Insects are dying out and scientists and environmentalists are sounding the alarm. Our film team meets entomologists, farmers, scientists, chemical companies and politicians in a bid to lay bare the causes of insect mortality.
Insects aren’t really likeable. They sting, bite, transmit diseases and frighten children. But, on the other hand, they are also fascinating: 480 million years ago, insects were the first animals to learn to fly, and they took over the Earth. Even now, they are fundamental to life on Earth, and are at the beginning of the food chain on which all human beings are ultimately dependent.
But insect numbers worldwide are dropping, creating a rupture of the food chain. Environmentalists and scientists are now extremely worried. Landscape ecology professor Alexandra-Maria Klein from Freiburg, for example, has been researching the effects of human interventions in natural environments for decades and has launched an experiment in a fruit plantation on Lake Constance: What happens when insects disappear? An ominous silence is settling on places that were once humming and buzzing. Why are the insects dying? Author Christoph Würzburger takes a journey into the fascinating world of insects and meets entomologists, farmers, scientists, chemical companies and politicians in a search for the causes of insect mortality.
It’s illegal to be buried in Longyearbyen, Norway, the northernmost town in the world, where a melting permafrost threatens to uncover bodies and revive ancient diseases. Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/ind…
“Nobody Dies in Longyearbyen was directed by David Freid (https://davidfreid.com/). It is part of The Atlantic Selects, an online showcase of short documentaries from independent creators, curated by The Atlantic.
In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans were left without shelter, food or access to health services. Many people have been living in temporary settlements without access to safe water and sanitation, putting them at high risk of diseases like cholera, malaria and measles.
Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, WHO is rolling out its early warning alert and response system (known as EWARS-in-a-Box) to rapidly detect priority epidemic-prone diseases and allow a quick response before they develop into large outbreaks.
