t believe I could write a lengthy paper on that, but I think the mysterious case of flyaway bees would make an interesting one.