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I like the idea of eliminating such a large quantity of coca plants. But what exactly do they think the moths will do once the coca crops are destroyed? Commit suicide and leave the rest of the Amazon alone?
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After releasing the moths into the area, they can place a giant netting over the entire steamy coca-growing region of Colombia.
Posts: 3771 | Registered: Sep 2002
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At least they haven't actually genetically modified the moths - that would elevate this from "potential eco-disaster" to "potential Japanese monster flick."
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
No, they will end up going in the with mass amounts of pesticide to kill off the moths once their work is done -- killing both good and bad insects and reeking untold health hazards on the people. (because it isn't as regulated there as it is here).
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote: In 2000, the Colombian government rejected a proposal by the United States to introduce a fungus called Fusarium oxysporum to coca plants as a means of eradication. Colombia said it was concerned about possible mutations and adverse affects on people and the environment in the delicate Amazon basin, where most of Colombia's coca is grown.
I don't see how this is much different.
Posts: 2756 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Or they could do what governments around the world have been doing for centuries. Once you release something like the moth into the area, you let it do it's job, then you release a large quantity of its natural predator into the wild too. So, after we've bred a few thousand bats, and a couple million spiders, we release those into the wild. Then to get rid of the bats we release thouands of hawks into the forest as well, and tons of iguanas to kill the spiders.
Once the hawks finish off the bats, they can eat the iguanas, and then all we have to do is kill off the hawks, which are much easier to see.
So then all we have to do is get a large quantity of eagles...
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:No, they will end up going in the with mass amounts of pesticide to kill off the moths once their work is done
And if they use a newly developed experimental pesticide, we can still have our Japanese monster flick.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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This reminds me, somewhat, of the huge problem man created in Australia. Besides the fact that they introduced the house mouse to Australia (that was accidental, I suppose, it road over on the ships and took up residence, which has since made a huge problem) -- in 1859, the Europeans in Australia imported rabbits so they could have their sport of rabbit hunting. Well, the rabbits they released into the bush took to the climate down under so well, that soon they reproduced...well... like rabbits. Within 30 years there were millons of rabbits -- destroying native pasture, becoming a plague of sorts (there are no natural native predators for rabbits in Australia).
So then they imported foxes
quote:It was estimated in 1936 that the extermination of the rabbit population in New South Wales would liberate enough area to accommodate twelve to twenty million more sheep (Dollman). In addition to affects on livestock, adverse effects were also placed upon other traditional prey species. Soon after the introduction of rabbits followed the introduction of the fox, in an effort to curb the rabbit populations. However, the foxes seemed to take advantage of their relatively exotic surroundings and turned their attention to easier caught prey including rare ground birds, indigenous marsupials, and rodents.
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Yeah, a similar nightmare has happened with Hawaii; someone had the harebrained idea of importing mongooses to control the burgeoning rat population. Only somehow it escaped their notice that rats are nocturnal and mongooses are diurnal. Both of them are perfectly happy to eat the eggs of native birds, though.
Posts: 957 | Registered: Aug 2002
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Australia's solution is simple: introduce fox-eating gorillas to control the fox population. Then, when winter comes, the gorillas will all freeze to death!
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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What could possibly be worse than giant mutant unnatural moths attacking your country? Giant mutant unnatural moths hopped up on coccaine attacking your country.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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If they tried, then Australian coke prices would actually be cheaper than US prices. They do (or at least can) grow cocaine in Indonesia, I believe.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I do recal a childrens song. there was an old lady who swallowed a fly, why oh why did she swallow that fly, perhaps she'll die.
The new government version: They released the hawk to eat the bat, they released the bat to eat the moth they released the moth to eat the plant... etc.
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THIS MAKES ME CRAZY!!!!!! The government thought about trying to do this with fungi as well. They don't think about the ecology of the system and how little we know about most agroecosystems. I do research into the risks of escape of engineered genes and we are in real danger of destabilizing ecosystems on global scales and the USDA won't listen. Their policy continues to be "ther is no problem until there is a problem." Then they quote the likes of Julian May and state that there has been no problem that we have not been able to fix. Let's all pat ourselves on the back for our techonlogical brilliance and ability to mangage Nature!
Posts: 514 | Registered: May 2005
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