sust-mar: Re: Natural mosquito repellents

Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 22:15:29 -0300 (ADT)
From: Paul A Falvo <pfalvo@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: Sustainable Maritimes <sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca>
Precedence: bulk
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To: Sustainable Maritimes (sust-mar)     From: Paul A Falvo <pfalvo@chebucto.ns.ca>
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____________________________________________________________________________
A recent post to sust-mar (22 May, "Natural mosquito repellents / DEET -
possible health risks") suggested 'Mosquito Magnets' as a natural pest
control method.

I'm writing to say that i consider them to be anything but.

'Mosquito Magnets' work by burning propane to intentionally release carbon
dioxide ... the principal cause of climate change. They also consume
electricity, which, depending where you live, contributes further to
climate change.

The machines -- with patriotic names like "the Defender" and "Liberty" 
emit CO2 to attract the mosquitos. Then they kill them ...  almost 1,000
per day, claims the manufacturer. 

I don't think that anyone burning petroleum products to intentionally
produce CO2 can consider him or herself doing something "natural."

Even more, i wonder what the effect on local ecosystems is of removing all
these insects.

I suppose i would rather have everyone on my bock running one of these
horrible apparatus than to have trucks driving around spraying poisons to
kill mosquitos. And, in some communities, it may come down to that.

But what would happen if everyone in the city had one of these machines?
What would happen to the birds? To the dragonflies that eat mosquitos?

To paraphrase roughly John Muir and others -- everything in nature is
connected. The web of life and all that. What are we doing to it when we
remove entire layers? 

As a culture, we never seem to like truly natural solutions. We embrace
solutions that involve burning something ... or something equally
interventionist.

Some would say these machines don't make much of a difference. My answer
to that is to ask why have one then?

The manufacturer advises that the Mosquito Magnet "greatly reduces the
mosquito population" over a 4-6 week period.

Is it really worth it -- to wipe out thousands of another species -- so
that we can enjoy a few hours at a barbecue or outdoor party?

What happened to screens? Nets? Bug jackets?

Those are my thoughts. Have a good summer, everyone ...

~paul :)

PS I live in the North, where we know a few things about biting insects.

_______________________________________________________
P Falvo 			PO Box 933			
h: (867) 444-2679 		Yellowknife NT  X1A 2N7

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.



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George W. Bush's blatant refusal to back up his verbal deception with the kind of fake evidence Americans have become used to is a slap in our collective face.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16293

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