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75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

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Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#241

Post by dragonwriter »

Tempest1981 wrote: post #236
irrlichthn wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK, I can do with my garden whatever I want to do, as long as a I don't turn it into forrest. But that's here in Austria. What you describe sounds terrible. Fines for not mowing? In which country do you live?

The issue is homes/lots in dry areas with 1-meter-high dead weeds. After the California fires, and how quickly they spread, I can understand the concern. That said, since the drought, there are thousands of dead lawns, and I've never seen these laws enforced.

They are regularly enforced with notices to clear weeds by a date certain or they will be cleared with costs charged to the property owner, at least in some CA jurisdictions.

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#242

Post by elchief »

carbonmachine wrote: post #75

Being an earth dwelling human, this seems pretty bad. Aside from buying ammo or survival rations, what's something proactive that I can do? Is there an organization that is trying to rid the world of pesticides (assuming that's the cause)? If I opt to call my representatives, what am I calling in support of/against? Over the last year, reading the news had made me more passive and worried. I want to dedicate a slice…

This is what I've done in the last two years:

- Moved closer to work to minimize driving

- Take the train downtown (on nights out)

- Bike to work on occasion (it's a huge freaking hill)

- Bought programmable thermostats, LED bulbs, vent louvres. Dropped electric use 20%

- Eat organic (helps my IBS), cook at home, buy in bulk, freeze

- Started composting and recycling more. My city has good programs for such

- Ask for paper bags at grocery store, avoid plastics. Use glass storage containers, etc

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#243

Post by xattt »

lostapathy wrote: post #26
xattt wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have heard this before. I’m not a climate change denier. Could it have anything to do with more aerodynamic car designs?

I drive a jeep (basically a brick on wheels) and bugs are still awful.

The reason I asked this question was because I drive a Nissan Cube.

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#244

Post by memeographer »

xattt wrote: post #243
lostapathy wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drive a jeep (basically a brick on wheels) and bugs are still awful.

The reason I asked this question was because I drive a Nissan Cube.

Do you see a lot of bugs?

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#245

Post by wazoox »

michaelkeenan wrote: post #41
wazoox wrote: post #9

My feeling: brace for systemic collapse.

If you make that a specific prediction, I might like to bet against it, if you're interested.

Well, let's see, 80% of insects, 60% of birds, 75% of fish have disappeared in 30 years (a blink of an eye). Climate change is already bringing famine and chaos around the world. We have absolutely no credible alternative to fossil fuels. The financial system is in complete disarray. Economists proved GDP is strictly tied to energy consumption (that seems obvious) therefore, they indirectly proved that GDP growth is radically unsustainable on the long term (that made absolutely no doubt to anyone understanding physics, but hey, at least that's proven now). Several specialists announced not only "Peak Oil" (conventional oil peaked years ago, "all liquids" will peak in 2018/2019) but "Peak Everything" (even if we had some magical technology to solve any of the listed problems, we won't have the resources).

I deem probable that civilisation collapses before 2020, and almost certain before 2030. What's your bet?

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#246

Post by dandr01d »

alsetmusic wrote: post #219
nordsieck wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> before settlers arrived I think you mean "before Native Americans arrived". One of the side effects of the European arrival to North America was reforestation due to a disease-driven decline in the population of Native Americans.

Seems appropriate to mention controlled burns preceding European settlers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_use_of_fire

Test

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#247

Post by wazoox »

giardini wrote: post #239

This study appears to be an alarmist rehash of what was previously discussed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14323533 Here's one of the original papers: https://www.farmlandbirds.net/sites/default/files/Orbrioch%2... The 75% decline number appears to be from two data points from a 220-acre plot. From that paper: "What follows is a description of measured Insect-Biomasses from samples collected in the Orbr…

To people that were driving 20 years ago and are now, it was pretty obvious without any statistics that something was wrong, for several years now. 25 years ago, I couldn't drive 500 km in summer without scraping off a thick crust of dead bugs on my windshield afterwards (it was even common to stop just for that). In the past few years, I've driven thousands of km across Europe in summer with barely a dead bug on my windows.

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#248

Post by Traubenfuchs »

wazoox wrote: post #247
giardini wrote: post #239

This study appears to be an alarmist rehash of what was previously discussed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14323533 Here's one of the original papers: https://www.farmlandbirds.net/sites/default/files/Orbrioch%2... The 75% decline number appears to be from two data points from a 220-acre plot. From that paper: "What follows is a description of measured Insect-Biomasses from samples collected in the Orbr…

To people that were driving 20 years ago and are now, it was pretty obvious without any statistics that something was wrong, for several years now. 25 years ago, I couldn't drive 500 km in summer without scraping off a thick crust of dead bugs on my windshield afterwards (it was even common to stop just for that). In the past few years, I've driven thousands of km across Europe in summer with barely a dead bug on my…

Insects got smarter and learned to avoid streets.

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#249

Post by adamsea »

monochromatic wrote: post #187
erikpukinskis wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course the planet is conscious. The entire consciousness of the human race combined is a lower bound on the consciousness of the planet.

By that argument, my house is conscious whenever I'm at home.

Did your house spontaneously give rise to the lifeforms from which you evolved?

Re: 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

#250

Post by arekkas »

wazoox wrote: post #247
giardini wrote: post #239

This study appears to be an alarmist rehash of what was previously discussed on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14323533 Here's one of the original papers: https://www.farmlandbirds.net/sites/default/files/Orbrioch%2... The 75% decline number appears to be from two data points from a 220-acre plot. From that paper: "What follows is a description of measured Insect-Biomasses from samples collected in the Orbr…

To people that were driving 20 years ago and are now, it was pretty obvious without any statistics that something was wrong, for several years now. 25 years ago, I couldn't drive 500 km in summer without scraping off a thick crust of dead bugs on my windshield afterwards (it was even common to stop just for that). In the past few years, I've driven thousands of km across Europe in summer with barely a dead bug on my…

I made a road trip this year from Germany to France to Spain to Gibraltar and back (~8.000 km) and had at most one or two bugs on the windshields every couple of days. I am 28 and thought this is normal, but it's so obvious that it isn't.
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