Based on various forms of evidence, scientists around the globe have long known that the Earth has undergone climate change for millions of years. While few argue that climate change is currently going on, some dispute that humans are to blame for the bulk of such climate change.
Arguing the validity of climate change and humanity’s role in the rapid advancement of climate change in the past 100-odd years is difficult without the help of tried-and-true, peer-reviewed research.
A recent study published in Science Direct led by Francisco Sanchez-Bayo and Kris A.G. Wyckhuya found that nearly half of all insect species studied are soon facing the threat of extinction.
Of the hundreds of species studied, about 40 percent of their populations have dropped in recent years. In total, the total weight of all insects on planet Earth has decreased and is decreasing by roughly 2.5 percent per annum.
Although it’s unlikely, the study also said that the Earth could be home to zero or very few insects by 2119.
The University of Sydney’s Francisco Sanchez-Bayo explained to The Guardian that the world is slated to have roughly one-fourth of its current insect population in a decade, one-half in about 50 years, and potentially zero in 100 years’ time.
Believe it or not, the study supports research that indicates insects are, in general, dying at a greatly increased rate as compared to their reptilian, avian, and mammalian counterparts. They’re going extinct about eight times as quickly than those three types of organisms.
The study, funded by the University of Sydney, analyzed the populations of insects across countries in North America and Europe. Some 41 percent of the total number of insect species’ populations are dropping, 31 percent are currently threatened according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and 10 percent are facing local extinction.
One of the most important types of insects to human activity is the bee. Honey bees, wild bees, and bumblebees are all taking hits to their respective populations across the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the entirety of the United States, in particular. In the United States alone, the total number of man-controlled colonies of honey-producing bees bottomed out from roughly 6 million in 1950 to 2.5 million just a few years ago.
Bees are so important because they are single-handedly to credit for the pollination of fruits, vegetables, and other
