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Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

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Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#21

Post by tonygrue »

bsder wrote: post #8

While the "plant milkweed" is nice advice, I seem to remember that you have to plant a very specific species of milkweed. If you plant the wrong milkweed, you wind up killing the butterflies because they don't have enough energy for their migration.

Not an expert, but some digging in on this indicates there is one species folks advice against (topical milkweed); otherwise the advice is a species native to your region.

Some sites out there can help you pick a milkweed for your region. [https://blog.nwf.org/2015/02/twelve-native-milkweeds-for-mon...] and [https://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/Mil...]

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#22

Post by rapnie »

mehrdadn wrote: post #9

Maybe worth noting: we've lost about half of Earth's wildlife in the past 40 years. [1] [1] https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-report-reve...

This is one of the reasons I think we'll soon be talking about more than 'just' climate change, as the problem is much bigger still: we are committing planet-wide ecocide.

Also maybe more focus on root causes will follow: that we are still promoting unbridled consumerism, and that inequality created an upper class that is trying to maintain the status quo. More focus on the latter is already happening.

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#23

Post by mkl »

toper-centage wrote: post #10
pathseeker wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

organic food won't help with extinction. if we switched to organic food we would have to plow down the remaining rain forest to feed the same number of people we do now

That's simply not true.

Citation? While it may not be literally true (e.g. better irrigation of dry land may be just as productive?), it does seem to be in the right direction. The following article is based on a big meta-analysis of agricultural systems, and shows organic fruits and vegetables require significantly more land for the same yield: https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for...

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#25

Post by ptah »

gravelc wrote: post #18

I'm part of a group that is developing RNAi-based pesticides [1]. One of the biggest advantages of such a technology (even relative to organic pesticides like Bt toxin) is the ability to target pests in a highly specific manner and avoid non-target organisms such as monarch butterflies and honey bees. There are likely many factors influencing insect population declines, but hopefully this and similar technologies as…

removing one species typically has a chain effect.

EDIT: are you also investigating these chain effects?

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#26

Post by smt88 »

ptah wrote: post #24
nathancahill wrote: post #12

Meanwhile, 3 days ago: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/second-man...

who would be motivated to kill both of them

From the article:

> "For years, illegal loggers tied to Mexico’s criminal underworld have clashed with conservationists who tried and eventually succeeded to ban logging from the butterfly sanctuaries in the state of Michoacan."

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#27

Post by CalRobert »

gregoryl wrote: post #20
jakear wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A push towards cured meats could help with this... my meat consumption last week was a 4oz pack of prosciutto. Way more tasty than a hunk of beef, and if I continue at that rate for a year I'd consume less than 6kg overall. And it's not like I'd get sick of prosciutto, there are all sorts of cured meats with interesting and unique flavor profiles to choose from.

I'm not gonna go searching, but quite certain cured meats are strongly linked to high cancer risks.

That doesn't make the assertion wrong, though, even if a bit ghoulish.

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#28

Post by pintxo »

skratchpixels wrote: post #11
mehrdadn wrote: post #9

Maybe worth noting: we've lost about half of Earth's wildlife in the past 40 years. [1] [1] https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-report-reve...

From 1978 to 2018, the human population grew from 4.3 billion people to 7.6 billion people. That's over a 44% increase. The last 2 years alone, the human population increased by 1.2 billion.

My maths tell me, an increase of (absolute) 3.3b from 4.3b to 7.6b is a (relative) change of 76%.

Re: Just 29k Western Monarch butterflies are left in California

#30

Post by jacobush »

rapnie wrote: post #22
mehrdadn wrote: post #9

Maybe worth noting: we've lost about half of Earth's wildlife in the past 40 years. [1] [1] https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-report-reve...

This is one of the reasons I think we'll soon be talking about more than 'just' climate change, as the problem is much bigger still: we are committing planet-wide ecocide. Also maybe more focus on root causes will follow: that we are still promoting unbridled consumerism, and that inequality created an upper class that is trying to maintain the status quo. More focus on the latter is already happening.

Don't worry, the upper class will make the other classes consume much less of everything, if things get really bad.
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