4 ms·

Maybe it's time to deploy some DDT... http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/09/silent_spring_turns_50_biographer_william_souder_clears_

by Cieplak 11y ago

Maybe it's time to deploy some DDT... http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/09/silent_spring_turns_50_biographer_william_souder_clears_up_myths_about_rachel_carson_.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/201... Rachel Carson never called for the banning of pesticides. She made this clear in every public pronouncement, repeated it in an hourlong television documentary about Silent Spring, and even testified to that effect before the U.S. Senate. Carson never denied that there were beneficial uses of pesticides, notably in combatting human diseases transmitted by insects, where she said they had not only been proven effective but were morally “necessary.”

Alex3917 11y ago
> Rachel Carson never called for the banning of pesticides. It never has been banned for combatting human disease, so I don't see your point. (Except in a few places like the U.S. where several species were going extinct from extreme overuse.)
- Cieplak 11y ago
  The italics indicate that I was quoting the article. The words you are quoting as mine are actually taken from the article I linked to. DDT is so effective because it is persistent, unlike pyrethrins which degrade rapidly and need to be frequently resprayed. As a result, it has significant environment side effects and finds its way into the food chain. My only point was that in this case, DDT might be the lesser of two evils.
douche 11y ago
DDT worked too well... I swear that bugs just eat Sevin and Rotenone and grow stronger. I had an uncle who had a closely guarded stockpile of DDT he bought before it started being restricted.