There’s a difference between “okay, Aedes and Anopheles do not belong here and can be exterminated from this local environment because we inadvertently introduced them here” versus “let’s just exterminate all mosquitos, you know, some of the most important biomass that feeds uncountable species in a deeply interconnected network of ecological interactions that directly affects us”
It’s a significantly better idea to come up with solutions to the actual diseases.
Interesting ethical dilemma: everyone loses someone they love to a mosquito borne illness, thus motivating the human race to quickly eliminate them, ultimately saving more people than if we didn’t all lose a loved one at once.
we could probably drive mosquitoes to extinction if we were motivated enough
And we would soon follow.
There’s a difference between “okay, Aedes and Anopheles do not belong here and can be exterminated from this local environment because we inadvertently introduced them here” versus “let’s just exterminate all mosquitos, you know, some of the most important biomass that feeds uncountable species in a deeply interconnected network of ecological interactions that directly affects us”
It’s a significantly better idea to come up with solutions to the actual diseases.
Killing Anopheles is easy and smart, because no more malaria, and there are many other options to fill the niche.
Killing Anopheles while not also wiping out all those other insects is really really really hard
what will happen to the bats and small birds once mosquitoes are gone?
There are some 30 species of mosquitos that can transmit Malaria. There are about 3470 species of mosquitoes that don’t.
So, if you get rid of those 30, some of the other will probably be a decent food source.
aren’t those 30 species also the only 30 species that live in a certain area?
Interesting ethical dilemma: everyone loses someone they love to a mosquito borne illness, thus motivating the human race to quickly eliminate them, ultimately saving more people than if we didn’t all lose a loved one at once.