Should We Kill All the Mosquitoes?

  • smsimpso1990
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Should We Kill All the Mosquitoes?

#53
Hey, I wonder what everyone's thoughts are on this new article in Conservation Mag? Should we really be more cautious when it comes to eliminating mosquitoes or should we simply just try to kill them all? Do you think there would be any bad consequences to wiping out mosquitoes? Or do you think it would overall have better consequences to remove them from the planet?
Article link:  conservationmag.org/en/wildlife/should-w...ervationists-dilemma

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  • adriaanbuys
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Re: Should We Kill All the Mosquitoes?

#73
Thanks for a great article, Shawn!
I tend to agree with you. I think humans tend to overreach when they introduce initiatives like the ones you mentioned. We have seen time and time again the unintended consequences we could not predict from our actions. In systems thinking this refers to the 'fixes that fail' archetype. 

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I think a common bias that we as humans have is to think that creatures that are a lot smaller than us in ecosystems that may be tiny compared to the typical big ecosystems we understand do not have value or cannot have repercussions for us or a lasting impact on the natural environment. We tend to feel sorry for the large and, even more specifically, cute animals.
I have to admit the individual mosquitoes in my room need to run the gauntlet with my mosquito hunt. 

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