13 Comments

Thank you, Rebecca, for this service. 🐝 I was happy to play a small part in getting that 6PPD-quinone study funded, as well as early mitigation measures such as extra street sweepers to sweep before a heavy rain.

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John, I wondered whether you might have been involved up there. Thank you for doing that. Good stuff.

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You rock, John!

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Thank you Rebecca. I watched the video--made my day!🐝

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I also watched the video and loved it. I was really struck by the whole idea of how art and beauty are motivators for conservation outside of economic value. Our humanity drives us to care. Which means when we don't care, we must not be in touch with our humanity. Thank you for your writing. It must take a ton of time and effort. So grateful!

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Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful video about the efforts to save the rusty patched bumblebee! Are you familiar with the British entomologist Dave Goulson? He is a bumblebee specialist who has written a number of excellent books. His book "A Sting in the Tale" is focused on bumblebees. His book "Silent Earth" is about the ongoing extinction of insects. I am not a professional entomologist, but after I retired from a career in biochemistry, I decided to study Lepidoptera as a hobby. My efforts have focused on documenting the moth diversity in SW New Mexico. I've been working on this project for over ten years. The results are gathered together at my website: southwesternmoths.com. Insects are amazing, beautiful creatures that play a vital role in all terrestrial ecosystems. Biologist and ant expert E. O. Wilson called them "the little things that run the world." We need to save them!

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Thank you for this. I will mourn the curlew today. I heard about this a week or two ago, and meant to learn more.

And thank you for sharing the signs of optimism. I have followed the dam removal projects and find the return of salmon encouraging. I can only hope that the model of ecological inclusion grows in North America and worldwide, even though I have immense concerns about the incoming administration's attitudes toward species and the natural world.

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Rebecca, thanks for the news, good and bad. I'm grateful for the work you do. Keep on keeping on.

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Thank you for this wonderful piece of writing, Rebecca, so full of both heartbreak and hope.

I too live in an area where Indigenous people have not been forced off their land (though they've suffered through many other kinds of colonization), and I stand in awe of their stewardship of these Tewa homelands in Northern New Mexico, and learn much from them. We would all do well to follow their lead, they know the way.

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It was hard to watch the scientists live in their labs and the bees being captured in small plastic containers. But I'm happy to report that where I live, far away from most humans, there is a thriving population of Rusty Patched Bumble Bees along with many other pollinating buzzing humming things!! All is not lost, yet.

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Lucky you! I would love to see one in person. :)

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I planted a lot of penstemon from seed and pollinators love them. I also live at over 7K ft altitude. So much buzzing and humming during the summer!

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I am grateful for your commitment to keep us informed about the environmental challenges over the next 4 years. Thank you🌻🌏🙏

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