Posts: 14,106
Threads: 424
Joined: Aug 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/.../88292790/
With classic NIMBY:
Oxitec, the company that makes the GMO mosquitoes, will wait to launch the trial until after the November election, when Florida Keys residents will vote on a non-binding referendum on the trial, said Hadyn Parry, Oxitec's chief executive officer.
Zika outbreak is happening NOW, so let's wait around for the elections. Right.
Posts: 11,016
Threads: 750
Joined: Sep 2012
let's wait around for the elections.
Maybe Florida should adopt Hawaii's roadside sign waving campaign methods. If their politicians had to stand outside in the afternoon exposed to mosquito bites for several hours every day, they might agree on one thing. Make those trials happen now.
The moon kind of surprises me sometimes. I’ll be out at night and I’ll see a nice moon, and say, “Hey, that looks good.” Then I’ll say, “Oh sh-t, I went up there one time!” Kind of surprises me. It’s like there are two Moons, you know—the one that’s usually around, and then that one. - Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
Posts: 1,513
Threads: 18
Joined: Oct 2014
If it's successful I hope a GMO fire ant is next in line.
Posts: 966
Threads: 61
Joined: Jan 2006
my favorite line..." no one knows what will happen when the mosquitos are released into the wild..."
sort of like the mongoose....
Posts: 2,466
Threads: 316
Joined: May 2008
Those weren't gmo mongoose(s)
Puna: Our roosters crow first
Posts: 7,733
Threads: 686
Joined: Jun 2011
"no one knows what will happen when the mosquitos are released into the wild."
They know exactly what will happen, because they have released these GMO mosquitoes several times. In each instance the mosquito population plummets by over 90%. The only reason why the population didn't decline 100% is because Oxitec would have made a single-use product and that's bad business.
Humans already genetically-modified the environment by introducing a species that never existed there before. If it takes a GMO mosquito to restore the balance, then make it happen.
