Dear Citizens and Elected Officials:
I’ve always been haunted by that saying attributed to Hegel, that human enlightenment descends very late over our troubles, and over our insights to remedy the situation.
That’s the thought that comes to mind today after reading Brooke Jarvis’ NY Times Magazine article, “The Insect Apocalypse is Here,” — here at www.nytimes.com/…
If you’re asking why that should worry us, the subtitle of the article, which I didn’t have room for in the headlines of this posting, is part of the answer: “What does it mean for the rest of life on Earth?” A lot, is the answer. Big Trouble ahead. As I read, I jotted down some of the words and concepts that flesh out that meaning, and none of them are good: extinction; extirpation; defaunation...deforestation...biological annihilation... Anthropocene...E.O. Wilson — The Eremocine: The Age of Loneliness…tropic cascade...
If that sounds too fatalistic, here is the comment I left at the Times about the article:
Brooke:
Thank you so much for this wonderful writing and the science behind the story. And the Times for paying attention to the Insect Armageddon. In Maryland, I am a strong supporter of the Maryland Biodiversity Project, run by amateurs much like those in Germany, an attempt to document all the 17,000 known species of the natural world here in the Free State, down into the soil. Here's the website so please take a look and send Bill Hubick your support: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/
{11/28: Editor’s Note: Bill H. Emailed me yesterday, the day of the posting after I sent it to him and said they were now at 18,031 species...}
Now here's the thing: this Maryland idea needs to be turned into a state by state national project, for all the reasons laid out in Jarvis' fine article: we need, and should have had, long ago, such a baseline so we know what is here (I'm sure the Maryland number is going to go up, total species, (ones we didn’t know about, even as the losses mount) before we lose them. My thought is to organize and fund it nationwide as CCC/WPA type projects, and staff it with paid professionals who will then hire and train amateurs, and interact with student volunteers - of all ages.
Let's get on with it, part of a Climate Mobilization and Green New Deal. We may be going under, but I'm not going quietly; none of us should.
Best to you all
billofrights
Frostburg, MD