Monday 14 May 2007

Environmentalist spurned

Utah's State Congress has just voted overwhelmingly not to honour environmentalist Rachel Carson by naming a post office after her, something that is "one of the most mundane actions of Congress and ... usually unanimously approved." Not this time. Carson, explains Utah's Salt Lake Tribune, is "the woman who in many ways spawned the modern environmentalist movement with her book Silent Spring... which led to a ban on the chemical DDT used to kill pests."

A letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune succinctly explains the reason for the spurning:
Sir, Regarding the May 2 article "Utah reps vote against honoring naturalist," environmentalist opposition to DDT has never had any basis in science.
For half a century, DDT use has been proved safe to humans and deadly to mosquitoes. The use of DDT against malaria-carrying mosquitoes could prevent the infection of hundreds of millions of people every year and save millions of lives.
The fact that environmental activists have opposed - and still oppose - the use of DDT indicates that they have little, if any, concern for human life.

David Holcberg, Irvine, Calif.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

PC - Odds on that her Presidential Medal of Freedom will prevent her from turning in her grave at the prospect of missing out on, umm, having a post office named after her.

Snicker away, though.

DenMT

Peter Cresswell said...

You still respect someone responsible for the death of millions, Den?

Does their death make you snicker? Or check your premises?

Anonymous said...

Where is the evidence that millions died b/c of carson? I want to know coz I'm having an argument with a friends about this.

Anonymous said...

simon,

Have a read of Death by Environmentalism.

Anonymous said...

Also check here for many articles etc on DDT and Carson's legacy of death.


http://www.junkscience.com/