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PersonOfInternets t1_iviu0lw wrote

Reply to comment by notsocoolnow in English company Oxitec has released a simple, easy to distribute commercial product they say cuts Dengue Fever spreading mosquito populations by 96%. By just adding water, genetically modified mosquito eggs mature into males whose sperm cannot result in viable female larvae. by lughnasadh

>We cause the extinction of dozens of animal species (about 150) literally every day

Precisely. Humanity is a disaster. I understand and appreciate your argument, and you may be right. But for me it is never okay to genocide a species. As far as I'm concerned it's nature trying to reclaim a bit of space for itself.

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notsocoolnow t1_iviwhfo wrote

If it makes you feel better, the mosquito species in question will continue to exist in much lower numbers farther from human civilization. This kind of measure is self-limiting because the modified mosquitos (and their offspring) will eventually die out on their own, being sterile. Aedes populations in remote regions will survive. The hope is that with those lower numbers the diseases will die out since the mosquitos will be exposed to far fewer infected humans.

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PersonOfInternets t1_iviwvru wrote

Yeah I get it. For me, the biosphere is always ranked above humanity in importance (since it is what we are and what we depend on). Ultimately I am more concerned about the precedent this would set. Earth is extremely overpopulated and we are bound to live in places that the earth would rather reclaim. Not trying to minimize the importance of human life, just saying human life isn't more important than earth life.

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