Can I get a little signal boosting help, pls Mastodon? 🙏
I’m looking to fill some free time helping out organisations working for #conservation and #biodiversity.
I have a weird hodgepodge of programming/program management/marketing expertise, and am currently studying towards a MSc in biodiversity and wildlife health. Teeny tiny bit of past conservation NGO experience. Based outside Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Happy to volunteer, in field, or behind a desk, whatever you need.
A group of 18 European Parliament Members have issued a statement officially calling for #Degrowth.
Here is part of what they wrote...
We believe that the current economic model, based on endless growth, has reached its limits.
Firstly, continuous economic growth, especially based on the consumption of fossil fuels, is leading to catastrophic global warming.
Secondly, the infinite pursuit of growth relies on the depletion of natural resources, the destruction of biodiversity, and the accumulation of waste and pollution. This also poses risks to our health, our economies, and our societies writ large.
Thirdly, the current economic model is contributing to social inequality and exclusion. The emphasis on economic growth has not translated into equal distribution of wealth or opportunities. Instead, it has resulted in a concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few leaving many behind.
Fourthly, the current economic model is inherently unstable and prone to crises, as seen, for example, during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The pursuit of growth at all costs has created a global economic system that is fragile and vulnerable to shocks.
We need an economic system that prioritises human well-being and ecological sustainability over GDP growth, one that recognises that infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible.
We also believe we need to find new ways of organising our economies without relying on the continuous exploitation of resources and the constant increase in production and consumption.
We call for more pluralism in economic thinking within EU institutions and for its alignment with the scientific evidence of climate, ecological, and social sciences.
We call for economic models and other decision-support tools to be more diverse, more comprehensive, and more readable for citizens.
We call for decision-making processes to be aligned with our common policy objectives rather than on the basis of the variation of GDP figures.
Names of those who signed on as co-authors: Philippe Lamberts (BE), Bas Eickhout (NL), Ville Niinisto (FI), Manuela Ripa (DE), Marie Toussaint (FR), Ernest Urtasun (ES), Kim Van Sparrentak (NL) — Greens/EFA; Manon Aubry (FR), Petros Kokkalis (EL), Marisa Matias (PT), Helmut Scholz (DE) — The Left (GUE/NGL); Pascal Durand (FR), Aurore Lalucq (FR), Pierre Larrouturou (FR) — Socialists & Democrats (S&D); Sirpa Pietikainen (FI), Maria Walsh (IE) — European People’s Party (EPP); Katalin CSEH (HU) — Renew Europe (RE); and Dino GIARRUSSO (IT) — Non-attached (NI).
Just three years after replacing their manicured front lawns with a wild flower meadow, Trinity College Dublin reports the emergence of rare orchid species in the heart of the city.
An incredible positive illustration of the benefits of allowing for biodiversity
A rant about leaf blowers. Just stop with them. Gas ones spew CO2 and particulates at an alarming rate, they’re the definition of noise pollution, and they disturb insect habitat under your hedges. But they’re also just not that good at getting leaves together. Here’s the thing that no blower guy will tell you, but every SE Asian grandma knows: the best way to get leaves off your hard surfaces is this tool right here. 1/3 #gardening#GardeningMastodon#insects#biodiversity#Autumn#FallColors
There aren't enough swear words to express how angry this makes me!!
"Industrial Farming Has Killed Billions of Birds"
🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬
Worldwide, 49% of all wild bird species are in steep decline.
BirdLife International’s authoritative report, State of the World’s Birds 2022, estimates that there are now nearly three billion fewer wild birds in Canada and the U.S. than a few decades ago, and about 600 million fewer in the European Union.
The single biggest cause of bird declines is chemical-intensive farming. Some birds are killed by pesticides or herbicides, but the most important impacts are loss of food, especially insects and other invertebrates that most bird species depend on, and the spread of fertilizer-intensive monocultures that eliminate shelter and nesting areas. Insect-eating populations declined more than any others.
In short, the collapse of farmland bird populations is closely related to the Insect Apocalypse in the Anthropocene. The mass slaughter of insects is killing masses of birds.
"The Amazon rain forest is not virgin forest--rather it is a vast garden, cultivated by Indigenous people."
YES!
Europeans, used to a European model of land usage, arrived in the Western Hemisphere and didn't recognize that the woodlands and grasslands of North America and the rain forests of South America were not wildernesses, but managed lands.
This is so cool! There is an annual mass #biodiversity experiment in Danish schools, which this year involved 30,000 kids collecting + examining samples of moss + lichen. Only 5% have been examined so far but they've already discovered 5 species of water bear unknown to science.
This paper on bird population declines is a real smoking gun in #biodiversity declines
"Agricultural intensification, in particular pesticides and fertiliser use, is the main pressure for most bird population declines, especially for invertebrate feeders."
We should be grateful to the thousands of volunteers who compiled the dataset: a "population time-series of 170 common bird species, monitored at more than 20,000 sites in 28 European countries over 37 years" #birds https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2216573120
Königswinter Germany reduced annual electricity consumption for street lighting from 1300 MWh to 385 MWh from 2017-2022, including turning off many streetlights during midnight to 5 am. The result was a savings to the city of 80,000€ per year.
The police of Bonn did a crime study, and found that there was no measurable change.
Yes! Amazing news! The EU Parliament just voted through the EU Nature Restoration Law, which aims to restore our badly degraded ecosystems. The law will set legally binding targets for nature restoration in member states.
Next stop, writing it into law at a country level.
Suck it European People's Party, suck it European Conservatives. Some of us actually want #biodiversity.
Today is the day for the #EuropeanParliament to pass the #RestoreNature law. This is vital for the protection of #biodiversity, #climate and our ability to live and feed ourselves on this planet. This law is good for #farming and farmers. No nature, no pollinators, no farming.
Unfortunately this piece of legislation is under attack by the far-right, center-right (EPP) and liberals. You still have a couple of hours to pest your MEPs about it.
All of these were photographed (by me) in my small suburban garden.
I wanted to post this to show that #biodiversity does still exist. With all the climate doom & gloom in the news it sometimes feels really hopeless. Like a battle we've already lost.
But the butterflies are still here. So are the bees & other vital pollinators. It's not too late to protect them.
Gardens don't have to be expensive or elaborate to provide them a home. What matters is that we create space for #pollinators in our landscaped lives. Just adding a few flowers can make all the difference & help ensure these lovely creatures continue to survive.
Cette photo a été prise au parc national Bükk, en Hongrie 🇭🇺.
L'arbre le plus mince a été coupé il y a des années ; le plus grand le tient et le nourrit depuis lors ; ils se « réveillent » ensemble au printemps et « s'endorment » ensemble à l'automne.
Le terme scientifique est « l'anastomose » en français 🇫🇷 ou «l'inosculation » en anglais 🇬🇧 :
C'est ce phénomène naturel dans lequel des parties de deux arbres différents, généralement mais pas exclusivement de la même espèce, poussent ensemble, s'auto-greffant et partageant les nutriments.
This outstanding article related to #NativePlants has many useful points for preparing for the next growing season and improving the #environment in general. I'll pull out some main ideas in a threaded series this week.
First up: Insects are the primary conduits for energy to get from plants to animals. And lowly caterpillars turn out to be the most important.
Our job, gardeners, is to plant more caterpillar food!
Per the article☝️, the population of American birds has declined by 30% since the 1970s. To help, you must support the bugs that the birds need to reproduce. But only 14% of #NativePlants generate 90% of the yummy caterpillars that drive food webs!
So are you planting these?
At the link provided, you can pull up a list of what you need to plant in your ecoregion. Scroll down and click on your list.
We live under the flight path of wildlife traveling between native forests in #CoastalNSW. At midsummer, these creatures are all very busy feeding on, pollinating, propagating (through excreting seeds), and regenerating not only the great native forests, but many private gardens.
Why not give your local native birds and wildlife a gift for #2024 by planning now to plant edible native flowers, shrubs and trees wherever you live. Or find a Bush Regeneration group to work with on local public lands.
Before long, #Biodiversity Value will become a measurable contribution to the value of both public and privately owned land, including yours. It’s the beautiful gift you give to yourself, your children’s children, our wildlife, and the planet.
Not mowing grass in May but then starting again in June always seems like a lost opportunity to me and a waste of a chance to improve urban biodiversity. Instead of ‘no mow May’ how about ‘only mow September-November’? Here’s the result after six years - totally humming with bees and other insect life! #NoMowMay#nomowjune#biodiversity#lawnsareboring#Stirling#Scotland
Contrary to popular dogma, industrial agriculture cannot "feed the world." Below are seven key takeaways from a report comparing the industrial food chain to the smallholder peasant food web.
Peasants are the main or sole food providers to more than 70% of the world’s people, and peasants produce this food with often much less than 25% of the resources — including land, water, fossil fuels — used to get all of the world’s food to the table.
The industrial food chain uses at least 75% of the world’s agricultural resources and is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, but provides food to less than 30% of the world’s people.
For every $1 consumers pay to industrial food chain retailers, society pays another $2 for the industrial food chain’s health and environmental damages. The total bill for the industrial food chain's direct and indirect cost is 5 times governments’ annual military expenditure.
The industrial food chain lacks the agility to respond to climate change. Its research and development is not only distorted but also declining as it concentrates the global food market.
The peasant food web nurtures 9-100 times the biodiversity used by the industrial food chain, across plants, livestock, fish, and forests. Peasants have the knowledge, innovative energy and networks needed to respond to climate change; they have the operational scope and scale; and they are closest to the hungry and malnourished.
There is still much about our food systems that we don’t know we don’t know. Sometimes, the industrial food chain knows but isn’t telling. Other times, policymakers aren’t looking. Most often, we fail to consider the diverse knowledge systems in the peasant food web.
The bottom line: at least 3.9 billion people are either hungry or malnourished because the industrial food chain is too distorted, vastly too expensive, and — after 70 years of trying — just can’t scale up to feed the world.
Uk folk: As we move into spring/summer, and you notice some pretty verges blooming with wildflowers, please remember to contact your council and say how much you like them & how good they are.
If they only hear from people complaining it looks untidy, they will cut it back.
If there are no verges left long, write & suggest they should be
Plantlife (UK charity) has more info https://www.plantlife.org.uk/our-work/road-verges/
If not in the uk you can do this too, I just don’t know who you would contact #Biodiversity#UK