STRIKE FOR THE PLANET
because a dying biosphere means we die too.
It won’t be cheap, easy, politically feasible, pro-capitalist, or any of the rest of the ridiculous stupidity we’ve let deafen us so long to both the science and the silence as life dies off.
If you’re not panicked, you haven’t been paying attention. Please pay attention.
This week’s topic is INSECTS.
Insect populations are crashing worldwide.
• North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany has seen an 81% drop in insect biomass in 25 years.
• A German nature reserve saw a 40% decrease in butterfly and moth species in 173 years.
• A 2014 study documented a 45% drop in invertebrate abundance worldwide since 1974.
• 42% of terrestrial invertebrate species are classified as threatened with extinction.
• Colony collapse disorder has caused 30-40% drops in bee populations.
• In a pristine Puerto Rican rainforest, insect/ anthropod biomass fell 60-fold since the ‘70s.
• Insect diversity has diminished; less diversity means less system resilience to change.
So why should we care?
Bird species that eat insects are crashing; in ecosystems, extinction is a chain reaction of death.
3/4ths of all flowering plants are pollinated by insects.
1/3 of the world’s food supply by mass depends on insect pollinators.
Insects decompose plant and animal waste, and recycle nutrients back into the biosphere.
If predator insects die off, prey insects can boom, destroying ecosystems and spreading diseases.
What’s causing the die-offs? Probably a combination of:
Modern agricultural practices, pesticides, nitrogen fertilizer, monocrops, destruction of native habitat and habitat loss, invasive species, neonics and DDT and glyphosate, climate chaos, water pollution, light pollution, air pollution, and global temperature increases.
What can we do about this in a city? Lots!
Engage citizens in insect Citizen Science (Xerces Society, School of Ants, Bugs In Our Backyard),
Plant insect gardens and ensure insect corridors throughout the city,
Turn SF lights out and enlist buildings to practice lights down and reduced lighting at all times,
Plant trees and micro-ecosystems everywhere,
Outlaw all non-permaculture pesticide use in SF (private and public),
Plant natives and lots of them all over (including in yards and on sidewalks, by fields and roads),
Phase out cars quickly and outlaw all diesel in SF,
Above-ground rivers and streams and rebuild the habitats they sustained,
Fund insect zoos and insect nurseries in all SF schools,
Plant lots of plants and leave some “bare” ground for burrowing insects; no astroturf in SF!
This one is doable and quickly; we just have to do it and do it now!