Support NeoGAF

[TestOfTide]

So basically they want to kill all the different species that feed on mosquitos just so a small fraction of the population doesn't get malaria and the west nile virus even though they could easily just use DEET or other insect repellents.

You have to be a fucking idiot to think you can wipe out mosquitos and not see consequenses. At least DEET doesn't kill an entire species.

 

[chaostrophy]

I'd actually be perfectly fine with a eugenics program so long as no one was actually killed. Forced sterilization isn't too bad, IMO.

You do realize that most of the people in the world don't have access to VOLUNTARY sterilization or temporary birth control, right? There's a lot of progress to be made in slowing population growth just by expanding access. No need to force anyone.

 

[Amibguous Cad]

You do realize that most of the people in the world don't have access to VOLUNTARY sterilization or temporary birth control, right? There's a lot of progress to be made in slowing population growth just by expanding access. No need to force anyone.

And for exactly this reason, birth rates are plummetting. They have been since the 50s, from about 6.0 births per mature female in a lifetime to 2.5, worldwide. They're still falling. Every reputable forecast has the population topping out within our lifetime.

There is no reason to advocate for such a tremendous violation of civil liberties and personal autonomy to solve a problem that's going to fix itself.

Those of us who do not want children ourselves or do not particularly care whether the children we raise are our own are too quick to dismiss the concerns of those who do. If I were accidentally sterilized tomorrow, I probably wouldn't give two shits about it. Just like the abolition of abortion rights would make zero direct impact on my life. But the protection of rights should be important to use whether we are inclined to exercise those rights ourselves, and it is tremendously important to many people that they raise their own biological offspring. Living in a pluralistic society that respects many visions of the good life, we cannot paper over their interest in bodily autonomy simply because we ourselves do not see its importance in this interest, any more than a prude who dislikes pornography should thereby advocate for a curtailing of the first amendment.

 

[scar tissue]

Why? Because it always does in sci-fi movies? We've had some pretty good results from huge, crazy-sounding plans like this in the past. See: introducing cane toads and rabbits to australia, cats, rats, pigs & dogs to new zealand and the brown tree snake to guam

fixed
While the last one was an accident, messing with ecosystems has never turned out well.
While malaria sucks for those who get infected, we should be making better, cheaper and more available medication against it instead of fucking up entire ecosystems.

Edit: +1 for forced sterilization. People shouldn't be able to pump out kids if they can't support them, and no-one should be allowed to have more than 5 kids. Hell, anything more than 3 is pushing it.
Just because we're born with something (in this case, the possibility of reproduction) doesn't automatically make it a human right. Especially not if it has the possibility of causing lots of suffering.

Crazy far-fetched analogy time: imagine humans were born with a sickle claw, much like a velociraptor. This sickle claw could be used for some pretty bad stuff, e.g. taking hostages on planes and generally would be like carrying a massive knife on you at all times. Would having a sickle claw really be a human right, just because you're born with it?
(Yes, this is pretty far fetched but it's getting late so give me a break)

 

[Puddles]

You do realize that most of the people in the world don't have access to VOLUNTARY sterilization or temporary birth control, right? There's a lot of progress to be made in slowing population growth just by expanding access. No need to force anyone.

I'm thinking long-term here. If population does, in fact, top out, then this won't be necessary. It's just something I wouldn't be opposed to in the future. And yes, cad, I'd sterilize myself.

 

[Lesath]

So basically they want to kill all the different species that feed on mosquitos just so a small fraction of the population doesn't get malaria and the west nile virus even though they could easily just use DEET or other insect repellents.

You have to be a fucking idiot to think you can wipe out mosquitos and not see consequenses. At least DEET doesn't kill an entire species.

It is only one interbreeding population within a geographical region. Mosquitoes are disease vectors, and provide little in the way of unique ecosystem services. This appears to be an extremely controlled and specific treatment, and frankly, preferable to the use of chemical repellents and pesticides.

 

[Al-ibn Kermit]

Intensive farming practices are not a long term solution. They caused more problems than they solved.

There is no way to farm on a scale that can feed the world without using fertilizers/pesticides. The question is which ones should we use.


And I'm definitely not advocating simply dumping all the chemicals we can but just rather using a more effective synthetic alternative if it exists. For example some synthetic pesticides are based on a naturally occurring pesticide in chrysanthemums but they change a few atoms in the formula in order to make it photodegrade quicker/slower depending on the application. Organic methods only allow using the naturally occurring products, even if a more efficient/safer/cheaper alternative exists and I just get annoyed when people automatically assume that an organic method must be better since it costs more/has a green sticker.

 

[BocoDragon]

Imagine an alien doing this to humans... :X

 

[Ajemsuhgao]

First, the mosquitoes.

Then..THE COCKROACHES.

 

[Kiarushka]

First, the mosquitoes.

Then..THE COCKROACHES.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_cockroach_wasp

They stab the cockroach in the head, turning it into a zombie, and lays its egg inside and bury it alive for the larvae to eat the roach alive from the inside.

Sadly it's only one species that they go for though I believe.

 

[CrankyKong]

I wonder how long it will take for the gimped mosquitoes to become the majority

 

[Lesath]

I wonder how long it will take for the gimped mosquitoes to become the majority

Think of it as an immigration event; we would have an influx of this new allele introduced into the population. The mutant allele, which is for all intents and purposes a genetic disease, is not selected for or against (at least initially) because it triggers in the subsequent generation post-reproduction.

Disregarding random events that would change up the allele frequency, the proportion of gimped mosquitoes to the wild-type mosquitoes over time would approximately hover around the ratio of nerfed male mosquitoes to regular male mosquitoes of the initial population.