June 18, 2002
Got your fly swatter at the ready? ... Let's take five with Moira Gunn. This is "Five Minutes".
I hate spiders, ants and creepy-crawly things. I don't want them in my home or on my person. So, you might think I'd be pretty excited about all the new technology to keep whatever we don't like away from us. But frankly, it leaves me in a quandary.
For years, we've heard about the need for bio-diversity, that the health of the planet depends on appreciating the richness of its many plants and creatures, and maintaining their interrelationship.
So, what could be wrong with any technology that simply keeps away unwanted creatures when humans are in the area?
Case in point would be a product like the electronic shark repellent, which takes full advantage of the shark's nervous system. These battery-powered devices strap to a person and keep the sharks away as you swim through the water. The closer a shark gets, the more uncomfortable it feels, until eventually it experiences muscle spasms and then skedaddles out of there.
I have no doubt sharks worldwide will quickly get the picture.
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One Australian company is currently working on an expanded device to protect boats and entire beaches. When they're successful, why not leave it on all the time, day and night? Why be bothered with those pesky sharks?
Why? Because we don't really know where the sharks fit in the chain of life.
And if the sharks don't like it, what other life forms won't either? Life forms that can't hotfoot it out of there when things turn uncomfortable.
Now being that summer is getting into full swing, let's turn to mosquitoes. With 400 mosquito control districts in the US, another technology product is drawing a lot attention these days, and it all started with a teenager's science project. He discovered that while mosquito larvae live under water, they have air bladders. Send out sound in a certain range of frequencies, and these air sacs start to vibrate and tear.
Some die immediately; some within 24 hours. No pesticides sprayed, no permits or licenses required, no apparent damage to anything other than the mosquito larvae in the area.
Is this yet another apparently perfect technology?
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The range of the current larvae zapper is about 5 feet, and the company is working on more products. There's one with a larger range, and they're also working on a home model. Got a pond or a creek nearby? Go zap it, and your mosquito worries are over.
But here I stop again. Where do mosquitoes fit in the cycle of life? What will come next, if we get a bit overenthusiastic about our comfort?
Our ability as humans to build and disseminate technology is without precedent. Get a good idea, and a year later you can be marketing it nationally.
Unfortunately, the reach of your newly-created technology may far exceed your grasp. How will you get your technology back, if it's turns out there are ill effects? What if these effects are irreversible?
Maybe the punch line to all this is that we humans seem to believe we deserve to be anywhere we want to be on the planet, whenever we want to be there.
Of course, I doubt we'd feel so entitled if the dinosaurs were still around.
I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.
