Silence
The illustrious tail of the Snow Leopard.
“We knew that something was amiss in the first couple days [...]. We were driving into the forest and at the same time both Andres and I said: ‘Where are all the birds?’ There was nothing.” (Lister, 2019 cited in Carrington 2019, no pagination).
A lack of abundance in relevant studies makes the causes of insect collapse difficult to determine (and this relative shortfall may well be exacerbated by the creepy-crawlies' societal status). However, the signs yet again point to pesticide use, habitat destruction and climate change.
So the question remains: where do we go from here? Evidently, if we are to secure insect populations, we need to halt irresponsible pesticide use, habitat destruction and mitigate climate change. Not merely because the life-supporting web they weave holds human health together (although, this is essential when grabbing the attention of policymakers and the public) but because it is about time we recognised and granted insects with the credit they deserve.
However, I am skeptical about the ability of our current institutions to bring about these necessary changes. I repeat, it has been almost sixty years since the publication of Silent Spring; an actual lifetime. Perhaps a radical shift is needed. A realisation that an increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot be sustained without surpassing environmental thresholds. Alternative approaches do exist. The ones gaining the most speed involve the recognition of biospheric integrity within policy-making for human well-being and valuing the ecosystem services which insects provide us humans. Yet, from a moral perspective, perhaps it's time to consider insect communities as more than just 'valuable.' These lifeforms which, aside from certain cases, have posed no threat to humans throughout our history and were here way before us, do we have a right to kill them if they do not kill us? If they protect and provide for society, isn't a reciprocal obligation posed upon humanity? These questions are intriguing and should be urgently debated considering the disaster which is currently unfolding. Yet at the moment, despite the critical implications of an imminent insect loss, I do not hear this discussion taken place over political debates and menial concerns. Perhaps we could kick-start the debate now; feel free to comment below on whether you think we can ever be justified in killing insects or what steps you think we can take to mitigate their collapse. This affects us. This affects everyone. Everyone and everything. Something needs to change, urgently, and it is time for you to speak up, demand and debate the society you want to live in.
The ivory tusks of the African Elephant.
The fuzz-ball that is the Great Panda.
What is it you think of when the the words "endangered" or "extinction" flash red in front of your eyes?
For millennia, humans have been fascinated by the mighty beasts with whom they walk alongside. Their grandeur, their stature. The way they stand, ablaze with nature.
Indeed, the vibrancy of life is contagious. For us humans, witnessing such wonders both humbles the mind and animates the spirit. We have evolved with nature and it's health is our health; integral to our survival. It is only natural to desire displays of such wild, unrefined colour. Fleeting spectacles of art you can just about comprehend. Perhaps also stemming from our longing to be like them, our love of the big and beautiful creatures of this Earth is concrete.
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| Rock art depicting animal life dating from 6000 BC in Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2019) Image source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tassili-najjer |
Yet, what about the creatures we mostly fail to acknowledge? By-and-large, our conception of beauty does not encompass all forms of life. This has led to humanity favouring some lifeforms over others. In turn, might this have contributed to the dismissal of many 'pests' from our sympathy? When I first read the word 'insect' upon starting research for this blog post, my brain could conjure up the a myriad of images of mosquitos and flies but, nothing more. To me, this represents how the notion of insects being nothing more than a nuisance has dominated public discourse. And, doomed by society's assertion that beauty be synonymous with value, such creatures are now facing "horrific decline" (Goulson, 2017 cited in Carrington, 2017, no pagination) and "collapse" (Lister, 2019 cited in Carrington 2019, no pagination).
From both societal and evolutionary perspectives, our lack of respect for the creepy-crawlies is understandable. Being the bearers of a range of deadly diseases like malaria, a human's wish to escape their swarms may be appreciated. Yet, couple this mindset with the profit-fuelled engines of business and the mass explosion of societal faith in innovative technologies and you've just signed your own death warrant. Considering how insects provide us with a multitude of ecosystem services and a life-support network, their loss has triggered a "bottom-up trophic cascade" (Lister, 2019 cited in Carrington 2019, no pagination) in our tropical rainforests. This means that the birds are lost, the lizards are lost and the interwoven web of life which catches us when we fall, is lost. And we, as humans, always fall.
With it being estimated that 80% of all insect species remain unidentified, we don't even know who we are losing. Whatever skills these creatures have mastered may thus lie beyond our understanding forever. Meanwhile, they fall with no ceremony.
Taking a more anthropocentric (human-focused) perspective, society should begin to tremble at the evidence. These creatures are vital to our Earth's biospheric integrity and the ecosystem services they provide. In fact, much to the chemical manufacturer's dismay, a balanced Earth enables insects to regulate levels of pests as well as aid decomposition and pollination - the provisioning of your food. However, not only is our life-support system on the brink of collapse, but we have very limited knowledge about how it currently supports us. Therefore, if the system as we know it were to suddenly collapse, or merely begin to falter, we would have next to no idea about how to patch it together again, yet alone build a new one from scratch. Would 'technology' fly in with a magic cape and fix up all our mess? Well, until I see the blueprints, I remain highly doubtful.
It is possible, I grant you, for us to change our most harmful practices and allow these systems to re-heal. But my friends, doesn't this parallel, repeat even, the "shadow of death" (Carson, 1962, pp.13-14) which was cast over the USA many decades ago? The figurehead famed with igniting the environmental movement, Rachel Carson, documented this tragedy almost sixty years ago perhaps more eloquently than anyone else ever has. And yet, despite Carson inciting the political will to change harmful practices in so many, here we are again.
Look here at the parallels in the following accounts; one an extract from Carson's (1962) Silent Spring which depicts the aftermath of a 'pesticide' spraying, the other a quote from Proffesor Brad Lister, a researcher recalling his most recent visit to Puerto Rico:
"The few birds seen anywhere were moribund: they trembled violently and could not fly. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was no new sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh." (Carson, 1962, pp.13-14)
Taking a more anthropocentric (human-focused) perspective, society should begin to tremble at the evidence. These creatures are vital to our Earth's biospheric integrity and the ecosystem services they provide. In fact, much to the chemical manufacturer's dismay, a balanced Earth enables insects to regulate levels of pests as well as aid decomposition and pollination - the provisioning of your food. However, not only is our life-support system on the brink of collapse, but we have very limited knowledge about how it currently supports us. Therefore, if the system as we know it were to suddenly collapse, or merely begin to falter, we would have next to no idea about how to patch it together again, yet alone build a new one from scratch. Would 'technology' fly in with a magic cape and fix up all our mess? Well, until I see the blueprints, I remain highly doubtful.
It is possible, I grant you, for us to change our most harmful practices and allow these systems to re-heal. But my friends, doesn't this parallel, repeat even, the "shadow of death" (Carson, 1962, pp.13-14) which was cast over the USA many decades ago? The figurehead famed with igniting the environmental movement, Rachel Carson, documented this tragedy almost sixty years ago perhaps more eloquently than anyone else ever has. And yet, despite Carson inciting the political will to change harmful practices in so many, here we are again.
Look here at the parallels in the following accounts; one an extract from Carson's (1962) Silent Spring which depicts the aftermath of a 'pesticide' spraying, the other a quote from Proffesor Brad Lister, a researcher recalling his most recent visit to Puerto Rico:
"The few birds seen anywhere were moribund: they trembled violently and could not fly. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was no new sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh." (Carson, 1962, pp.13-14)
“We knew that something was amiss in the first couple days [...]. We were driving into the forest and at the same time both Andres and I said: ‘Where are all the birds?’ There was nothing.” (Lister, 2019 cited in Carrington 2019, no pagination).
 |
| The circle of life: a wren and an insect Source: http://www.permuted.org.uk/photography/pretty-wren-and-some-new-herring-gull-chicks/ |
So the question remains: where do we go from here? Evidently, if we are to secure insect populations, we need to halt irresponsible pesticide use, habitat destruction and mitigate climate change. Not merely because the life-supporting web they weave holds human health together (although, this is essential when grabbing the attention of policymakers and the public) but because it is about time we recognised and granted insects with the credit they deserve.
However, I am skeptical about the ability of our current institutions to bring about these necessary changes. I repeat, it has been almost sixty years since the publication of Silent Spring; an actual lifetime. Perhaps a radical shift is needed. A realisation that an increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot be sustained without surpassing environmental thresholds. Alternative approaches do exist. The ones gaining the most speed involve the recognition of biospheric integrity within policy-making for human well-being and valuing the ecosystem services which insects provide us humans. Yet, from a moral perspective, perhaps it's time to consider insect communities as more than just 'valuable.' These lifeforms which, aside from certain cases, have posed no threat to humans throughout our history and were here way before us, do we have a right to kill them if they do not kill us? If they protect and provide for society, isn't a reciprocal obligation posed upon humanity? These questions are intriguing and should be urgently debated considering the disaster which is currently unfolding. Yet at the moment, despite the critical implications of an imminent insect loss, I do not hear this discussion taken place over political debates and menial concerns. Perhaps we could kick-start the debate now; feel free to comment below on whether you think we can ever be justified in killing insects or what steps you think we can take to mitigate their collapse. This affects us. This affects everyone. Everyone and everything. Something needs to change, urgently, and it is time for you to speak up, demand and debate the society you want to live in.
Else when the feathers of fine birds are withered and all colour is drained from the landscape,
And we are left stranded amid the bare crags and toxic dust of our burning tombs,
Will we comprehend it?
When we fall, will we cry out for one last brush of prickling brambles?
One last taste of golden, sticky sweetness?
One last stirring aroma?
One last spectacle of wonder?
One last note to resonate through our sickened bodies?
And beget nothing but silence?
H_M
:)
Bibliography:
Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., Gonzalez, A., Hooper, D.U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., Narwani, A., Mace, G.M., Tilman, D., Wardle, D.A., Kinzig, A.P. 2012. Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature, 486(7401), p.59-67.
Carrington. 2017. Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers. The Guardian. [Online]. 18 October. [Accessed 01 February 2019]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers
Carrington. 2019. Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’. The Guardian. [Online]. 15 January. [Accessed 01 February 2019]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/insect-collapse-we-are-destroying-our-life-support-systems
Daly, H.E. 2005. Economics in a full world. Scientific american, 293(3), pp.100-107.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/bugnos
https://www.who.int/features/qa/10/en/
Kremen, C., Chaplin-Kramer, R. 2007. Insects as providers of ecosystem services: crop pollination and pest control. In: Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium. CABI Publishing: Wallingford. pp. 349-382.
Raworth, K. 2017. Doughnut economics: seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist. Chelsea: Chelsea Green Publishing.
Tscharntke, T., Tylianakis, J.M., Wade, M.R., Wratten, S.D., Bengtsson, J.A.N.N.E., Kleijn, D.A.V.I.D. 2007. Insect conservation in agricultural landscapes. In: Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium. CABI, Wallingford. pp.383-404.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2019. Tassili n'Ajjer. [Online]. [Accessed 25 January 2019]. Available from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/179/
Wilson, R.J., Davies, Z.G., Thomas, C.D. 2007. Insects and climate change: processes, patterns and implications for conservation. In: Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium. CABI Publishing: Wallingford. pp. 245-279.
And we are left stranded amid the bare crags and toxic dust of our burning tombs,
Will we comprehend it?
When we fall, will we cry out for one last brush of prickling brambles?
One last taste of golden, sticky sweetness?
One last stirring aroma?
One last spectacle of wonder?
One last note to resonate through our sickened bodies?
And beget nothing but silence?
H_M
:)
Bibliography:
Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., Gonzalez, A., Hooper, D.U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., Narwani, A., Mace, G.M., Tilman, D., Wardle, D.A., Kinzig, A.P. 2012. Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature, 486(7401), p.59-67.
Carrington. 2017. Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers. The Guardian. [Online]. 18 October. [Accessed 01 February 2019]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers
Carrington. 2019. Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’. The Guardian. [Online]. 15 January. [Accessed 01 February 2019]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/insect-collapse-we-are-destroying-our-life-support-systems
Daly, H.E. 2005. Economics in a full world. Scientific american, 293(3), pp.100-107.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/bugnos
https://www.who.int/features/qa/10/en/
Kremen, C., Chaplin-Kramer, R. 2007. Insects as providers of ecosystem services: crop pollination and pest control. In: Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium. CABI Publishing: Wallingford. pp. 349-382.
Raworth, K. 2017. Doughnut economics: seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist. Chelsea: Chelsea Green Publishing.
Tscharntke, T., Tylianakis, J.M., Wade, M.R., Wratten, S.D., Bengtsson, J.A.N.N.E., Kleijn, D.A.V.I.D. 2007. Insect conservation in agricultural landscapes. In: Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium. CABI, Wallingford. pp.383-404.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2019. Tassili n'Ajjer. [Online]. [Accessed 25 January 2019]. Available from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/179/
Wilson, R.J., Davies, Z.G., Thomas, C.D. 2007. Insects and climate change: processes, patterns and implications for conservation. In: Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium. CABI Publishing: Wallingford. pp. 245-279.
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