Across the globe, insect populations have seen a steep decline.
According to a meta-analysis of 16 studies, insect populations have declined by about 45% in just the last 40 years.
The large-scale death of insects poses huge threats not only to the ecosystems they exist in but also to much of our agriculture, as insects pollinate about 75% of global crops.
Two driving causes of the marked fall off are climate change and habitat loss.
Today is World Turtle Day. I was commissioned by Turtle Survival Alliance, to revisit my ‘Turtles, all the way down’ print again, with a variety of wonderful but sadly endangered turtle species of special focus, in 2 prints: 1 for turtles from around the world, and 1 for North American species. Turtle Survival Alliance works to prevent extinctions of these amazing and varied animals worldwide, 🧵 #linocut#printmaking#WorldTurtleDay#turtle#sciArt#conservation#endangeredSpecies#biodiversity
On this #biodiversityday:
The assumption that #biodiversity is a mere add-on and irrelevant for modern economies, is one of the most extreme sectarian ideologies I can think of. Unfortunately, it's still dominant in academic and business circles. The real thing: Human economies are a mere sub-set of the economy of nature, which in turn is based on biodiversity. As long as economists don't make that their starting point, it will become increasingly difficult to sustain human civilization.
:boost_requested: I am looking for a support native pollinators/biodiversity/etc sticker and maybe shirt that actually has entirely US native wildlife (even better, eastern side better yet southeast region). Everything on Etsy has a honeybee on it and Im tired of looking. And just a monarch or main bit being a monarch is too tropey. Help! Boost away! #art#artists#artodon#artistsofmastodon#biodiversity#pollinators
The number of birds found at the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, an area of Amazon Rainforest in eastern Ecuador, has dropped by half, according to a study published earlier this year.
Researchers point to a few possible causes for the declines, such as signs of reduction in insect abundance, but climate change is the common suspect in all cases.
May 20 is World Bee Day. There are ~ 20,000 different bee species in the world. Here in Ontario we have at least 400 native bees (none of which are the honeybees, which are from Europe). Bees are key to pollination. According to the UN nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops. Further, worldwide ~35% of invertebrate #pollinators, especially bees & face extinction.
The goal of the day is to strengthen protections for bees to help protect food security & #biodiversity. The theme this year is about engaging youth. Something that gives me hope is seeing how much of a difference individuals are making: making pollinator gardens, planting native species, protecting ecosystems and spreading knowledge. My child is sitting next to me making bee art. We will spend some of our gorgeous long weekend in the garden. These are things even the very young can do.
One year ago, we converted a small piece of boring grass in front of our institute into a wildflower meadow. Now it's blooming for the second time, attracting many insects, and improving the biodiversity and the micro climate around our institute.
Some good #climate news! "Herd of 170 #bison could help store #CO2 equivalent of almost 2m cars, researchers say - Free-roaming animals reintroduced in Romania’s Țarcu mountains are stimulating plant growth and securing #carbon stored in the soil while grazing"
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"The latest research, which has not been peer-reviewed, used a new model developed by scientists at the #Yale School of the #Environment and funded by the Global #Rewilding Alliance. It calculates the additional amount of atmospheric CO2 that #wildlife species help to capture and store in #soils through their interactions within #ecosystems. The European bison herd grazing in an area of nearly 50 sq km of grasslands within the wider Țarcu mountains, was found to potentially capture an additional 2m tonnes of carbon a year. That is nearly 9.8 times more than without the bison – although the report authors noted the 9.8 figure could be up to 55% higher or lower, given the uncertainty around the median estimate. This corresponds to the yearly CO2 emissions of 1.88m average US petrol cars."
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"The report on Romania’s European bison is “the first of its kind”, said Sylvén, adding that the model provided “a very powerful tool at hand to give directions to wildlife reintroductions”.
Schmitz said the team had looked at nine species in detail, including #tropical#forest#elephants, musk oxen and sea #otters, and had begun to investigate others. He added: “Many of them show similar promise to these bison, often doubling an ecosystem’s capacity to draw down and store #carbon, and sometimes much more. This really is a policy option with massive potential.”
for different reasons, wild #boar are also beneficial to the #forest#ecosystem, contrary to popular misconceptions. Here's an excerpt from an article by Chantal Lyons, "Rooting for the truth: on wild boar" - Lyons writes, "I suppose there are two layers to this. In terms of their #ecological role, they’re unique. The niche they occupy, and the ecological functions they perform, there are no other animals among British #fauna that do the things they do. For example, their #rooting; #badgers engage in some rooting behaviour, resembling mini boars at times. However, they don’t penetrate the soil as deeply, and their rooting is not as extensive.
There’s a term for it called #bioturbation: the act of going into the soil, breaking it open, and mixing the different layers, which impacts the nutrients and the microbial activity in the #soil. This also involves exposing the #seed bank and creating space for #wildflowers to germinate. There’s evidence that bioturbation enhances the soil in a way that makes it easier for #trees, such as #oaks, to germinate and grow.
Related to the rooting behaviour, wild boar are particularly effective at dispersing seeds and spores. They go all over the place, carrying these organisms in their fur and hooves, and even in their digestive systems, subsequently depositing them through excretion. Additionally, their wallowing activities create mini wetlands, providing valuable ephemeral pools that benefit other wildlife."
Can economic growth be decoupled from emissions? Yes, for sure, easily even.
Can economic growth be decoupled from environmental degradation in general? Absolutely not. The sheer throughput of materials through the economy, from extraction to waste disposal, must decrease. If we address GHG emissions in isolation from topsoil and biodiversity loss, we will fail to preserve the ecosystems on which we depend for life.
"UN expert attacks ‘exploitative’ world economy in fight to save planet"
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"It has driven me crazy in the past six years that governments are just oblivious to history" - Outgoing special rapporteur David Boyd says ‘there’s something wrong with our brains that we can’t understand how grave this is’"
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"The race to save the #planet is being impeded by a global #economy that is contingent on the #exploitation of #people and #nature, according to the UN’s outgoing leading environment and #HumanRights expert.
David Boyd, who served as #UN special rapporteur on human rights and the #environment from 2018 to April 2024, told the #Guardian that states failing to take meaningful #ClimateAction and regulating polluting industries could soon face a slew of lawsuits.
Boyd said: “I started out six years ago talking about the right to a healthy environment having the capacity to bring about systemic and transformative changes. But this powerful human right is up against an even more powerful force in the global economy, a system that is absolutely based on the exploitation of people and nature. And unless we change that fundamental system, then we’re just re-shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.”
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Boyd said: “The failure to take a human rights based approach to the #ClimateCrisis – and the #biodiversity crisis and the air #pollution crisis – has absolutely been the achilles heel of those efforts for decades.
... https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/07/un-expert-human-rights-climate-crisis-economy
I'm preparing a talk on resources for French civil servants (now they will have to attend one presentation on #climate, one on #biodiversity, and one on resources as part of a mandatory continuing education) and I thought I would share the images I'll be using here, as I find some of them are quite nice.