Increased pesticide use due to bat extinctions may have led to 1300 child deaths in US

[frogwoman]

Loss of bats to lethal fungus linked to 1,300 child deaths in US, study says

Because bats feed on crop pests, their disappearance led to a surge in pesticide use. Research found a rise in infant mortality in areas where the bats had been wiped out

www.theguardian.com

Really shocking story. Bats which eat pests died out locally due to a fungus and as a result farmers used more pesticides, which led to an increase in the infant mortality rate

 

[lazythursday]

Shocking but perhaps not surprising. The ways in which we collectively depend on natural systems are poorly understood.

For me this increasingly feels like the biggest challenge - how we have a step change in how everyone thinks about and relates to nature. Was having an argument with some idiot on Facebook recently about the council's policy of not mowing grass any more (except strips round the edges) and not spraying every weed to death down paths etc. 'Nature belongs in fields' was their repeated refrain - and of course, no it doesn't, and there's barely any in a lot of fields because they are chemical filled monocultures!

 

[bcuster]

Bat, bee & child extinctions. Our Earth is dying...

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Bat, bee & child extinctions. Our Earth is dying...

It's not dying. "Dying" implies some kind of unknown or unintentional cause.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Bat, bee & child extinctions. Our Earth is dying...

Earth isn't dying. Earth doesn't give a fuck about us, and it'll be here long after we're gone.
We're not killing the planet. We're killing its inhabitants.

 

[bcuster]

Earth isn't dying. Earth doesn't give a fuck about us, and it'll be here long after we're gone.
We're not killing the planet. We're killing its inhabitants.

A cynical view, to be sure. But I’d’ve had to say not inaccurate

 

[lazythursday]

If there's one thing that really does wind me up it's 'save the planet' type messaging. It's not about the planet, it's about our own survival as a 'civilised' species, as Saul says. I don't think it's at all cynical, I think the planet focus makes the whole thing seem really distant from everyday life and something only really affecting polar bears.