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About 12,000 years ago, late stone age humans precipitated the neolithic (agricultural) revolution that marked the start of the steady rise to civilization.
Coincidentally, this occurred at the same time as the beginning of what is now known as the Holocene Epoch, the geological epoch in which humans still live.
However, since the industrial revolution commencing in about 1750, just 270 years ago, humans have been destroying Earth's biosphere with such tremendous ferocity that the Earth we inherited at the beginning of the Holocene Epoch is vanishing before our eyes.
And life is vanishing with it...
While this catastrophe first gained significant public attention with the publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962, efforts in response to her effort to raise the alarm, credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement, have paled in comparison to the ongoing human effort to silence Spring.
In fact, we are destroying the biosphere with such ruthless efficiency that the global extinction rate is now 200 species per day, with another million species 'under threat'.
Moreover, according to the recent Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services researched and published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) - the scientific body which assesses the state of biodiversity and the ecosystem services this provides to society:
So severe is the crisis through which we are now living that the normally sober tone of scientific papers is vanishing too, with words such as
...are being used with increasing frequency.
See, for example, 'Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines'.
So how extreme is the threat?
Well, despite the number of elite-controlled intergovernmental processes and corporate scientists paid to promulgate delusion about our timeframe, an increasing number of scientists are now warning that existing and accumulating evidence indicates that human extinction is likely to occur by 2026 (assuming that we can prevent nuclear war and prevent the deployment of 5G in the meantime).
Unfortunately, too, the full extent of this unfolding catastrophe is readily masked if the many interrelated factors,
...synergistically shaping this outcome are not each and all considered.
See 'Human Extinction by 2026? A Last Ditch Strategy to Fight for Human Survival'.
For example,
If enough insects are gone, whether through,
…or a combination of these and other factors, before we reach the critical climate 'tipping point', then human food chains will collapse rapidly followed by the human population whatever the state of the climate at the time.
However, rather than reiterate the comprehensive evidence in relation to the synergistic threats to human survival here, let me instead present the evidence only in relation to the decimation of the global insect population - variously given such labels as 'insectageddon' and 'insect apocalypse' in an attempt to convey the gravity of the crisis - including what is driving it and what it means.
The Importance of Insects
So how important are insects?
According to one recent study conducted by Caspar A. Hallmann and eleven associates, insects are vital to ecosystem functioning:
To underscore the importance of insects, in their study Bradford C. Lister and Andres Garcia simply note that,
And, as Robert Hunziker observes:
However, despite their crucial role in maintaining the habitable biosphere, insects have been in decline for several decades.
And the decline is accelerating...
The Decline of Insects
Any study of insect populations readily confirms their rapid decline.
For example, in the recent study by Lister and Garcia, they note that,
Hence they compared arthropod biomass in Puerto Rico's Luquillo rainforest with data taken by Lister back in 1976.
They found that,
Moreover, they noted, over the past 30 years forest temperatures have risen 2.0°C and their study indicated that,
Ominously, they observe:
Why...?
Well although climate 'warming' is disrupting the entire biosphere at an accelerating pace, the rate is generally slower in tropical habitats.
Nevertheless, the evidence still clearly suggests that tropical ectotherms (organisms reliant on environmental heat sources) may be particularly vulnerable to the warming climate.
Citing an earlier report based on research by Daniel H. Janzen - see 'Why Mountain Passes are Higher in the Tropics' - Lister and Garcia note that tropical species that evolved in comparatively aseasonal environments have,
In another recent report 'Worldwide decline of the entomofauna - A review of its drivers', Francisco Sánchez-Bayo and Kris A.G. Wyckhuys,
In essence, their research reveals 'dramatic rates of decline' with the main drivers being,
Moreover, they note, the general studies of insect declines are,
But perhaps the most alarming report is the one written following research conducted by Caspar A. Hallmann and his associates.
Noting widespread concern about insect loss, they observe that,
Employing a standardized protocol to measure total insect biomass using Malaise traps, deployed over 27 years in 63 nature protection areas in Germany (with 96 unique location-year combinations) their analysis estimated,
Moreover, the decline was apparent regardless of habitat type.
Just one cascading impact of the rapid decline of insects in Germany is the 'decimation' of the bird population. See '"Decimated" - Germany's birds disappear as insect abundance plummets 76%'.
In summary, from the study by Sánchez-Bayo and Wyckhuys:
Why are insects declining?
In essence, apart from the causes of insect decline noted above, such as,
...and will be further and horrifically impacted, along with all life on Earth, if 5G is deployed.
For an earlier study identifying the existing problem of electromagnetic radiation on life,
In essence, without sufficient diversity and density of insects the existing biosphere will collapse and homo sapiens will join the fossil record.
And we are rapidly approaching that particular tipping point.
Part of the problem is that far too much attention is being directed at the climate catastrophe while ignoring the vast evidence from other disciplines offering highly instructive research not only in relation to climate impacts but to other human behaviors that are negatively impacting ecosystem functioning.
This has a range of negative impacts, including that it deludes people into seeking outcomes that are hopelessly inadequate if we are to address the full extent of the crisis in our biosphere.
Has anything being done?
Not much...
The elite's corporations have enormous political power so have little trouble resisting efforts to contain their destruction of the biosphere, including of insect populations.
Hence, while scientists routinely offer fine suggestions, such as the following one, they are also routinely ignored.
But, to reiterate, it is corporations that have political power and that also control the media narrative; not scientists.
So what can we do?
Given that the insect apocalypse is deeply connected to other issues of critical importance to human survival, as always it is vital that this issue is addressed strategically from a holistic perspective.
For that reason, we must approach the issue by addressing fundamental drivers but also several vital symptoms that arise from those drivers.
Let me explain what I mean.
The fundamental question is this:
Given the preoccupation of modern society with producing submissively obedient students, workers, soldiers, citizens (that is, taxpayers and voters) and consumers, the last thing society wants is powerful individuals who are each capable of searching their conscience, feeling their emotional response to events, thinking critically and behaving strategically in response.
Hence our parenting and education models use a ruthless combination of visible, 'invisible' and 'utterly invisible' violence to ensure that our children become terrified, self-hating and powerless individuals like virtually all of the adults around them.
This multifaceted violence ensures that the adult who emerges from childhood and adolescence is suppressing awareness of an enormous amount of fear, pain and anger (among many other feelings) and must live in delusion to remain unaware of these suppressed feelings.
This ensures that, as part of their delusion, people develop a strong sense that what they are doing already is functional and working (no matter how dysfunctional and ineffective it may actually be) while unconsciously suppressing awareness of any evidence that contradicts their delusion.
See, So if we are going to address the fundamental driver of both the insect apocalypse and destruction of the biosphere generally, we must address this cause. For those adults powerful enough to do this, there is an explanation in 'Putting Feelings First'.
And for those adults committed to facilitating children's efforts to realize their potential and become self-aware (rather than delusional), see 'My Promise to Children'.
Beyond this cause, however, we must also resist, strategically, the insane elite corporations that are a key symptom of this crisis by manufacturing and marketing a vast range of insect (and life)-destroying products ranging from weapons (conventional and nuclear) and fossil fuels to products made by the destruction of habitat (including rainforests) and the poisoning of agricultural land (to grow the food that most people eat) while now planning the imminent worldwide deployment of 5G...
See Nonviolent Campaign Strategy.
But we can also undermine this destruction, for example, by refusing to buy the products provided by the elite's corporations (with the complicity of governments) that fight wars (to enrich weapons corporations) to steal fossil fuels (to enrich energy, aircraft and vehicle-manufacturing corporations) or those corporations that make profits by destroying rainforests or producing poisoned food, for example.
We can do this by systematically reducing and altering our consumption pattern and becoming more locally self-reliant as outlined in 'The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth' or, even more simply, by committing to The Earth Pledge (below).
In a nutshell, for example, if we do not buy and eat poisoned food, corporations will stop poisoning our food and this will save vast numbers of insects (and many other life forms besides).
You can also consider joining those working to end violence in all contexts by signing the online pledge of 'The People's Charter to Create a Nonviolent World'.
The Earth Pledge
Out of love for the Earth and all of its creatures, and my respect for their needs, from this day onwards I pledge that:
Conclusion
In response to a range of synergistically impacting behaviors, homo sapiens is on the fast track to extinction.
Just one critical and largely ignored variable in this rush to extinction is our decimation of the world insect population denying us an ever-expanding range of ecological services.
On this count alone, we have already crossed a dangerous tipping point that will cause increasing problems over time. Whether we can stop short of the ultimate tipping point depends on what you decide.
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