Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
New Mexico's southeastern counties see migrating monarch butterflies mostly in the fall. But their numbers are dwindling.
From the environmental community, there is good news and bad news. But mostly bad news.
The good news is that the world's tiger population is 40% higher than in 2015.
The bad news is that monarch butterflies, so beautiful that identifying them as "insects" somehow seems an injustice, may soon face extinction.
Even the good news isn't all good. Tigers have vanished entirely from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos but are on the rise in Nepal, China and possibly India. Estimates peg their overall numbers up from 3,700 to nearly 6,000.
The orange-and-black monarch, the world's most recognizable butterfly, was put on the endangered list July 21. Its eastern U.S. population has declined between 85% and 95% since the 1990s.
Such a staggering plunge in such a tiny blip of time cannot be attributed simply to natural trends, the fallback of climate change deniers. Loss of habitat, increased herbicide and pesticide use, and climate change (as reflected by drought, temperature extremes and severe weather), are enemies of these tiny but hardy creatures whose migration is the longest of any insect species known to science.
Too many people ignore that nature is a very delicate balance, a true "circle of life" that is more than a line from "The Lion King." Plants and animals interact, which affects pollution, food supply and other factors that directly impact human life quality.
This should also matter to anyone who stops to appreciate the wonder of our planet. Tigers are among the most majestic of creatures. Butterflies are among the most beautiful.
Once a species is gone, it's gone forever. That nearly happened with the American bison, and it did happen to the passenger pigeon, which went from 3 billion in 1814 to extinction by 1914.
Losing species would be sad if it were unavoidable. But it is unforgivable as the result of shortsighted, greedy or selfish human activity that imperils an ecosystem that humanity relies upon to survive, and robs the planet of its variety and beauty.
Climate change warning signs are everywhere. The monarch butterfly's perilous future isn't an outcome, it's another of those signs.
How many will we need before accepting that without serious commitment, the gifts of this planet will be squandered - and humanity will pay the most fearsome price?
- The Republican, Springfield, Mass.
