> We have new ways to wipe out mosquito-borne diseases with minimal environmental cost.
Am I the only one who finds the hubris in this sentence chilling? Surely there's absolutely no way that we can be sure of the impact on the ecosystem of eradicating an entire species? And more so, surely we just can't be that confident of something like that when we have so little understanding of the complexities of most ecosystems mosquitos exist in.
The article has a tone of "we can't we wipe out mosquitos as fast as we should because of all this regulation slowing us down", but I can't help feel that's a good thing.
Even if it is somehow true that mosquitos don't play an important part in any ecosystems, surely it's a good thing that the mechanisms for wiping out an entire species are highly regulated, and can only be used if there's an extremely high bar of certainty.
We should know from global warming, that the cost of accidentally messing with nature systems can be really high, and we should tread carefully.
Edit: I know this is hacker news, and a lot of people are likely to be annoyed that I'm advocating for slowing down bio-tech developments. But I really think "care" is such an under-appreciated asset these days.
> We should know from global warming, that the cost of accidentally messing with nature systems can be really high, and we should tread carefully.
My parents continue to insist climate change is just a natural process that humans could never influence in the macro.
Large segments of the population are raised to ignore the evidence right in front of them. They are also taught it's important to vote according to their fantasy-based worldview. They boast in their stubbornness to resist what they see and hear to follow higher powers they feel in their 'hearts'.
> Am I the only one who finds the hubris in this sentence chilling? Surely there's absolutely no way that we can be sure of the impact on the ecosystem of eradicating an entire species? And more so, surely we just can't be that confident of something like that when we have so little understanding of the complexities of most ecosystems mosquitos exist in.
I agree with you. But most people here care more about their convenience and have the money to offset the problems caused by what humans are doing, so they don't care at all. They're too addicted to feeding their own curiosity with shiny new tech that they've lost any empathy for the rest of the world.
- the sad thing is as a person from a developing country i have developed resistance to these diseases but unfortunately we cannot say the same for everyone in developed countries
Am I the only one who finds the hubris in this sentence chilling? Surely there's absolutely no way that we can be sure of the impact on the ecosystem of eradicating an entire species? And more so, surely we just can't be that confident of something like that when we have so little understanding of the complexities of most ecosystems mosquitos exist in.
The article has a tone of "we can't we wipe out mosquitos as fast as we should because of all this regulation slowing us down", but I can't help feel that's a good thing.
Even if it is somehow true that mosquitos don't play an important part in any ecosystems, surely it's a good thing that the mechanisms for wiping out an entire species are highly regulated, and can only be used if there's an extremely high bar of certainty.
We should know from global warming, that the cost of accidentally messing with nature systems can be really high, and we should tread carefully.
Edit: I know this is hacker news, and a lot of people are likely to be annoyed that I'm advocating for slowing down bio-tech developments. But I really think "care" is such an under-appreciated asset these days.
My parents continue to insist climate change is just a natural process that humans could never influence in the macro.
Large segments of the population are raised to ignore the evidence right in front of them. They are also taught it's important to vote according to their fantasy-based worldview. They boast in their stubbornness to resist what they see and hear to follow higher powers they feel in their 'hearts'.
I agree with you. But most people here care more about their convenience and have the money to offset the problems caused by what humans are doing, so they don't care at all. They're too addicted to feeding their own curiosity with shiny new tech that they've lost any empathy for the rest of the world.
... both are luddite in nature one can sandbox a and b and observe what's up cool article I myself don't like the fuckers.