81–90 of 90 posts
It is my hope that humans can ditch their love affair with pesticides. This is just one example of the unintended impact of pesticides. I have also found dying birds in my yard a few days after the neighbor sprayed their house perimeter for ants. No toxicology report but there was no sign of any physical damage.
It is my hope that humans can ditch their love affair with pesticides. This is just one example of the unintended impact of pesticides. I have also found dying birds in my yard a few days after the neighbor sprayed their house perimeter for ants. No toxicology report but there was no sign of any physical damage.
Pesticides form the backbone of crop protection. Without them, we're looking at at least a 40% reduction in global yield, and much greater uncertainty in food supply chains (the oil shocks show how bad that can be). Pesticides per se are not the problem; synthetic broad-spectrum pesticides with many unintended effects are. They're often toxic to people and ecosystems, and resistance among pests and pathogens is incre…
We send rockets to the moon and every person is getting phones. We would survive without pesticides.
It is my hope that humans can ditch their love affair with pesticides. This is just one example of the unintended impact of pesticides. I have also found dying birds in my yard a few days after the neighbor sprayed their house perimeter for ants. No toxicology report but there was no sign of any physical damage.
I'll never forget my first week working housing demolition in the Japanese countryside a few years ago. We were outside tearing down an old house, when I saw what I thought were bats. In broad daylight. But they were moving slowly... and I could see their wings beating. Holy crap, those are butterflies. Huge, stunningly beautiful, butterflies. And not just one or two, but many of them. When I was able to get a bit cl…
I visited the rainforest in Brazil (Iguazú Falls / Foz do Iguaçu) a few years ago and saw literally dozens of species of butterflies of every size and color. It was truly incredible. Not to mention the falls themselves and the rest of the flora and fauna. The rainforest is amazing!
The Amazonian soil is actually extremely poor because of how much water runs through its soil. It's one of the reasons such biodiversity evolved in the first place. Poor soils favor a diversity of strategies while rich soils tend to form monocultures that quickly dominate
(Ofc terra preta, amongst other indigenous technologies, have also radically shaped the soil and its fertility)
It is my hope that humans can ditch their love affair with pesticides. This is just one example of the unintended impact of pesticides. I have also found dying birds in my yard a few days after the neighbor sprayed their house perimeter for ants. No toxicology report but there was no sign of any physical damage.
Pesticides form the backbone of crop protection. Without them, we're looking at at least a 40% reduction in global yield, and much greater uncertainty in food supply chains (the oil shocks show how bad that can be). Pesticides per se are not the problem; synthetic broad-spectrum pesticides with many unintended effects are. They're often toxic to people and ecosystems, and resistance among pests and pathogens is incre…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
i had a salesman say he noticed i had a lot of spiders around outside. he asked who i currently use for pest control. i said, "the spiders." he excused himself and left. maybe they don't make great decorations, but the spiders generally stay in their webs and don't bother me. i once watched one defeat a wasp twice its size. i might feel differently if we had any dangerous spiders around here (just black widows, and t…
> maybe they don't make great decorations Some of ours are decorative enough, eg this orb weaver I exchange greetings with most mornings: https://www.pasteboard.co/07o5TWpFLUY8.png
Whenever I see a spider indoors I try to remind myself that for every spider I see I am probably seeing 10 less of other bugs. And if the spider is unsuccessful in catching other bugs it will leave on its own
I planted narrow leaf milkweed in my yard for the first time this spring. This is the first time I've planted something with the intention of it being eaten.
https://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds
TIP: the zip code entry box also has a space for your email. You can just ignore that box and only enter the zip code. Here's an example page:
https://www.audubon.org/native-plants/best-results?zipcode=9...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You should only be planting native species whatever they are for your specific area.
The “butterfly bush” is native to China. Milkweed is native to North America. Milkweed is the only one that can feed the Monarch at all stages of its life, from larva to caterpillar to butterfly. When people plant butterfly bushes, it “tricks” the butterfly (or at least crowds out better options) into laying eggs where the larvae will ultimately die of starvation.
I've heard the native ones support monarch's throughout their lives, but now I'm seeing that's not so - which would be odd... Why would Monarchs evolve to lay eggs where they'd starve?
Mass agriculture and pesticides.
There was an article four days ago about 12 million hectares to grow corn for fuel and that energy from solar is 30x more efficient. Maybe they could make a few million of that nature reserve and put solar on other parts? ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47868063 )