I suppose this relates more to a contest giving away an HBOD, but I'll adopt it here for a "Model H"
How about the world population spiraling into food shortages and eventual starvation due to the agricultural supply chain being disrupted by...
SUDDEN MASSIVE REDUCTIONS IN THE HONEYBEE POPULATION!!!My parents (namely my stepdad) raise bees in North Florida, and they were greatly distressed by these events over the last year...
(From this blog:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... heory.html)
"The first reports came from Florida last fall, and since have been reported in 24 other states. Beekeepers are reporting more than half of their hives empty. It is being called "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) by scientists here and has many worried that the honeybees will fall victim to a mass plague of disease carrying varroa mites, and disrupt the nations food supply. The disappearing honeybee mystery has beekeepers baffled as colonies vanish leaving empty hives behind, save for a few sickly juveniles. Scientists need to study the dead bees, and they are nowhere to be found. Millions of them are gone, 70% of the bee population on the east coast, and 60% in the west.
The varroa mite (introduced from Asia) isn't the only culprit. The exact cause is not known, but there are a number of factors thought to be contributing to the collapse. Transgenic crops, also known as genetically modified organisms, GMOs, or GM crops are engineered to be insect resistant, and 40% of cornfields in the US are genetically engineered. This could be helping to lower the bee's immune system. Many are now calling this the honeybee version of AIDS. Other insects that normally raid a dead colony's hive; are staying away - strange . Along with transgenic crops, the practice of monoculture (The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country) is also suspect in the collapse. Just take a look at what happened to US cotton crops in the early 1900's. They were decimated by boll weevils as a result of monoculture.
The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Agriculture has already held hearings on the missing bees. Germany, and the UK are seeing the same thing but on a smaller scale than in the United States, but with no less importance attached.
Smaller instances of unexpectedly empty hives date back to the 1800s and were called by farmers, autumn collapse, spring dwindle, or disappearing disease. The bees returned, will they this time?"
Weird, eh?
You know the 'Bees have alot going on with the rhythms of the universe with all that dancing they do.
