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To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. MIlman then draws the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis together, explaining that rising temperatures impact the delicate eco-systems where insects thrive. His book is “The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World.” Oliver Milman is an environmental correspondent for The Guardian. This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talked with Milman about his new book, “The Insect Crisis.” They explored what’s causing the decline and what can be done about it - and discuss some fun facts about insects, too. And while it might be tempting to hope for a planet without wasps that sting and roaches in the kitchen, journalist Oliver Milman says human beings would be in big trouble without insects.īugs play critical roles in pollinating plants, breaking down waste and laying the base of a food chain that other animals rely on - including us. In 2019, a report in published in Biological Conservation found that 40 percent of all insect species are declining globally and a third of them are endangered. It might not seem like it on a summer night in Minnesota - when mosquitos are swarming your campfire - but Earth’s kingdom of insects is diminishing so rapidly, scientists have declared it a crisis. In The Insect Crisis, acclaimed journalist Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history.

He charts the troubling decline of insects. But this time, we’re not talking about dogs, monkeys or bats - but bees, beetles and butterflies. Ap8:30 AM Environmental journalist Oliver Milman says habitat loss, pesticides and climate change are killing off insects worldwide. April is Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas.

Oliver milman the insect crisis