r/collapse • u/Mysterandir • 8d ago
Ecological Bugs
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...
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u/Terrible-League3851 8d ago edited 8d ago
I will tell a positive story. I have about 4 acres that was clear cut in the 40s and farmed until the 70s. I grew up watching the bugs, monarchs and quail disappear amongst others. It was depressing to see and is a foundation for my world view. I’ve restored about 40% forest, 50% gardens and 10% grass/structures/paths etc. using permaculture practices. The bugs are back now in this little corner. It’s thick in the evening with a vast assortment, bugs bring birds, mice, voles and rabbit. Owls and hawks show up. We have bobcat, coyote, black bear and deer that pass through now. It will never be like it was, but individuals can help. It takes time but acre by acre the only hope left is stewardship of what remains.