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The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

construction-physics.com

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Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#61

Post by nine_k »

praptak wrote: post #41
goda90 wrote: post #2

I wonder if anyone ever did the math on whether trying to maintain a barrier at the Darian Gap with occasional failures was really a better financial choice than teaming up with South American countries to drive screwworms to extinction.

Releasing the steriles blindly is not enough, you gotta monitor the pest too. This is prohibitively expensive in rainforests and other areas with poor infrastructure. Okay, maybe you could release the flies in large enough numbers not to need monitoring but I guess it would also be prohibitively expensive.

It sort of worked with malaria mosquitoes.

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#62

Post by consensus1 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #51

> And when it was clear that screwworms had breached the barrier, responses were sometimes delayed by political disputes — Mexico apparently initially made it very difficult for USDA screwworm flights to operate until the US Agricultural Secretary called to force the issue. DOGE aside, as the article and commenters already mentioned that - if that giant buffoon Trump wouldn't have gone and screwed up relations with v…

You are blaming Trump for the failure of the Mexican government to act in its own self interest during the Biden administration?

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#63

Post by AndrewKemendo »

Wow the thing that stood out to me was the number of Darien Gap crossing not being zero.

I was under the impression that was the most dangerous part of the planet for every possible reason.

The fact that it’s half a million a year is crazy!

Something must have changed in infrastructure for that to even be possible right?

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#64

Post by dwroberts »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #37
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #34

> The Southwest Animal Health Research Foundation (SWAHRF), an organization formed by a small group of Texas livestock producers… broke the logjam by raising millions of dollars in voluntary donations from Texas ranchers for screwworm eradication. That can’t be right. The Texas Department of Agriculture published a piece titled “Dollars Don’t Kill Screwworms” just two years ago. https://texasagriculture.gov/News-Even…

> Fortunately, an even better location for a barrier existed: the Darien Gap, on the border of Colombia and Panama. At this narrow stretch of land, the barrier would need to be just 60 miles wide. btw this is that terrifying jungle zone of Panama from the TV show Pluribus . Yes, it is real, and so are those trees. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darién_Gap - https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2904

That Pigafetta palm is also pretty nasty, damn

> they not only have very long, very sharp spines arming their leaves (see fallen leaf base on right), but they grow quickly to sixty feet tall or more, and then drop these deadly, spiny leaves, impaling whoever happens to be unlucky enough to be below at the time. These leaves can weigh over thirty pounds, too.

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#66

Post by warumdarum »

moffkalast wrote: post #25
AlotOfReading wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they did because various countries have talked to the US about expanding it. The problem is that South America is an enormous place, whereas Panama is a narrow isthmus. It could have been done with some amount of money, but that opportunity ended in 2010 at the latest.

In the end though, history will see it as a half measure where they really shouldn't have half assed it. It only took one moron to defund the project and all of it will come streaming back.

This is a generalizeable problem though, all these conservation efforts, nuclear powerplants etc rely on thr base assumption of a working society there. To really extinct something like the screwworm you need to make it a religous praxis of a cultural orgsnization that persist even when society breaks down.

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#67

Post by warumdarum »

AlexCoventry wrote: post #48
SoftTalker wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure radiation resistance is really a thing. Radiation causes physical damage, it's not like a virus or bacteria that an organism can potentially fight off with an immune response. The few males that might survive the gamma exposure with intact fertility are probably just ones that didn't get a full dose. It is rather amazing to me in fact that it's possible to sterilize the males without killing them.

Surprisingly, it is a thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioresistance

Even in computation.

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#68

Post by mschuster91 »

consensus1 wrote: post #62
mschuster91 wrote: post #51

> And when it was clear that screwworms had breached the barrier, responses were sometimes delayed by political disputes — Mexico apparently initially made it very difficult for USDA screwworm flights to operate until the US Agricultural Secretary called to force the issue. DOGE aside, as the article and commenters already mentioned that - if that giant buffoon Trump wouldn't have gone and screwed up relations with v…

You are blaming Trump for the failure of the Mexican government to act in its own self interest during the Biden administration?

The Biden admin followed on the first Trump admin, member the "build the wall" crap?

Re: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

#69

Post by moffkalast »

warumdarum wrote: post #66
moffkalast wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the end though, history will see it as a half measure where they really shouldn't have half assed it. It only took one moron to defund the project and all of it will come streaming back.

This is a generalizeable problem though, all these conservation efforts, nuclear powerplants etc rely on thr base assumption of a working society there. To really extinct something like the screwworm you need to make it a religous praxis of a cultural orgsnization that persist even when society breaks down.

No that's the whole point of driving something to extinction, you don't have to be vigilant anymore once it's done. Smallpox, the Tasmanian tiger.
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