Friday, August 19, 2005

DDT: Good or bad?

I read an article similar to this one awhile back that claimed that DDT was unfairly maligned and could save millions of lives by killing mosquitoes. Then I read this article refuting many of the more convincing points--saying basically that DDT isn't the magic bullet some claim it is. Which to believe? I don't know.

UPDATE 22 May 2007: I'm still no expert on DDT, but the topic seems to be growing in popularity again as we approach the 100th birthday of Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring. Opinion Journal has a piece that looks disapprovingly on the unintended consequences of banning DDT. We now use more, less-potent pesticides with less effect.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Is it worth sacrificing the nature and animals, just to save people?

I believe this is the most important question concerning DDT. I have visited several websites and all of them have different opinions concerning DDT. Some people believe that it was wrong to ban DDT. Malaria have killed millions of people, twice as many as the concentration camps in Germany. Others believe DDT is the most polluted and dangerous poison in the world’s history. I don’t really know what I believe right now, both arguments are convincing.

If animals would die, people would also suffer, we are part of the food chain.

Anonymous said...

post up there is mine btw,

- peeyush

Anonymous said...

ddt IS BAD

Anonymous said...

ddt bad

Anonymous said...

yesit could be bad for the envirement.. but what if u use it for just small places like tospray the outsides of houses. or to spray some bed nets to keep the mosquitos from biting them.. using it in small ways like that would not harm nature at all

Anonymous said...

Neccesarily, if DDT is used in small doses, simply just spraying in those kinda areas and maybe a bit in the nests or something, it wouldn't be too bad. Not like for mass use, spraying it on the crops and stuff, that is misuse, it is the BAD part of DDT. Don't over use it like some people did, and it is fine. Not as toxic as other chemicals.