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> Without insects, the legendary biologist E.O. Wilson wrote nearly 40 years ago, “I doubt that the human species could last more than a few months.” First, “mo

by myshpa 3y ago

> Without insects, the legendary biologist E.O. Wilson wrote nearly 40 years ago, “I doubt that the human species could last more than a few months.” First, “most of the fishes, amphibians, birds and mammals would crash to extinction.” Next would go the flowering plants and forests. “The earth would rot,” he continued, and the remaining vertebrates would disappear. “Within a few decades the world would return to the state of a billion years ago, composed primarily of bacteria, algae and a few other very simple multicellular plants.” This is why the biodiversity loss is one of the biggest problems of today. https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-insect-population-flying-bugs-climate-change-pesticides-population-decline-2017-10 https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-insect-population-fl... A 27-year study found the amount of insects flying in the air has declined 75% https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/ https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-A... The collapse of insects - The most diverse group of organisms on the planet are in trouble, with recent research suggesting insect populations are declining at an unprecedented rate https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/our-global-food-system-primary-driver-biodiversity-loss https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/our-glob... Our global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26231772/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26231772/ Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01448-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01448-4 Humans are driving one million species to extinction - UN-backed report finds that agriculture is one of the biggest threats to Earth’s ecosystems https://phys.org/news/2023-04-climate-crisis-biodiversity-approached.html https://phys.org/news/2023-04-climate-crisis-biodiversity-ap... The climate crisis and biodiversity crisis can't be approached separately, says study

cvalka 3y ago
Biodiversity goals are nonsense. Don't bet against evolution abd natural selection.
- myshpa 3y ago
  We can't survive without biodiversity. All previous mass extinctions took approximately 1.8 million years. We might be able to manage the current one in 100 years. There's nothing natural about this extinction, and there isn't enough time for evolution either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/01/insect-removal-problems-ecosystem/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/01/insect-re... “We are seeing the rapid decline of insects pretty much anywhere that they’re studied.” It’s hard to overstate how ruinous this could be. If this mass extinction of insects isn’t reversed, it will decimate the entire food chain, threaten crop pollination and generally cause havoc. Some bird and mammal populations are already shrinking even faster than the bugs are. Without insects, the legendary biologist E.O. Wilson wrote nearly 40 years ago, “I doubt that the human species could last more than a few months.” First, “most of the fishes, amphibians, birds and mammals would crash to extinction.” Next would go the flowering plants and forests. “The earth would rot,” he continued, and the remaining vertebrates would disappear. “Within a few decades the world would return to the state of a billion years ago, composed primarily of bacteria, algae and a few other very simple multicellular plants.”
  - cvalka 3y ago
    Insects aren't going anywhere and Dana Milbank is a moron.
    - myshpa 3y ago
      Ah, that was truly a riveting exchange of ideas. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317823 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071... Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/the-insect-effect/ https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/the-insect-e... The Insect Effect: Insect Decline and the Future of Our Planet https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-insect-population-flying-bugs-climate-change-pesticides-population-decline-2017-10 https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-insect-population-fl... A 27-year study found the amount of insects flying in the air has declined 75% https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeti... Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature' https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/insect-bug-medicine-food-macneal https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/insect-bu... Without Bugs, We Might All Be Dead https://e360.yale.edu/features/insect_numbers_declining_why_it_matters https://e360.yale.edu/features/insect_numbers_declining_why_... What’s Causing the Sharp Decline in Insects, and Why It Matters Insect populations are declining dramatically in many parts of the world, recent studies show. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought https://phys.org/news/2019-02-world-catastrophic-collapse-insects.html https://phys.org/news/2019-02-world-catastrophic-collapse-in... World seeing 'catastrophic collapse' of insects: study https://phys.org/news/2020-02-half-a-million-insect-species-extinction-scientists.html https://phys.org/news/2020-02-half-a-million-insect-species-... Half-a-million insect species face extinction: scientists And that's just insects.
- illiac786 3y ago
  It's funny how the whole thread has a repeating rythm: "Long comment with lots of quotes and moderated tone explaining how it's all going to shit, and fast" "Bullshit, a mosquito bit me yesterday" Such answers really sound and read like classic denial. On the other hand, it's a very classic human reaction in the face of oblivion. otherwise, not only is humanity coming to an end, but additionally one has a bad conscience. Unacceptable.

by myshpa 3y ago

cvalka 3y ago

Biodiversity goals are nonsense. Don't bet against evolution abd natural selection.

myshpa 3y ago
We can't survive without biodiversity. All previous mass extinctions took approximately 1.8 million years. We might be able to manage the current one in 100 years. There's nothing natural about this extinction, and there isn't enough time for evolution either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/01/insect-removal-problems-ecosystem/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/01/insect-re... “We are seeing the rapid decline of insects pretty much anywhere that they’re studied.” It’s hard to overstate how ruinous this could be. If this mass extinction of insects isn’t reversed, it will decimate the entire food chain, threaten crop pollination and generally cause havoc. Some bird and mammal populations are already shrinking even faster than the bugs are. Without insects, the legendary biologist E.O. Wilson wrote nearly 40 years ago, “I doubt that the human species could last more than a few months.” First, “most of the fishes, amphibians, birds and mammals would crash to extinction.” Next would go the flowering plants and forests. “The earth would rot,” he continued, and the remaining vertebrates would disappear. “Within a few decades the world would return to the state of a billion years ago, composed primarily of bacteria, algae and a few other very simple multicellular plants.”
- cvalka 3y ago
  Insects aren't going anywhere and Dana Milbank is a moron.
  - myshpa 3y ago
    Ah, that was truly a riveting exchange of ideas. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317823 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632071... Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/the-insect-effect/ https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/the-insect-e... The Insect Effect: Insect Decline and the Future of Our Planet https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-insect-population-flying-bugs-climate-change-pesticides-population-decline-2017-10 https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-insect-population-fl... A 27-year study found the amount of insects flying in the air has declined 75% https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeti... Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature' https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/insect-bug-medicine-food-macneal https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/insect-bu... Without Bugs, We Might All Be Dead https://e360.yale.edu/features/insect_numbers_declining_why_it_matters https://e360.yale.edu/features/insect_numbers_declining_why_... What’s Causing the Sharp Decline in Insects, and Why It Matters Insect populations are declining dramatically in many parts of the world, recent studies show. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought https://phys.org/news/2019-02-world-catastrophic-collapse-insects.html https://phys.org/news/2019-02-world-catastrophic-collapse-in... World seeing 'catastrophic collapse' of insects: study https://phys.org/news/2020-02-half-a-million-insect-species-extinction-scientists.html https://phys.org/news/2020-02-half-a-million-insect-species-... Half-a-million insect species face extinction: scientists And that's just insects.
illiac786 3y ago
It's funny how the whole thread has a repeating rythm: "Long comment with lots of quotes and moderated tone explaining how it's all going to shit, and fast" "Bullshit, a mosquito bit me yesterday" Such answers really sound and read like classic denial. On the other hand, it's a very classic human reaction in the face of oblivion. otherwise, not only is humanity coming to an end, but additionally one has a bad conscience. Unacceptable.