Mosquitos Bite! Especially if they carry Malaria!!

Banning DDT kills millions. Yes, you read that right. In Uganda, Malaria is a debilitating disease that afflicts about 12 million of the country's 27 million people.

Environmentalists are opposed to the spraying of DDT. They prefer to be on the safe side, by continuing the ban on the pesticide after the 1970's release of Silent Spring by Rachel Carlson. It became the symbol of chemically based insect control overuse in agriculture.

While pesticides are viewed as hazardous in general, sometimes, the pro's out weigh the cons, as in this instance where nearly half the citizens suffer because of the ban.

The fact that DDT is responsible for eradicating Malaria in the U.S., Europe and much of Asia, is being ignored, and Ugandans suffer. The complacency of those that now reside in the safe zones, sickens me. I find environmentalists, armed with their facts, have completely lost sight of the impact a full out ban is having on Africa. If it is used to end the devastation on the human populace, the food exports will all become suspect, limiting their export.

Here are my questions.
How catastrophic to the environment would be the use of DDT if handled properly?
What good are the exports if they have the potential of transporting the affected mosquitos back to the countries that smugly refuse to aide a crippled nation?
What good are the proceeds from their exports going to do them if they're dead?

Unless you've got a better idea, why not knock out the rest of the Malaria carrying insects, then shelf it? How selfish and self-righteous we must appear to those we could help,yet refuse, by not finishing the annihilation of the disease-spreading mosquitos?

You know what they say, be careful what you do and say, because it'll come back around to bite you in the @$$. In this case, it could be a deadly mistake forall of us.
10/20/2005 7:20 PM
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