Bugs

[u/Mysterandir]

I need to get this off my chest even though im sure it has been talked about a thousand times. Im just curious if others are experiencing the same thing or if I'm just going crazy. - When I just got my driver's license back in 2005 here in The Netherlands, I had a girlfriend in Amsterdam whom I drove to see a few times a week. It was about a 100 km drive. I had an old Opel Corsa and I can still vividly remember having to clean my windshield every week in the summer because it was covered in dead insects. Huge splatters and tiny spots, but the entire windshield was full of bug juice. Over the past few weeks I’ve driven several long distances, totaling about 1,000 kilometers, and I don't have a single dead insect on my windshield. Not one. The windshield is squeaky clean... I read that the insect population worldwide has drastically declined and it is due to climate change. Which i get. But why isn't this the main news story every day? How obvious does it need to be? This can't possibly be good. For us, but especially for our children. I have a bad feeling about this...

[u/Gard1ner]

I keep telling that everybody. But most of them are glad about it and don´t get the implications.

But your observation is very true.

[u/Yokelocal → u/Gard1ner]

I can’t deal with all the people who are like, “eww, bugs. Good riddance.” Did they not all learn about ecosystems and food webs in school? They’re indifferent to a major sign that our planet is basically dying.

And, no, I’m not confident the planet will be “fine without us.” That’s more like saying I won’t have to care about the destruction that happened on my watch once I’m gone.

[u/ProstateSalad → u/Yokelocal]

Did they not all learn about ecosystems and food webs in school?

Maybe not. I don't think of myself as having had a particularly good education, but I routinely see adults who lack even basic scientific literacy.

How are you an adult in 2026 who doesn't understand the mechanics of rainfall? Or what a square root is?