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America Lost 22% of Its Butterflies Within Two Decades

2 months 1 week ago
Butterflies "are vanishing from U.S. landscapes at an alarming rate," reports CBS News: A comprehensive study, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that 22% of butterflies in the United States disappeared between 2000 and 2020... The researchers behind the Science study used data from more than 12.6 million butterflies spanning 342 individual species, drawing from 76,000 surveys across 35 nationwide monitoring programs. Funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, the study was the first to integrate such a vast dataset, its authors said. The findings revealed that 33% of butterfly species have experienced significant population declines over the past two decades, with 107 out of the 342 species examined losing more than half of their population — including 22 species that declined by more than 90%. Meanwhile, only 3% of species showed population increases... Ultimately, the butterfly decline is part of a larger global trend of insect population loss, with insects declining by about 1-2% annually, the study's authors said. Butterflies play an essential role in ecosystems, pollinating flowers, crops, and other plants. Their decline could have far-reaching impacts on plant reproduction and the health of ecosystems. Just three months ago the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said America's western migratory populations of monarch butterflies had declined by more than 95% since the 1980s, putting them "at greater than 99% chance of extinction by 2080." (America's eastern migratory population were estimated to have declined by approximately 80%.) This latest study found that one factor is climate change, according to CBS News, which reduces food sources, disrupts breeding cycles and increases habitat stress. (Another factor is pesticide use, which fortunately can be adjusted with various policy interventions and farming practices.) And one of the study's co-authors tells CBS News that "the things we do in our own backyards actually make a difference." They recommend allowing backyard to "grow wild" with native plants (and reducing pesticide use) — even creating "habitat spaces" for insects like small piles of brush. "Even simple actions — like leaving a strip of wildflowers or planting species that support pollinators — can provide crucial resources for butterflies and other insects."

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EditorDavid

Sam Bankman-Fried Gives a Jailhouse Interview, Seeking a Pardon

2 months 1 week ago
Sam Bankman-Fried — one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party — "was convicted of fraud, sentenced to 25 years in prison and mostly went silent," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Until recently..." Now, from behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Bankman-Fried is orchestrating an extraordinary public-relations blitz that looks very much like a campaign to make the most audacious trade of his career: support for President Trump's agenda in return for a presidential pardon... There is little downside to Bankman-Fried's long-shot effort to secure a pardon. As the appeal that he filed last year works its way through the courts, Bankman-Fried, 33, is staring down a prison sentence that could extend until his 50s... The crowning touch of his campaign came on Thursday, when Bankman-Fried gave a jailhouse interview to "The Tucker Carlson Show," which was released on social-media channels including X and YouTube. Appearing on video in a brown jumpsuit, he criticized Washington bureaucrats and crypto regulators — and suggested that he went to prison out of political retribution... [Carlson's title for the interview? "Sam Bankman-Fried on Life in Prison With Diddy, and How Democrats Stole His Money and Betrayed Him."] The interview hadn't been approved by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to a person familiar with the matter. Bankman-Fried spoke with Carlson through a link that is typically used by inmates to communicate with their lawyers, the person said. After the interview, Bankman-Fried was placed in solitary confinement, but he was out by Friday afternoon, according to a person familiar with the matter... Bankman-Fried is trying to highlight in media appearances and in any interaction with Trump's team that FTX customers are set to be made whole with interest through the bankruptcy proceedings — at least in dollar terms. Many of those creditors remain furious that they missed out on bitcoin's rally since November 2022. Bankman-Fried "wants to set the record straight on his political beliefs, which he believes have been misconstrued," according to the article. "While he has given heavily to Democrats, he has also donated to Republican causes, including the contribution of millions to a group supporting Senator Mitch McConnell." But the New York Times, citing "people with knowledge" of his pardon-seeking efforts, reported that "So far, the push does not appear to have gained traction."

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EditorDavid