If farmers stopped using pesticides, crop production would be cut in half. From insects & disease. Pesticides and fertilizers are expensive. Farmers wouldn't use them if they didn't have to. It's a trade-off between production and destruction.

@MojoDave insecticides aside, crop hybridizing has done enormous impact in dramatically increasing crop yields; it is to the point that Iowa alone produces more corn than they can even find market for. So they end up feeding it to cattle, which is not healthy for them, and inventing bogus uses like corn-based ethenol, which is a massive waste of resources.
The more I learn about integrative pest management, the more feasible and sensible it seems, but it does require a paradigm shift in thinking from food producers, consumers, and regulators.

@MojoDave Yes, that's my point exactly.

@MikeInBatonRouge Thanks, I obviously need to learn more about this.

Here is a helpful bit of info: [koppertus.com]

@MojoDave But, in the end it will be destruction. Another victim of overpopulation.

Yeah, it seems scientists are destined to be ignored by policy makers until profit is helped by listening to them, or until the disaster brought by ignoring then is blatantly hitting the public in the face. ?

Interesting point.

@RichieO Scale?

Good point, MojoDave. I did not mean to say we know chemicals are the main cause, because indeed evidense seems to suggest otherwise. But as home gardeners, we have all been made aware of some reasons to consider pesticides, and given the very bad pressure insects are already facing, choosing to reduce or eliminate chemical pesticide use in favor of more integrative pest management is at least something we can do to prevent adding to the problem.

@MikeInBatonRouge I'm not defending pesticides Mike. IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is the way to go! But some folks blame everything on pesticides. For everyone's info, pesticides are a part of IPM.

@MojoDave yep, a part, but reduced, limited.
I am certainly no paragon of organic gardening. And I am learning over time. I grow lots of modern roses, notorious for (not being natural, all hybrids), for their attractiveness to insects and fungal diseases alike, and their overall fussiness. I use Bayer Advanced brand fungicides, not at all organic. But rarely do I any insecticides now, and as I find increasingly disease resistant varieties, I am able to use fungicide less frequently. Insecticides I reserve for response to bad infestation, not pre-emptively. I stick to insecticidal soaps when possible as spot treatment, avoid using when bees and butterflies are obviously around, and encourage preditors. I don't exhibit, as the demand for perfectly spotless foliage aggravates me. I want to do better, but I also don't think I will ever see "perfection."

@MikeInBatonRouge I don't see how you could do more, especially with roses in a humid climate. Tough job!

@MojoDave thnx. Oh, I forgot to mention, I am planting a lot of native mealycup salvia this year in amongst the roses, because I read recently it somehow discourages blackspot on roses, so I am trying that out. We'll see.

I've been seeing articles about insect population decline for several years, worldwide. It's good science:
[omicsonline.org]

@MojoDave I never said they weren't "good science" - but note her reaction again - "This is MORE than alarming! "Insect Apocalypse".

As I said above; I love Huff Post - but they push the alarmist button quite often. In the spectrum of news outlets, they trend toward the exaggeration column. Not as bad as Fox's reverse exaggeration - but they're definitely "testing the waters" of Liberal-progressive twists on the basic story.

And my strategy as a relatively conservative scientist is to avoid the scare tactics.
GW is real. Climate shift is real. There is a very good chance of runaway global warming that won't be fixed until major die-offs. That's real. But we like to state this subtlety so as not to get the Trumpsters "knickers in a twist".

Here's a more down to earth report;

[quoteinvestigator.com]

I don't know that this falls under 'alarmist theories'. There are many scientific studies available to show this is really happening.

@Robecology Well, these studies apply to insects. I heard bubble bees will be ok because they are not affected by the pesticides. I haven't heard about mosquitos or coachroaches, but it doesn't sound very promising for the majority of living organisms.

@Robecology I think scientists have been subtle about climate change since the 70s. 50 years later, I think it might be time to turn up the volume.

@MojoDave ...and I agree;

but money talks. And it's talking louder every year.

Employment in Solar and wind services, construction, and maintenance is soaring. The all electric Tesla (for which I'm in debt - but proud to be an owner) employee 55,000 people in the U.S. and is the most US made car. Prices for gas keeps dropping - supply is up, demand is down; and the US lawmakers have the lowest tax on fuel of any developed nation.

[images.theconversation.com]