Updated: January 2024, C. S. Sherin
In 2008 an article was published explaining that insects are an absolute necessity to the survival of life on our planet. The article reported that:
17,000 species are now considered to be threatened with extinction and 869 species are classed as extinct or extinct in the wild on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. In the last year alone 183 species became more endangered. ~ Gray, Richard; Science Correspondent. “The animals and plants we cannot live without”
The article names five animals identified by scientists as those that the Earth simply cannot do without:
primates, bats, bees, fungi, and plankton.
In 2015, an article published on LiveScience by Adam Hadhazy explained what would happen “If All of Earth’s Insects Keeled Over.” The short answer is that life on Earth would not be able to survive, everything would die without insects.
The article goes on to explain (with the help of a professor of Entomology and Evolutionary Biology at University of AZ, Goggy Davidowitz) that there would be no honey or silk, and people would go hungry, even without pesticides, because almost all of our foods are pollinator-based.
Primates, one of 5 species the Earth cannot do without. Photo by
Andre
Mouton
Not to mention that insects, bacteria, and fungi (along with vultures and ravens) diligently recycle Earth’s decaying materials.
While our culture seems to have an ironic obsession with dystopian story-lines in movies and books, the reality is that no sane and loving being wants this. I repeat: no one who is sane and appreciative of life and love wants this.
And for some reason, we can’t and don’t want utopia, perhaps due to it seeming so foreign and out of reach? But, how about a non-corrupt, generally healthy society? How about simply a functional and generally healthy humon role/plot for life on Earth for once?
As much as humans disrespect, fear, hate, and otherwise find nuisance with insects, the truth is, insects are integral to a sustainable health and balance for life on Earth.
Bats, one of 5 species the Earth cannot do without. Photo by Thomas
Lipke
While discouraging, the difficult news from the most recent IPCC report (as of 2018) is really an opportunity to act for essential positive change.
We don’t know how this will all actually play out. So, let’s keep going...on this crazy roller-coaster ride, and do what we can when we can, for as long as we can.
Corporations and others orchestrating their abuse of power and control for too long have been dead-set on destructive, cruel, corrupt, toxic, and generally unsustainable means and systems. Those in political office are mostly funded by those whose interests objectify and monetize life with a near to complete corruption of standards for pollution, sustainability, and stewardship of habitats, life, and precious resources.
The current Republican administration, led by Trump and Pence, is a prime example of this. We have been manipulated and used for many generations, and the end game seems to be in sight.
Voting in these midterms is essential. That is a first step in our immediate future. Vote for people, the environment, health, education, animals, and civil rights for all.
Current news and scientific reports regarding resources, pollution, habitats, and species extinction gets worse and worse.
Plastic pollution is so far-reaching and so microscopically saturated within our Earth now, that plastic particles are found in salt, plankton, and nearly all water sources. In addition, countless bee species are facing extinction or are seriously threatened, as well as birds, butterflies, and essential others.
A photograph of three bees, featured in the book Recipe For A Green Life, by C. S. Sherin; Bees, one of 5 species the Earth cannot do without.
Germany reported a study in 2017 that in their most protected and healthy places of nature, insects are vanishing by more than 75%. This is not only alarming and tragic, it sounds hopeless. It sounds like we have gone too far, and that we may live to see the collapse of life on this planet.
But, it doesn’t have to be this way at all. There may still be time to change and turn things around.
I do insist: there is practical and concrete hope!
There is reason to believe that we can bring healing and regeneration to this Earth and to precious resources, habitats, and human communities. How?
Voting is first.
Second, create daily habits and make daily choices that
invest in well-being for all, sustainability, and health. Invest in what gives you hope,
and new ways of operating. (Demand justice where there is profound corruption and harm. See the corporations and manufacturers and their supporters who are most responsible.)
Third, is a divestment from the current mainstream lifestyle in favor of more holistic and grassroots approaches. Specifically, there is a great solution that is practical, highly adaptable, and concrete. It has been demonstrated over and over with thriving results — even on land that has been stripped and depleted!
Restorative Permaculture and other restorative methods that support diversity can be applied in various ways according to need and specific situations. GROW food everywhere (organic fruit and nut trees, vegetables, herbs, etc.) Stop growing pesticidal grass everywhere! Permaculutre and restoration can be applied in all forms and types of gardening and farming, with an adherence to biodiversity and organic methods. (And protect water!)
Look at the “before and after” examples from the Permaculture Research Institute. Consistent and impressive evidence is there that reveals that stripped land can be regenerated and brought back. There is no doubt, restorative Permaculture is an answer that can work for urban or rural situations.
We need to divorce ourselves from mindless consumption, waste, and toxic polluting in every way possible — together and alone, personally and by holding the big players accountable whenever we can.
A particularly inspiring example of the power of Permaculture is the transformation of desolate land by the hand of one person, at the Beltaine Cottage. But there are many other tales of healing land and water to learn from as well.
There are also movements going on right now that work to create community gardens in urban food deserts, which empowers children, the poor and those on the fringes due to systemic discrimination.
There is no great need for industrial/corporate factory farming. They say that there are “too many people and not enough food.” The truth is that more food is wasted, rather than there not being enough. The problem is the mindless wasteful consumerist lifestyle, and the approach of industrial farming which disregards any respect for life, health or biodiversity. That is what creates lack and destruction.
Part of the answer is to employ many small and local operations, with which to feed locals. Greenhouses and root cellars need to be created and accessible on a larger scale for colder climates too. Our yards (commercial and residential) need to be hospitable to pollinators, communal food forests, and community gardening.
Practices of grass lawns and ongoing pesticides and herbicides and copious amounts of watering to maintain it needs to stop. Ordinances and policies need to be changed at the local level and regional level. Improving water quality is possible. New discoveries and technologies may also help.
There are dedicated people around the world who are contributing to healthier and more just ways, as we speak. There are brilliant people in this world applying themselves in order to invent or discover answers to help the planet and life on it. Maybe you are one of them?
There is a great need for us to recognize, too, that some inventions already exist, and we aren’t using them because of corruption, lack of fair wages, and broken systems that cheat the system in favor of the few over the many.
We need to vote out those who choose destruction, oppression, and heartache for our planet and fellow beings, and then get to the work of establishing better pathways and habits. We don't all have the same power and abilities. Nothing is too small. We all have our most effective pathways. All are valid and needed.
We, as a global collective of humans, need to insist upon restorative approaches to everything, while quickly mitigating the damage already done. We need to discipline ourselves to invest in a different future.
One of the five animals identified by “five leading scientists” as those that the Earth simply cannot do without: Plankton. Photo shows the diversity of plankton.
At the heart of it, and where our grassroots power to move forward is, is this:
divest from what is wrong, and invest in healthy practices, regenerative practices, native and local approaches; community gardens....take time and make efforts to elect local officials who have integrity, who invest in renewable long-term plans that are more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable.
We must divest from the corporations, organizations, politicians, and practices that recklessly continue to contribute to destruction, serious division, extremism, and harm of our ecosystems and collective health.
Fungi, one of 5 species the Earth cannot do without.
May we actively recognize and value that which has been demonized, belittled, and maligned because of our own fears, but moreso, social-cultural programming/conditioning — starting with insects.
Each day is an opportunity to choose thoughts, habits and actions that are more aligned with positive, life-giving change. Each day is an opportunity to support and protect insects, water, pollinators, and our collective health in ways that are realistic and doable. It may require changing direction on some things. It may require giving some things up. Yet, we are all in this together. Let’s be relentless in our dedication to ethics and compassion and see where it takes us.
In general, it is never too late to begin.
And, even if it were “too late,” (they say we have 12 years to effect the change we need) our positive actions, kindness, and conscious choices are never wasted!
Every one of us is important and needed, more than ever. We are not alone. We are in this together. Let’s give it our best, persist, and see how the roller coaster ride turns out — together.
CS Sherin, Recipe For A Green Life 2018© Please feel free to share this article--in its entirety with author, source credit, and this copyright notice--on social media and for non-commercial educational purposes only.
*This article was first published on the Recipe For A Green Life blog. Links were updated in 2022.
