3 ms·
Pretty much all projects of large-scale human ecological interventions ended up with some unexpected side-effect. It's extremely hard to take into account all t
by ivanhoe 8y ago
Pretty much all projects of large-scale human ecological interventions ended up with some unexpected side-effect. It's extremely hard to take into account all the variables and often you fix one issue, but create 10 new ones. Just think of using myxomatosis to control rabbit population, or introduction of cane toads in Australia in attempt to control sugarcane pests.
- andrepd 8y agoErradication of smallpox?
- ivanhoe 8y agoWell, it's a bit different with viruses as they're not directly part of the food chain for complex organisms - unlike mosquitos that are important food source to many insects, fish and birds. For instance for some fish and their fry the mosquito larvae are the primary food source, so if you destroy the complete population of mosquitos you might also severely affect some fish species. Some spiders and birds will also be left hungry. That can then affect other ecological niches up the food chain, perhaps even cause a collapse of the whole biotop system.
- krageon 8y agoOkay, I'll bite: Vaccination (and near or total eradication) of Polio.
- nkozyra 8y agoI'll say this - a less than 100 year timeline is probably not long enough to evaluate this. That said, I think it's possible, but I'm very skeptical that eliminating a species will be free of indirect effects.