Silent Earth by Dave Goulson

4.5 out of 5 stars

People seem to forget that we are an integral part of the natural world and this planet. Ultimately, everything that we do will have an effect and repercussions much further down the line. This piece of art by Jim Vision and Louis Masai says it all really:

One of the creatures that we really have to look after is insects. They are essential for life in so many ways, so of which we know and as Goulson, says in the book, echoes Donald Rumsfeld of all people, in ways that we have not even begun to comprehend. As they disappear because of our actions; spraying vast swathes of land with toxic chemicals, drenching plants with weedkillers and pumping vast quantities of climate-changing gasses into the atmosphere, the world as we know it will change irrevocably.

Goulson is drawing all his scientific knowledge to do two things in this book. The first is to show the shocking and often cataclysmic decline in insect populations that have taken place in recent decades and the reasons why this has happened. The second is to show how and why we need change at every level of government and society. We have to look after these invertebrates; our lives depend on them.

This is not an easy book to like, but sadly it is a necessary final warning shot across the bows as our species wreaks havoc across the world. The focus in this book is on Goulson’s favourites, the insects, however, he lays all of the facts out very clearly and draws on the evidence provided by science about the devastation that we are causing. It would be nice to think that this could be read by more MPs, who are in a position to do something about it, but I fear that it won’t be. It is a sobering and vitally important read.