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Assemble a group of scientists who on their own could eradicate mosquitoes and just do it. Don't wait for official approval.
That's an excellent way to end up in jail on bioterrorism charges.
I don't think what I'm advocating can by any reasonable or standard definition be classified as terrorism. I'm not seeking to harm or scare anyone.
Assemble a group of scientists who on their own could eradicate mosquitoes and just do it. Don't wait for official approval.
The appeal of this route is obvious, but I don't think it should be discussed on a public forum.
Certainly, no one seriously considering implementing such a policy should advocate it in a public forum. I think lots of scientists would consider breaking existing ethical standards to do a massive amount of good to be non-obvious.
Assemble a group of scientists who on their own could eradicate mosquitoes and just do it. Don't wait for official approval.
That's an excellent way to end up in jail on bioterrorism charges.
Yes it is (with emphasis on the word "excellent"). That's part of why doing it would make one a superhero.
Edit: I wonder if you could do this without breaking any laws if you only release the mosquitoes in international waters?
In response to
Now is the time to eliminate mosquitoes
Agreed! What would be the best approach (I'm a PhD student and vector-borne disease epidemiologist)?
- Writing one or more popular/lay articles
- Writing one or more technical/scholarly articles
- Writing a popular/lay book
- Writing a technical/scholarly book
- Starting an advocacy non-profit
- Performing an explicit cost-benefit analysis
- Modelling to determine the necessary conditions for eradication
- Something else... ?
For you I suggest something that also advances your career so that you can devote more time to the project. If the answer to this isn't clear I suggest talking to your professors asking what they suggest. Another approach is to become a literal superhero. Assemble a group of scientists who on their own could eradicate mosquitoes and just do it. Don't wait for official approval.
In response to
Now is the time to eliminate mosquitoes
Consider reposting this on the EA Forum, might get more hits that way.
I tried. I guess it wasn't accepted.
Have you already tried getting the idea through to Trump via a backchannel like Scott Adams (some of Trump's staffers pay attention to him), who takes cost-benefit style arguments seriously?
No. Adams says he has no contact with the Trump campaign.
I think the idea of actually exterminating mosquitos is already extrem for many liberals who would rather prefer handing out bet nets.
My honest response to this comment would involve observations on liberals that violate LW norms.
In response to
Now is the time to eliminate mosquitoes
Is it a good idea to leave alive mosquitos that don't bite humans? How long would it take them to mutate and fill the "human bloodsucking" niche that is suddenly vacant?
Perhaps a more comprehensive program of disease vector eradication is in order. Any organism that acts as a flying hypodermic needle poses the risk of moving pathogens around between species. For that matter, there are a lot of parasites in the world that parasitise mammals. If they were all to be eradicated, predators could take up the slack, but predators such as foxes, wolves or lions are trivially easy for us to control in comparison.
Natural ecosystems are de facto bioterrorist labs that occasionally output horrors like AIDS and ebola and zika. Maybe human beings need to start a serious and far-reaching effort to shut them down.
Is it a good idea to leave alive mosquitos that don't bite humans? How long would it take them to mutate and fill the "human bloodsucking" niche that is suddenly vacant?
Good point.
How is that a response? Is it what you plan to tell the media?
No, as I doubt the media would give the same amount of weight to Scott A. as readers here do. I doubt the media would ever ask me to respond to PZ Myer's opinion on this.
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You would, at the very least, be in violation of several acts regarding approval of GMOs: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/restrictions-on-gmos/usa.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_the_release_of_genetically_modified_organisms#United_States Specifically, you'd be violating FDA requirements by releasing '“new animal drugs” (NADs)' without approval. Depending on whether mosquitoes are considered plant pests, it looks like you'd also be violating Department of Agriculture laws. I assume you'd probably also be violating a number of EPA laws but didn't see anything specifically about that.
Couldn't you get around these laws by either (a) releasing the mosquitoes outside of the U.S. or (b) creating and releasing them outside of the U.S.?