Its climate impact has two sides: carbon and biodiversity.
The carbon impact has been quantified via handprint calculations by an independent third party, UseLess.
The biodiversity impact is related in a short narrative format citing relevant state-of-the-art literature.
Full report:
Valpas product carbon handprint 5.5.2023.pdf
Full model and methodology:
Valpas product carbon handprint 5.5.2023.xlsx
🌍 They [keep the natural world in balance](https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/spring-2023/articles/here-s-how-insects-help-keep-ecosystems-in-balance#:~:text=Whether they crawl%2C fly%2C squirm,and crops%2C and control pests.) by maintaining healthy soil, recycling nutrients, pollinating flowers and crops, and controlling pests.
😵 Sadly, there’s been an over 75% decline in insect numbers over the past 27 years. Many insect populations are falling by 1-2% *per year.*
🧨 In the words of Floyd Shockley, “We are at the beginning of a major extinction level event, and the first ever for insects on the planet. While they may survive, we may not – we need them more than they do.”
📉 The radical decay of insects is attributed to the
☠️ Today, at the centre of both the poisoning and atmospheric alterations are neonicotinoids, the most widely used pesticide for bed bugs and other in- and outdoor pests.
🦋 Neonicotinoids have been directly linked to the demise of butterflies, mayflies, dragonflies, wild bees, and other invertebrates such as earthworms.
🐝 To bees alone, neonicotinoids have been calculated to be around 7000x more toxic than DDT – and DDT was banned in the 70s because it was too toxic.
🚜 It’s not just agricultural applications that matter – all neonicotinoids contribute to the decay because of adverse spillover effects:
🤯 By some estimates, only 5% of the chemical actually stays within the target itself.
🌬️ Instead, most of the chemical flies around in the air from indoors to outdoors, from outdoors to indoors.
💦 As neonicotinoids are water soluble, they routinely seep into the soil and enter streams and rivers, coming into contact with insects, like finding their way into wildflowers and tainting their nectar and pollen, which are then picked up by unsuspecting pollinators.
♾️ ****On top, these pesticides linger on for years, meaning pesticide concentrations keep growing more and more.
❌ Stopping pesticide use everywhere, both indoor and outdoors, is at the centre of reversing the decline of insects and restoring balance in our ecosystem.
🌳 Valpas’ direct contribution is to make hospitality, the heaviest indoor neonicotinoid user, pesticide-free, while indirectly contributing to the decline of neonicotinoid use in households as bed bugs no longer spread to homes.