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Labour saving their intellectuals for Deal.
Joe Burman – Senior Lecturer in Life Sciences, Ecology Research Group, Canterbury Christ Church University (and candidate for Dover District Council in Mill Hill, Deal).
Insect extinctions are the tip of the iceberg
As well as running for council I also work as a university lecturer and researcher in ecology and conservation science. My specialist area is the conservation of insects, a subject I developed a passion for as a child, where bugs where an important part of my summer holidays (yes, even the ones that bite!). Unfortunately several decades later, many insects are in decline across the world, part of the coming insect apocalypse which has come into the spotlight in recent years. Over 40% of insect species across the world are threatened with extinction!
The main threats to insects are the conversion of land for agriculture and the introduction of agrochemical pollution, and these threats are exacerbated by climate change and the invasion of non-native species. Without a radical change to our environmental policies, these declines could be catastrophic for nature and humankind, since so much of our lifestyle is reliant on the natural ecosystem functioning correctly, including food production, water management and even biotechnology and medicine.
I am encouraged by the recent rhetoric from some politicians across the world about a Green New Deal, and delighted at Labour MPs getting behind this idea which could go some way into halting this drastic loss of biodiversity, but with a Tory government in power I remain on tenterhooks. Protecting nature takes political will and a serious investment in the renewable and sustainable future, as well as the creation of new green technology jobs, so for now, I’m holding my breath.