A Win-Win for Insects: Nature-Based Climate Solutions Address both Climate Change and Biodiversity Concerns with Scott Hoffman Black - executive director of the Xerces Society.
Register at https://cvent.me/Z9MkVr

Cost is $5.00 that will benefit the Friends of Extension and 4-H. Space is limited and you must preregister (https://cvent.me/Z9MkVr) and pay at the door. Doors will open an hour before the event.

• You can thank insect pollinators for one third of every mouthful of food that you eat.
• Without small flies in streams for young fish to eat – your last grilled salmon would have been impossible.
• If you like songbirds, you can thank an insect – 96 percent of birds rely on insects for survival.
With well over one million known species, insects and other invertebrates eclipse all other forms of life on Earth. They are essential to the reproduction of most flowering plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and nuts; they are food for birds, fish, and other animals; they filter water and help clean rivers and streams; and they clean up waste from plants and animals. Just four of the many insect services—dung burial, pest control, pollination, and wildlife nutrition—have an estimated annual value in the United States alone of at least $70 billion.
Though they are indisputably important, insects and other invertebrates are experiencing a multicontinental crisis evident as reductions in abundance, diversity and biomass. Given the centrality of insects to terrestrial and freshwater aquatic ecosystems and the food chain that supports humans, the potential importance of this crisis cannot be overstated.
The loss of insect diversity is driven by habitat loss and degradation, pesticide use, climate change, diseases and more. The science is clear: It is impossible to address the loss of biodiversity without addressing climate change, but equally impossible to tackle the full impacts of climate change without working to protect and enhance biodiversity. Scott will discuss how nature-based solutions can address both.