On Christmas Day the Badger and his wife, supping mid-morning coffee while chatting about the mild weather, saw a Bumble Bee fly past the kitchen window and land on a daisy flower in the garden. We had never seen a big fat Bumble Bee in the garden on Christmas Day before! Previous Christmases have had bleaker weather, often colder with heavy frosts and occasionally snow. Indeed, a decade ago the weather was truly bleak at Christmas and since then we have noticed that the festive season’s weather getting noticeably milder. We decided that this year’s Bumble Bee sighting must be (unscientific) evidence of climate change.
As we finished our coffees, we were joined by another family member who seemed thoughtful as they watched the lone Bumble Bee fly off into the next garden. We all speculated what we would see if the scene was replayed in Christmas 2029, and the family member made an unexpected prediction, namely that in 2029 there would be lots more native flowers in bloom at Christmas but no sign of any Bumble Bees! They also predicted that there would be more OneWeb and Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth at Christmas 2029 than Bumble Bee sightings in our garden for the whole year! Hmm. The Badger asked for some rationale.
A discussion ensued, and – put simply – the underpinning rationale seemed to be the following. Firstly, a view that technology, the internet, and instant information is the utility of modern life, that it has destroyed privacy, and that the OneWeb and Starlink satellite constellations merely provide a ‘Phase 2’ reinforcement of these same points! Secondly, a belief that over the last decade our global leaders have pandered to vested interests and failed to act on any of the big issues that affect life on our planet. Thirdly, that this will not change in the next decade. And finally, a belief that political, commercial and vested interests always win out over what really matters to the lives of the vast majority of people…and Bumble Bees! Essentially, the family member predicts that we’ll be able to watch endless YouTube videos and movies anywhere on Earth in 2029, but we’ll be no further forward in addressing the big sustainability issues affecting life for all species on the planet.
Time will tell if this is a fair point of view, but the Badger’s more optimistic. We are where we are. None of us can change history, but we all have a voice and can influence the future. So please think about what’s right for species like Bumble Bees in your New Year resolutions. They need your support to survive, and we all need them more than we realise for our own sustainability on this planet. ‘We need Bumble Bees more than we need huge constellations of satellites’. Hopefully our leaders will listen, or Christmas 2029 will be grim…
