Was Rachel Carlson Wrong?

Yesterday, I was browsing through Borders looking for some books to read during summer vacation. I noticed there was a special display on one of the end caps: it featured the writings of Rachel Carlson. Carlson is best known for her 1962 bestseller "Silent Spring", which helped give birth to the environmental movement. It turns out that this would be Carlson's 100th birthday, so apparently there are some special recognitions being made among the Greenies. And, I assume, that given the current upswelling of the Green movement, Carlson will be once again venerated alongside Al Gore. (Eeegads! -- I hear he's up for a Nobel Peace Prize!)

Silent Spring argued that pesticides, especially DDT, were poisoning wildlife, the environment, and endangering human health. After the release of her book, many nations curbed the use of DDT for malaria control due to these environmental concerns.

In 2006, however, the World Health Organization reversed its 30-year ban on the use of DDT to fight malaria. DDT has proven to be the most effective tool against this disease that annually kills 1 million children and sickens millions more. Such a devastating toll on human health and resources reduces economic development in poverty-stricken countries of the world. (90% of these deaths occur in Africa.)

If you search around on the Internet, there are a number of sites that promote the responsible use of DDT to save millions of lives. Due to DDT's quick efficacy and extremely low cost, advocates believe that its use will have a much greater and immediate impact on third-world countries than imposing Global Warming restrictions . In contrast, GW propositions will cost unimaginable amounts of money over decades to supposedly bring down the earth's temperature a fraction of a degree.

Some suggested sites to start with:
• "100 things you should know about DDT"
• www.rachelwaswrong.org
• African American Environmentalists Association: "DDT: Use It To Stop Deaths From Malaria In African Countries"
• documentary: "3 Billion and Counting"