Rise of the Bugs

Control human population to 0.5 to 1.0 billion and keep 1/3 of land off limits to human exploitation. Simple.

here in south western id. we have wild cats becoming a part of the ecosystem. there are not many mice or birds! so if you want some, come and get them! bring a cage, a can of catfood, and gauranteed within an hour you will have 10!

fyi, biodiversity is native animals and plants, altogether with a living soil and water that function altogether to create the one, living organism or life-gifting unit, an ecosystem. Native to its ecosystem/habitat is the key word. To-date, mankind can grow plants and tree farms, but he cannot re-create an ecosystem. The more biodiversity, the stronger and more stable the ecosystem. Ecosystems and biodiversity are all the reasons mankind exists, in the first place.

Any "tropical" disease in a plane trip away from your door. For a well-researched book about the spread of disease (and failing healthcare systems) read The Coming Plague" by Laurie Garrett. For a scarier read than anything Stephen King could even imagine, read "Parasite Rex" by Carl Zimmer. What you don't know CAN hurt you.

Great story and true. One component is needed to complete this story, a populace with poor or no access to medical care-the breeding ground. We in the US are now moving rapidly in that direction, creating a vast reservior of people with essentially no access to medical care.
....With that, the story can begin as written.

I used to live in MD. It has become so developped that the poor wildlife has no place to go and they all end up getting runed over by cars. If you see a wild animal crossing the road, please do all you can to avoid it. All animals have a role to play in the ecosystem. They need to be protected. When I see the money wasted on the military, it outrage me. All this money could go to taking care of the people and animals. Fences should be built all along roads and highways so it stops wildlife, from crossing.

Very informative article. It's not often that articles that mention Lyme also explain the carriers - so many people complain about the deer but they are only necessary for deer tick reproduction not the transmission of Lyme. Several of my family & friends have this debilitating disease. We use a safer alternative to pesticide sprays called Damminix. Tick Tubes contain cotton that is toxic to ticks but safe for mice and other animals. Mice take the cotton back to the nest and kill ticks before they become adults. We use Damminix in spring & summer and it has been a great success. When hiking in parks, we spray our clothes with permethrin spray.