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posted by chromas on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the debug-the-planet! dept.

The first global scientific review of insect population decline was published[$] this week in the journal Biological Conservation. This is the first global study of its kind, and the term "impending catastrophe" would not be hyperbolic with respect to the findings:

Highlights

  • Over 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction.
  • Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and dung beetles (Coleoptera) are the taxa most affected.
  • Four aquatic taxa are imperiled and have already lost a large proportion of species.
  • Habitat loss by conversion to intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines.
  • Agro-chemical pollutants, invasive species and climate change are additional causes.

For some time now we've been warned by scientists that pollinators are having a hard time, creating problems for humanity WRT many food sources. However, this study paints a far more dire picture with the possibility of irreparable harm to ecosystems on a global level. Without strong insect populations, it's not unreasonable to conclude that humanity may not continue either.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @05:11PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @05:11PM (#800159)

    Exactly - thank you.

    The thing that reduces population is LESS poverty and MORE aid. The useless fucks that brought you austerity (only for the poor) are now shipping it abroad. It's really almost as if devastation and WW3 are really the goal. (Endtimes perhaps?)

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @03:07AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @03:07AM (#800466)

    Less poverty? Sure, and better education is a part of that mix, and a great predictor of reduced population fertility when the education is extended to women specifically.

    More aid? You're going to have to be one hell of a lot more specific about this. Lots of aid has been shown to be counterproductive because:

    a) Food aid in particular tends to reduce the incentive to farm, thus wrecking local economies
    b) Food and financial aid alike have an ugly way to enrich strongmen, and thereby either fail to improve or outright worsen the lot of the common populace
    c) Industrial aid ends up with massive debts, as a rule, usually cash losses on the parts of investors, and is a tool of geopolitics anyway

    Could you be a little more detailed?