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This is a critical issue that could throw the whole economy into a recession. Fixing this and the recent prevalence of foreign, disease carrying mosquitos are t

This is a critical issue that could throw the whole economy into a recession. Fixing this and the recent prevalence of foreign, disease carrying mosquitos are the two biggest policy issues, that if fixed will cause a world of good.

borkt 7y ago
There is already a practical (but unsightly) solution to mosquitos - bug nets. There is nothing stopping people from wearing bug nets covering their entire body if they feel disease carrying mosquitos are a grave danger. It is irresponsible to waste the resources that treating mosquitos as the second biggest policy issue facing the world would require, and it could also cause serious consequences to the ecosystem if we get an eradication solution wrong. https://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/xl/netsmen-wearable-mosquito-suit-xl.jpg https://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/xl/netsmen-wearable-mosqui...
Accujack 7y ago
>the recent prevalence of foreign, disease carrying mosquitos are the two biggest policy issues This is a weird idea. Are you arguing that native mosquitos carry fewer diseases? Also... I can agree that health care is #1, but mosquitos are not number 2... more like number 900 or so. The amount of disease caused by them is tiny compared to e.g. smoking or obesity.
- maximente 7y ago
  why weird? some mosquitoes prefer to feed on e.g. birds whereas others do not bite birds at all; that makes them a vector for particular diseases.
- nickgrosvenor 7y ago
  It's more of a local policy issue for southern California residents. Of course all of this can be debated, and perhaps it's not the 2nd most important, but it's much more important to me and all my friends than most policies. Native mosquitos on the west coast (Culex) do not carry west nile or zika. The new Aedes species does and is extremely hard to control. https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-aedes-mosquitoes-california-20180901-story.html https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-aedes-m... Further, it caused everyone I know in the Los Angeles area to stay inside during this last summer. My kids and friends kids stayed inside all summer. It was like night and day compared to every other year. Fear of Zika has spread to pregnant mothers around my neighborhood. People are literally choosing not to get pregnant because of the fear of this new mosquito in the area. The amount of fear caused by these new mosquitos has been extreme. They are very hard to control, I think this new invasive species can only be eradicate with government intervention. There are no cost effective trapping solutions. Nets and Deet aren't 100 percent effective and is not something we should settle for being the new normal when government intervention is possible. The sooner it's dealt with the more realistic it can be fixed. I would literally vote for any local politician if this were a primary policy issue for them.
  - Accujack 7y ago
    Hmmm, interesting. I wonder to what level this is an actual threat vs. something the media came up with? It being such a hot button for people in that region would seem to also make it a potent way for politicians to gain support.

borkt 7y ago

There is already a practical (but unsightly) solution to mosquitos - bug nets. There is nothing stopping people from wearing bug nets covering their entire body if they feel disease carrying mosquitos are a grave danger. It is irresponsible to waste the resources that treating mosquitos as the second biggest policy issue facing the world would require, and it could also cause serious consequences to the ecosystem if we get an eradication solution wrong. https://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/xl/netsmen-wearable-mosquito-suit-xl.jpg https://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/xl/netsmen-wearable-mosqui...

Accujack 7y ago

>the recent prevalence of foreign, disease carrying mosquitos are the two biggest policy issues This is a weird idea. Are you arguing that native mosquitos carry fewer diseases? Also... I can agree that health care is #1, but mosquitos are not number 2... more like number 900 or so. The amount of disease caused by them is tiny compared to e.g. smoking or obesity.

maximente 7y ago
why weird? some mosquitoes prefer to feed on e.g. birds whereas others do not bite birds at all; that makes them a vector for particular diseases.
nickgrosvenor 7y ago
It's more of a local policy issue for southern California residents. Of course all of this can be debated, and perhaps it's not the 2nd most important, but it's much more important to me and all my friends than most policies. Native mosquitos on the west coast (Culex) do not carry west nile or zika. The new Aedes species does and is extremely hard to control. https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-aedes-mosquitoes-california-20180901-story.html https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-aedes-m... Further, it caused everyone I know in the Los Angeles area to stay inside during this last summer. My kids and friends kids stayed inside all summer. It was like night and day compared to every other year. Fear of Zika has spread to pregnant mothers around my neighborhood. People are literally choosing not to get pregnant because of the fear of this new mosquito in the area. The amount of fear caused by these new mosquitos has been extreme. They are very hard to control, I think this new invasive species can only be eradicate with government intervention. There are no cost effective trapping solutions. Nets and Deet aren't 100 percent effective and is not something we should settle for being the new normal when government intervention is possible. The sooner it's dealt with the more realistic it can be fixed. I would literally vote for any local politician if this were a primary policy issue for them.
- Accujack 7y ago
  Hmmm, interesting. I wonder to what level this is an actual threat vs. something the media came up with? It being such a hot button for people in that region would seem to also make it a potent way for politicians to gain support.