Jeff Woodhouse
Moaning Marlow Meldrew
A guy called John Griffith posted this on Facebook. I don't know if the original author is an angler, an environmentalist, or one of the 'Extinction Rebellion' people, but I suspect he's a common sense chap who is genuinely concerned, as should we all be.
This was his post and the picture. -
"Yes, this is a really good example of shifting baseline syndrome. Read below: I do not know who the author is.
"SHIFTING BASELINE SYNDROME.
Do you remember washing your car 20 years ago? Massive dragonflies and insects of all shapes and sizes splattered over the windscreen?
The younger generations may not even know, but older people will surely remember that up until some 20 years ago any car trip on a late summers afternoon meant a windshield covered in dead insects.
However, nowadays that doesn't happen so much, does it?
It may sound great news—after all, who doesn't like to travel with a clean windshield? But what does it really mean? Doesn't that tell you anything?
Scientists associate the dramatic decline in insect populations with industrial agricultural practices, especially habitat destruction and pesticide use.
That decline, besides being a tragedy by itself, also affects the whole terrestrial ecosystems, such as the birds', reptiles' and amphibians' diet, pollination, etc.
The collapse of the insect populations may be a forewarning of the collapse of the terrestrial ecosystems..
This is the critical decade for action in solidarity with life itself"
This was his post and the picture. -
"Yes, this is a really good example of shifting baseline syndrome. Read below: I do not know who the author is.
"SHIFTING BASELINE SYNDROME.
Do you remember washing your car 20 years ago? Massive dragonflies and insects of all shapes and sizes splattered over the windscreen?
The younger generations may not even know, but older people will surely remember that up until some 20 years ago any car trip on a late summers afternoon meant a windshield covered in dead insects.
However, nowadays that doesn't happen so much, does it?
It may sound great news—after all, who doesn't like to travel with a clean windshield? But what does it really mean? Doesn't that tell you anything?
Scientists associate the dramatic decline in insect populations with industrial agricultural practices, especially habitat destruction and pesticide use.
That decline, besides being a tragedy by itself, also affects the whole terrestrial ecosystems, such as the birds', reptiles' and amphibians' diet, pollination, etc.
The collapse of the insect populations may be a forewarning of the collapse of the terrestrial ecosystems..
This is the critical decade for action in solidarity with life itself"