I wrote to the subject of the banning of DDT and indirectly to the enormous loss of life that occurred because of this anti-scientific nonsense.
Not about a general attack on the problem. If other methods can reduce Shri Lanka’s malaria cases to 17 as DDT did – great! Go ahead. I note you have picked up “arrogance” from that other bloke, but he had little else to say. You say “Depending exclusively on DDT has proven to be disastrous in the long run.” That’s terrible – where has this happened? Harry ********************************** Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles. Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 818 352-4141 ********************************** From: Darryl or Natalia [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 4:45 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: 'Cordell, Arthur: ECOM'; 'pete'; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Futurework] Silent Spring is a case study in the tragedy of good intentions Harry, If you really wanted facts, you'd take the time to read the report rather than resting on the laurels of yester-year's investigation and thrill at infamy on the radio. It's hard to let go of our own creations, I know, but your arrogance is stopping you from looking at recent findings around this issue. There are current alternatives based on sound research, which are not waiting for the distant outcome of scientific genetic research, and when people have used them they have had success. You are free to ignore this, but please don't write back further on this topic unless you have actually read the report in its entirety. I do not deny that if there is no time to act responsibly, a spray should take place to save lives. But acting responsibly should begin simultaneously. Depending exclusively on DDT has proven to be disastrous in the long run. In epidemic areas, using sprayed nets and treating windows and entrance ways is sufficient if one also undertakes bio-environmental measures. Moreover, bio-environmental prevention should commence in high risk areas before epidemics occur. It's not just malaria larvae that breed in these still waters, after all. Pesticides were a short-term solution to monoculture cropping because of increases in pest and disease problems, but at the expense of endemic populations of beneficials. Because of disappearing tropical habitats, pesticides were introduced once again as a short-term solution rather than looking at the bio-environmental structures newly eradicated. Imperialists needed the short-term fixes to safely remain in the areas, but once they set up the various projects to be run and operated by local populations, DDT no longer became an urgent necessity or expense to the corporate concerns. Politics were a convenience in this situation, and as Arthur suggested, if white man were there, they would indeed spray cheaply, or have developed a better, less harmful poison. But short-term solutions inevitably run their course, and the long-term health of mammals and environment have to be addressed. No one need die because of a more cautious and less devastating approach. Natalia Harry Pollard wrote: All I want is the facts, ma’am. Natalia, my stance on DDT began when I looked at the situation and made it the subject of a 15 minute radio broadcast in which I suggested that DDT appears to be the most effective, the safest, and the cheapest pesticide ever invented. I was surprised at the reaction that transcended the bounds of common sense (it seemed to me). Demands that I be thrown off the air, insinuations that I was trying to poison humanity – one lady wrote in that I put the environmental movement back 15 years. (I suppose it didn’t help that I pointed out in another program that 15 years in 15 minutes seemed to be a pretty effective program.) So, I really looked deeply into the whole mess. There seemed to be not a single scientific reason for banning DDT, but a lot of good reasons for continuing its use. However, the propaganda against it was lurid and frightening. Rachel Carson’s musing “a world without a robin” was quiet compare with the shrieks from those who thought DDT was the work f the devil. Not that there was much desire to keep making it. At the time it was banned, only one manufacturer – the Montrose Chemical Company in Torrance California was making it. The big chemical companies didn’t want to make it because there wasn’t much profit in it. The company was messy pouring lots of waste DDT into the sewers that emptied into Santa Monica Bay. I postulated at the time that if the pelicans on Anacapa Island were laying thin-shelled eggs, it could be because of this DDT waste. I was closer than I realized. A study released within the last year or two found an estimated 110 tons of DDT on the bottom of Santa Monica Bay. The waste showed a footprint that leaned to the north – towards Anacapa. Maybe? I don’t know whether DDT is the best solution to the malaria problem – but it does work. And as I found it doesn’t kill off the birds and animals in the process – and there appears to be no record of a single human death solely from DDT in the 25 plus years in which it was used. I suggest that we go with what works. There may be treatments of the problem that are far better, but we cannot experiment with these methods for ten years while people are dying. Maybe WHO should resume the spraying of huts – last time they used 335,000 sprayers treating the huts twice a year. That seemed to work. It would also give a breathing space to the people seeking better methods. Of course, DDT may no longer work. In any event, scientists should be coming up with a similarly benign replacement for use when mosquito resistance builds. The trouble is that they have been turned off by the intense furor from the environmentalists – which is a pity. Particularly as the USP found it might be a cancer inhibitor! Harry ********************************** Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles. Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 818 352-4141 ********************************** From: Darryl or Natalia [HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ast.net] Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 1:38 PM To: Cordell, Arthur: ECOM Cc: HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"[EMAIL PROTECTED] .com; pete; HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"[EMAIL PROTECTED] uwaterloo.ca Subject: Re: [Futurework] Silent Spring is a case study in the tragedy ofgood intentions Are you saying that DDT use is the best solution, or that it is a last resort best solution? It's difficult to tell. Did you actually read the entire report, or even just the case studies? Saving lives is the objective, and saving more lives is the outcome of an integrated bio-management approach. Natalia Cordell, Arthur: ECOM wrote: I agree with Harry on this. arthur _____ From: HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"futurework- [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Harry Pollard Sent: Sun 5/27/2007 11:11 AM To: 'pete'; HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"[EMAIL PROTECTED] uwaterloo.ca Subject: Re: [Futurework] Silent Spring is a case study in the tragedy ofgood intentions How many will die until then? Better resume spraying huts until the new ideas bear fruit. Harry ********************************** Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles. Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 818 352-4141 ********************************** > -----Original Message----- > From: HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"futurework- [EMAIL PROTECTED] [HYPERLINK "mailto:futurework-"mailto:futurework- > HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"[EMAIL PROTECTED] loo.ca] On Behalf Of pete > Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 6:27 PM > To: HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"[EMAIL PROTECTED] uwaterloo.ca > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Silent Spring is a case study in the tragedy > of good intentions > > On Fri, 25 May 2007, Lawrence de Bivort > HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]"<[EMAIL PROTECTED] onaryservices.org> wrote: > > > Does anyone know if malaria can be stopped by any means other > than > > stopping DDT? > > Currently, work is proceeding on identifying genes for agents which > can identify and attack the blood flukes which cause malaria. These > are not intended for use in human vaccines, though that is also an > option. The grander plan is to develop either breed of mosquito, > or a strain of gut bacterium which coexists in the mosquito digestive > system, which is intolerant of the malarial flukes, which also > live in the mosquitoes gut. A malarial resistant mosquito is > also a stronger and healthier mosquito, which will easily outcompete > infected mosquitoes, and supplant them. It is tentatively estimated > such work may yield results in ten years, possibly sooner. > > -Pete > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > HYPERLINK "mailto:Futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca"[EMAIL PROTECTED] o.ca > HYPERLINK "http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework"http:/ /fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.6/795 - Release Date: > 5/9/2007 3:07 PM > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.6/795 - Release Date: 5/9/2007 3:07 PM _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list HYPERLINK "mailto:Futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca"[EMAIL PROTECTED] o.ca HYPERLINK "http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework"http:/ /fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _____ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list HYPERLINK "mailto:Futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca"[EMAIL PROTECTED] o.ca HYPERLINK "http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework"http:/ /fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.6/795 - Release Date: 5/9/2007 3:07 PM Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.6/795 - Release Date: 5/9/2007 3:07 PM Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. 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