I did not know that the chemical warfare introduced in WWII was ordinary pesticide. I always perceived it to be designed to harm humans, not something that was already in use to wipe out insects.
I had a friend out in California that had the job of crop spraying. He said that when they banned the use of pesticides with DDT, the companies merely changed 3-5 ingredients. In court cases, each time environmental groups or scientists claim that levels are high enough to cause adverse affects in humans and other species, companies change a few ingredients, give it a new name, and continue using their product. Perhaps Erin Brockovich needs to get on the case.
When my son turned one, we considered allowing him to drink our well water. First, we wanted it tested. We were very surprised when our water tested positive for atrazine (an herbicide). I contacted the EPA for more information, and found out that it's practically impossible to get rid of it. Municipal sources have to test for it and report it, but it isn't limited. It's highly correlated with breast cancer...very scary. Needless to say, we quit drinking the water. We got a water cooler and use bottled water for drinking and cooking, although I imagine that it is chock full o' chemicals, too. I'm not testing it though...there's really nowhere to go. Scary and sad.
In addition to not knowing that the chemical warfare and reasons for gasmasks in WWII was pesticide, I did not know there was still a debate on the positive attributes of DDT. I guess it makes sense, but it is still surprising to me. Thanks for your presentation!
to make sure you understand, albeit I was short on WWII stance. The neurological chemical weapons that were used in the war were then retooled afterwards as insecticides. The main thing insecticides do is to disrupt the neurological functions of the intended pest. This is what I meant by humans being the pest in WWII. A little different, but essentially it was a pesticide.
I view the controlling of pests as a "catch 22". We must control the insects on our food. However, we must grow food to eat in order to survive. We are darn if we do (spray crops with pesticides) and darn if we don't( spray crops with pesticides). Since, we are what we eat, this powerpoint has open my eyes to the fact that when we eat animal meat, we are digesting all the pesticides and chemicals that the animals body could not breakdown. This is a scary feeling. No wonder breast cancer and other forms of cancer are on the rise.
Great presentation Stephen - I am glad that Rachel Carson (I think) wrote the book "Silent Spring" about the loss of birds due to pesticides. I really did not realize that so many animals were affected and had the chemicals building up in their fat cells. There is no wonder that cancer is on the rise. I hope that more nonharmful things will be found to protect the crops or some type of genetic engineering that will protect them from the insects and rodents and such. Again, Great job. Sharon Sherrod
It’s disturbing to know that economically disadvantage countries that have mosquito problems cannot acquire DDT to use in their areas because of the United States. Especially, when WHO estimates that over 25 million lives were saved because of it.
I really appreciate the historical perspective that you shared. The chemical control of pests followed closely with medicines given to humans. They both started with some very nasty stuff like sulfur, mercury, arsenic, etc.
9 comments:
I did not know that the chemical warfare introduced in WWII was ordinary pesticide. I always perceived it to be designed to harm humans, not something that was already in use to wipe out insects.
I had a friend out in California that had the job of crop spraying. He said that when they banned the use of pesticides with DDT, the companies merely changed 3-5 ingredients. In court cases, each time environmental groups or scientists claim that levels are high enough to cause adverse affects in humans and other species, companies change a few ingredients, give it a new name, and continue using their product. Perhaps Erin Brockovich needs to get on the case.
When my son turned one, we considered allowing him to drink our well water. First, we wanted it tested. We were very surprised when our water tested positive for atrazine (an herbicide). I contacted the EPA for more information, and found out that it's practically impossible to get rid of it. Municipal sources have to test for it and report it, but it isn't limited. It's highly correlated with breast cancer...very scary. Needless to say, we quit drinking the water. We got a water cooler and use bottled water for drinking and cooking, although I imagine that it is chock full o' chemicals, too. I'm not testing it though...there's really nowhere to go. Scary and sad.
In addition to not knowing that the chemical warfare and reasons for gasmasks in WWII was pesticide, I did not know there was still a debate on the positive attributes of DDT. I guess it makes sense, but it is still surprising to me. Thanks for your presentation!
to make sure you understand, albeit I was short on WWII stance. The neurological chemical weapons that were used in the war were then retooled afterwards as insecticides. The main thing insecticides do is to disrupt the neurological functions of the intended pest. This is what I meant by humans being the pest in WWII. A little different, but essentially it was a pesticide.
I view the controlling of pests as a "catch 22". We must control the insects on our food. However, we must grow food to eat in order to survive. We are darn if we do (spray crops with pesticides) and darn if we don't( spray crops with pesticides). Since, we are what we eat, this powerpoint has open my eyes to the fact that when we eat animal meat, we are digesting all the pesticides and chemicals that the animals body could not breakdown. This is a scary feeling. No wonder breast cancer and other forms of cancer are on the rise.
Great presentation Stephen - I am glad that Rachel Carson (I think) wrote the book "Silent Spring" about the loss of birds due to pesticides. I really did not realize that so many animals were affected and had the chemicals building up in their fat cells. There is no wonder that cancer is on the rise. I hope that more nonharmful things will be found to protect the crops or some type of genetic engineering that will protect them from the insects and rodents and such. Again, Great job. Sharon Sherrod
It’s disturbing to know that economically disadvantage countries that have mosquito problems cannot acquire DDT to use in their areas because of the United States. Especially, when WHO estimates that over 25 million lives were saved because of it.
I really appreciate the historical perspective that you shared. The chemical control of pests followed closely with medicines given to humans. They both started with some very nasty stuff like sulfur, mercury, arsenic, etc.
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