Mosquito control has been tryed often in many part of the world

[Nicool003]

This is kind of related to LURCH's topic but I thought I would make a new one because it isn't relaly about malaria but a variety of diseases. First off there is West Nile and Malaria and second off Mosquitoes are the only living thing found on all continents (except Antartica) So that means that if we don't fight these diseases off quick enough the human race could be destroyed by what's possibly the most annoying insect on the planet. My question to start the thread is this. How do you think the diseases and mosquitoes could be stopped and what do you think us humans would do if we could not stop them and the diseases that spread with them? Go to another planet (like colonizing mars) Go to the moon? I read an article that said it would be fairly easy to set up a base there where people good live and it would be good if it even had to server has a temporary base (lets face it the ISS is too small for many people and the moon is pretty close compared to mars) He is another idea of mine that you my find interesting. What if humans went down instead of up? We good make enormous bases in the ocean. Mobile or permanent. It would still be home to us and since it would be easy and convenient mroe people could be saved if that ever happened. Also, scientists could work on a cure and stop the disease. If it was a mobile base I would think that submarines except in a gigantic form could be made. If it was permanent it could be dug into the ocean floor or into caves in the ocean. What do you think of my ideas? And what do you think of the questinos i asked: How do you think the diseases and mosquitoes could be stopped and what do you think us humans would do if we could not stop them and the diseases that spread with them?

 

[iansmith]

Mosquito control has been tryed often in many part of the world but mostly in richer country. We will never get exterminate the mosquito and disease related to it. The thing is West Nile, malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and other mosquito transmitted disease have been here for a while and have evolve with us. In Africa, there some genetic resistance in the population against malaria. The only resones we care about West Nile at the moment is because we as a society are willing to take risk and that people will die. West Nile mostly kill the elderly and people with weaker immune system. Disease is one way of controlling human population.

Going to space or under water will not solve the problem. You have to bring some stuff down there or space and it migth be contaminated with mosquito carriyng disease.

We will probably have to learn to live mosquito and disease until the human race disapear off the face of the earth.

My two cents.

 

[damgo]

I imagine we'll be able to genetically engineer something to extinguish mosquitoes in the not-too-far-distant future. As soon as we can, we should. I *hate* those little critters.

 

[FZ+]

But would such drastic genocide simply allow a more harmful creature to take precedence? I mean, what are the ecological implications of removing mosquitoes from the world? Would we be eliminating one problem simply to expose another one?

iansmith: actually, a method has been proposed using genetic methods, which the mosquitoes cannot adapt to.

 

[LURCH]

There is also a moral dilemma involved. We are discussing the deliberate extinction of an entire genus, here. On general principle, genocide is considered an evil in and of itself. To speak of the extinction of even a single species is usually looked upon with extreme distaste. The Bengal tiger, the African elephant, the bald eagle, the blue whale, the sperm whale, (or even the whale with the blue sperm)... the thought of these creatures going extinct is looked upon with horror.

Of course, no these creatures closed the threat that the mosquito does. Could we justify our genocide as "self-defense"?

 

[damgo]

On general principle, genocide is considered an evil in and of itself. To speak of the extinction of even a single species is usually looked upon with extreme distaste.

Not by me. I don't see why species extinction should be considered a prima facie evil. Obviously we can learn a lot from these creatures, which is one reason to keep em around -- so freeze a few mosquitoes, keep at the CDC labs, whatever. But species appear and go extinct all the time: why should we view this as bad?

 

[iansmith]

Originally posted by FZ+
iansmith: actually, a method has been proposed using genetic methods, which the mosquitoes cannot adapt to.

I have seen the mehtod but this is only in vitro stuff done on a short period of time. As we all know, mother nature is a b***h and the parasite/virus migth adapt eventually and we end up with the same problem we begin with 100 years latter. My ideas is that vaccine, control of the mosquito populatiion and improvement of the sanitation level of the people in third world and developing country are more efficient than try to extermiante a host. Most people infected with malaria are also infected with parasitic worm and these parasite infection creates other problem.

 

[enigma]

If we exterminate all the mosquitos, we exterminate each and every predator which relys on them for food. It would not be a good thing.

The world's environment is in a constant balancing act. Remove one of the pillars which it is standing on, and the whole thing comes crashing down. It'll eventually resettle to a new equilibrium, but there are no guarantees that we'll like the result, or that we'd even be there to see it.