Nero, M. (2016, November 15). County to Spray Spring Valley Neighborhood for Zika Virus. Retrieved November 20, 2016, from http://patch.com/california/lemongrove/

county-spray-spring-valley-neighborhood-zika-virus

In East San Diego, an entire neighborhood was sprayed with insecticide in an attempt to eliminate the invasive Aedes mosquitoes which were feared by citizens would spread the South American Zika virus. The Aedas mosquitos have been harmful to the community because of their ability to breed in such small bodies of water, some as small as a thimble full of water, or even inside of homes. Originally from tropical regions, citizens have concerns that the mosquitoes could potentially transmit foreign diseases if biting an infected person; the concern comes from the fact that they can reproduce so easily which would enable them to bite people and spread diseases. A 13 block region in San Diego is being hand sprayed with insecticide to try and eliminate or contain the Aedes mosquitoes in the area. The people are worried for the unknown effects it will have on their air quality and law enforcement is telling all those effected to take precautions against the mosquitos.

This article relates to the environmental science because, as a result of invasive species, the air in East San Diego will be filled with insecticide, which has an unknown effect on air quality or on the environment. Had invasive species not been present in this time and situation, there would be no need for these chemicals being sprayed into the air. The insecticide could contaminate water, harm wildlife, or even the people, and with unknown effectiveness it seems more sensible to me to just try and find another solution to the problem. This article shows the effect on the environment invasive species can have other than physically hurting an environment or its native species, in this case they are causing humans to have to take action and potentially hurt the environment as a result of their presence.