Very interesting post @agmoore, I was unaware of this case of fungal attacks on bat populations. A very important point is when you mention that “everything is connected”, since everything is part of a balance that must be maintained for ecosystems to function in a good way, the lack of any natural component can trigger very serious problems.
On the other hand, the issue of agrochemicals applied to crops is another serious problem and even more so when applied excessively, many of these products wear out the soil, making it infertile over time and bring health complications. In turn, the birth rate and also human fertility can be compromised, you already made a good mention of what can happen to babies in your post with the lack of bats that forces to use even more chemicals for pest control.
In my country there was a case study where in a village used for agriculture many young people under the age of 20 were already infertile, it was discovered that the river they used for water supply was contaminated with the chemicals they used for crops. The issue was that the products applied were very residual and stayed in the soil, then when it rained the rains washed all these chemical residues to the natural water sources, so everything was contaminated.
A pleasure reading you, hope you have a good week 🤗.
There are 'cancer villages' in China - over 400 last time I checked, where maybe 5% might die from cancer in a single year... Toxic water supply mostly
There must be several contaminated villages in China. I would say that in more developed or more populated countries, the contamination rates due to agricultural practices are higher, since they require very high production levels to satisfy the needs of their population, without adding what is exported. The fastest and "safest" way to achieve this is by using chemical products to fight pests, diseases, improve yields, etc.
Because of all this, soil and water contamination rates will be very high, hence cancer and other health complications.
over 400 stats was years ago and I don't expect they have done much to reduce so yeah, for the same reasons you describe, and a whole lot of 'good enough' mentality for the tiny pay check people are being given to provide health & safety
That is tragic. I'm sure there are cases all over the world. Surprisingly hard to find them. I don't think the companies and governments want us to know.
Here (on Long Island) we have the issue of nitrogen runoff and herbicide runoff. People want green lawns so they use chemicals to induce that look. Crazy! Every time we have a storm, the chemicals are washed off the lawns and into our surrounding bodies of water. Just to get a greener lawn!!!!
Thank you for your informative and perceptive comment, my friend @abneagro. I hope you and your family are enjoying a peaceful end of summer.