Bug girl has discovered the Carson-killed-millions claims by the likes of Steve Milloy, Angela Logomasini and John Tierney and decided to:
focus on the stuff that as an entomologist, I'm uniquely qualified to comment on. I know about bugs. I know about pesticides. I've taught parasitology for over 5 years.
For the benefit of Angela Logomasini, who thinks that malaria is caused by a virus, this is relevant because malaria is actually caused by a parasite.
Bug girl does a thorough job of debunking the four main claims of the DDT fetishists:
- Banning DDT in the past caused the deaths of millions of people from malaria.
- DDT spraying now will save millions of people in the 3rd world from malaria
- Mosquito resistance is not an issue.
- DDT is safe.
Yay! Thanks! :)
It's about time somebody wrote this up properly. I've been getting increasingly worried that the DDT myths were not being effectively challenged. Bug Girl has restored my faith that there is some common sense out there.
thank you
Ulric
Well, I guess that we won't be hearing the Rachel Carson is a mass murderer crap any more.
Do you have a reference for the "malaria virus" thing? My Google-fu seems weak tonight.
Angela Logomasini [in an interview](http://www.foodchainradio.com/shows/544Bddt.mp3) at 17:20 (my emphasis):
>We used a lot of DDT in the environment and we eradicated the mosquitoes that carried the **virus** and the way the **virus** works is they're saying ... the human is the host and so as long as there are humans with the **virus** in them and other mosquitoes bite them, those mosquitoes bite somebody else; those people end up getting sick. But once you break that cycle, you keep the humans away from the bad mosquitoes -- the **virus** dies out and that's what we were able to do using DDT.
Egad.
Well, she does at least have a *vague* idea of how the cycle works.
Would love to have someone ask her about trophozooites. :)
But it is a virus, just like all you evil enviro-nazi commie b&%$%*ds!
Many thanks!
I think there's definitely a virus involved here, but it hasn't been properly identified. (Agent Smith voice) "Steve, John, Angela — you are the virus, and we. . . are the cure."