02/20/07 Daylight Savings & Mystery Dust

Daylight savings changes and mystery dust plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. As the result of a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Americans will need to adjust their clocks and spring forward earlier this year. While expanding incentives for renewable, home-grown energy - Congress also added four extra weeks to Daylight Savings Time effective this year. That means the switch may be closer than you think - taking place the second Sunday in March rather than the first Sunday in April. The change isn't necessarily permanent - but it is wreaking havoc for some software designers like Microsoft - as programs that run on personal computers - and even handheld devices like BlackBerrys - were built assuming daylight-saving time would always happen on the same weekend. That may be an inconvenience - but the benefits are expected to outweigh the costs. Residents around Puget Sound were baffled Sunday when a thin layer of ash-like powder suddenly appeared, coating their cars and homes. Redmond is just one of the places where people spotted the mystery dust. Residents near Carnation, Gig Harbor and Kingston also reported seeing it too. People speculate it was anywhere from meteor activity to people burning a lot of wood. The most plausible explanation was tree pollen. Some residents say cedar trees have been very active this year. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. When I was a kid certain things were black and white, there were good bees and bad bees. Squishing honey bees was simply not tolerated, for we all knew they were friend of farmer and flower. Today the worker bees are dying in droves, in at least 22 states being killed by an illness called Colony Collapse Disorder that has left the scientific community baffled. While the death of tens of thousands of honey bees doesn't rock our personal world, it should for the implications could be staggering. Much like loosing the transportation industry from the grocery segment, a shortage of honey bees impacts the majority of our crops that must be pollinated to provide the food, fiber, drugs and now even fuel that we depend upon for our daily existence. Bee's are fascinating creatures, normally a weakened colony is a easy takeover for more aggressive hives yet honey bee's seem to innately know to steer clear of hives with Colony Collapse Disorder and won't go near the diseased hive for over two weeks. Let's hope this survival tactic will help preserve the little critters until researchers can find a cure. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.