There’s a robotic buzz about the world’s future

“If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this planet, it’s that the happiest and most fulfilled people I’ve known are those who devoted themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own self-interest.” — John Glenn, US astronaut

The Food and Agriculture Organisation recently stated that global food production is under threat, since bee colonies are being decimated at an incremental rate. Some others, l should say, are trying to think outside the box to come up with truly innovative solutions.

Then, there might be some like me, who treat a large beautiful cup of coffee as a dream catcher of sorts. To think up and snag ideas. A group of scientists in Japan think why not create an army of robotic bees and let them go where bees have never been before.

I could say that this is most satisfactory — as our food sources on the planet will be protected. How wonderful it is that somebody thinks this Pollinator Pack that could go forth and protect the planet. I could, on the other hand, line up the violins and we could coordinate a symphony of sadness on the fact that not enough people are trying to protect the black-and-yellow striped beasties.

But today, I’m in entrepreneurial mode. My instinct tells me that all these robotic armies will need to be parked somewhere. Here’s my plan: I shall set up Better Bot parking garages for the aforementioned Pollinator Pack. It would be strategic, ahead of the curve, and therefore I would make insane amounts

My instinct tells me that all these robotic armies will need to be parked somewhere. Here’s my plan: I shall set up Better Bot parking garages.

of money. Then I would be able to buy a house in the mountains, and enjoy meadows filled with flowers — and the soporific hum of bees. Right there is that discordant crash in the dream.

Here is something quite apparent to someone of not a particularly scientific bent of mind. When bee colonies show alarming rates of attrition, you know it’s because of the wide and unchecked use of pesticides. And mites. It’s been 11 years since the Colony Collapse Disorder was first discovered and alarm bells rang in 2006. Will the Pollinator Pack make it even more convenient for those that we have placed in positions of power and decision making to wink at this signal of the decimation of our planet?

There is something called an overview effect that astronauts experience when they are in outer space. The enormity of space and the fragility of our little blue planet are apparent to every man and woman who has looked at Earth from space. The lines, divisions and boundaries that demarcate one country from another do not exist. It is the one earth, and it’s our home. If you were a bee flying across the border from the US into Mexico, would you know that you had arrived in an alien land?

Where in the scheme of things is the concern for survival of our species? By all means, let us search for alternate planets, colonising Mars or the bright side of the moon. If we don’t have the discipline to protect what we have right here, why should we think that we’ll be successful in take two of existence?

But apparently, we are a globe full of gamblers. By all means, let us spread our bets.