Electromagnetic radiation as an emerging driver factor for the decline of insects

Abstract

Electromagnetic radiation as an emerging driver factor for the decline of insects Alfonso Balmori. Electromagnetic radiation as an emerging driver factor for the decline of insects. Sci Total Environ. Available online 28 January 2021, 144913. doi.org. Highlights • Biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide • This reductions is mainly attributed to agricultural practice and pesticide use • There is sufficient evidence on the damage caused by electromagnetic radiation • Electromagnetic radiation may be a complementary driver in this decline • The precautionary principle should be applied before any new deployment (e.g. 5G) Abstract The biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide. Numerous studies have reported the serious decline in insects that has occurred in recent decades. The same is happening with the important group of pollinators, with an essential utility for pollination of crops. Loss of insect diversity and abundance is expected to provoke cascading effects on food webs and ecosystem services. Many authors point out that reductions in insect abundance must be attributed mainly to agricultural practices and pesticide use. On the other hand, evidence for the effects of non-thermal microwave radiation on insects has been known for at least 50 years. The review carried out in this study shows that electromagnetic radiation should be considered seriously as a complementary driver for the dramatic decline in insects, acting in synergy with agricultural intensification, pesticides, invasive species and climate change. The extent that anthropogenic electromagnetic radiation represents a significant threat to insect pollinators is unresolved and plausible. For these reasons, and taking into account the benefits they provide to nature and humankind, the precautionary principle should be applied before any new deployment (such 5G) is considered. Excerpt The precautionary principle and the importance of seriously considering EMR as a factor of insect decline. Despite the strong scientific evidence of the negative impacts of electromagnetic radiation on insects, a recent study funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (EKLIPSE) stated that our current knowledge concerning the impact of anthropogenic RF-EMR on pollinators (and other invertebrates) is inconclusive (Vanbergen et al., 2019). Thus, the extent to which anthropogenic EMR represents a significant threat to insect pollinators is unresolved. For these reasons, and taking into account the benefits they provide to nature and humankind, the precautionary principle of the European Union (Communication from the Commission on the Precautionary Principle, 2000) should be applied. The potential effects of RF-EMFs on most taxonomic groups, including migratory birds, bats and insects, are largely unknown, and the potential effects on wildlife could become more relevant with the expected adoption of new mobile network technology (5G), raising the possibility of unintended biological consequences (Sutherland et al., 2018). Thus, before any new deployment (such 5G) is considered, its effects should be clearly assessed, at least while conclusions are drawn and these existing uncertainties are overcome, according to the official document ‘Late Lessons of EarlyWarnings’ (European Environment Agency, 2013). A letter by the United States Department of the Interior sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce warns about the scarcity of studies carried out on the impacts from non-ionising EMR emitted by communication towers (United States Department of the Interior, 2014). The precise potential effects of increases in EMR on wildlife, which are not yet well recognised by the global conservation community, have been identified as an important emerging issue for global conservation and biological diversity (Sutherland et al., 2018). Thus, aswe have explained in this review, EMR should be seriously considered as a complementary driver for the dramatic decline in insects in recent studies, acting in synergy with agricultural intensification, pesticides, invasive species and climate change. sciencedirect.com

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

This review argues that electromagnetic radiation (including non-thermal microwave/RF-EMR) should be considered a complementary driver of insect decline, potentially acting synergistically with other stressors (e.g., agricultural intensification, pesticides, invasive species, climate change). It also states that the extent to which anthropogenic EMR represents a significant threat to insect pollinators is unresolved/inconclusive and calls for applying the precautionary principle before new deployments such as 5G.

Outcomes measured

• Insect biodiversity decline
• Insect abundance decline
• Impacts on pollinators
• Potential non-thermal microwave radiation effects on insects

Limitations

• Review article; no primary study methods or quantitative synthesis described in the provided abstract
• The abstract notes that the extent of threat to pollinators is unresolved and that current knowledge has been described as inconclusive by another cited assessment

Suggested hubs

• 5g-policy (0.86)
  Explicitly discusses applying the precautionary principle before new deployment such as 5G.

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        "frequency_mhz": null,
        "sar_wkg": null,
        "duration": null
    },
    "population": "Insects (including pollinators)",
    "sample_size": null,
    "outcomes": [
        "Insect biodiversity decline",
        "Insect abundance decline",
        "Impacts on pollinators",
        "Potential non-thermal microwave radiation effects on insects"
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    "main_findings": "This review argues that electromagnetic radiation (including non-thermal microwave/RF-EMR) should be considered a complementary driver of insect decline, potentially acting synergistically with other stressors (e.g., agricultural intensification, pesticides, invasive species, climate change). It also states that the extent to which anthropogenic EMR represents a significant threat to insect pollinators is unresolved/inconclusive and calls for applying the precautionary principle before new deployments such as 5G.",
    "effect_direction": "mixed",
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        "Review article; no primary study methods or quantitative synthesis described in the provided abstract",
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    "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
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    "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
    "keywords": [
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        "communication towers"
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