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DDT: A Weapon of Mass Survival
Fox ^

Posted on 05/05/2006 1:19:54 PM PDT by Kokojmudd

Thursday , May 04, 2006

By Steven Milloy

The U.S. Government has finally begun to reverse policy on the insecticide DDT. Let’s hope that this policy shift represents the beginning of the end of what can only be called a crime against humanity: the decades-old withholding of the world’s most effective anti-malarial weapon from billions of adults and children at risk of dying from the disease.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) told the Washington Times this week (May 3) that it endorses and will fund the indoor spraying of DDT in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria kills more than one million Africans annually, mostly children under five and pregnant women.

Malaria accounts for 10 percent of Africa’s disease burden and causes $12 billion yearly in lost productivity.

USAID reportedly will use about 20 percent of its $99 billion budget to fund indoor spraying with DDT, according to the Times. “Between 1 million and 1.5 million people will be protected,” a USAID official told the Times..........

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; ddt; disease; insecticide; malaria; usaid
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Great, but why am I paying for this through the Soviet...I mean US Agency for International Development and if I am paying for this why can't I buy DDT at Ace hardware so I can kill bugs around my house?
1 posted on 05/05/2006 1:19:55 PM PDT by Kokojmudd
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To: Kokojmudd

YES!

Finally, truth and reason are beginning to win out over ignorance and inertia!

I pray for the day when the pendulum swings back against decades of rampant environmentalist madness.

2 posted on 05/05/2006 1:21:58 PM PDT by TChris ("Wake up, America. This is serious." - Ben Stein)
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To: Kokojmudd

Has the administration gotten this approved by the Sierra Club?


3 posted on 05/05/2006 1:25:37 PM PDT by FreeInWV
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To: TChris
"I pray for the day when the pendulum swings back against decades of rampant environmentalist madness."

You've got that right. The county used to spray every year but the enviro-wackos put an end to it. It is now impossible to go outside for even short periods of time without getting bug bites that will itch for at least a week. All the stuff that worked has been banned. Our 3 seasons patio enclosure is as close to the outdoors as you want to get from mid-spring to mid-fall.

4 posted on 05/05/2006 1:26:46 PM PDT by Wurlitzer (The difference between democrats and terrorists is the terrorists don't claim to support the troops)
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To: Kokojmudd
... it endorses and will fund the indoor spraying of DDT in sub-Saharan Africa.

That's right - DDT is legal in third world countires, but they don't use it because uncle sugar doesn't endorse/pay for it.

5 posted on 05/05/2006 1:44:27 PM PDT by Spirochete
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To: Kokojmudd

Rachel Carson and William Ruckelshaus are the two greatest mass murderers of all time.


6 posted on 05/05/2006 1:53:27 PM PDT by tomzz
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To: Kokojmudd
Read the label before you spray anything...
Synthetic pyrethroids should work on most of the insects around the home. There is a reason why long residual and fumigants are professional only.

DDT has a very long residual, over six months at effective concentrations in humid tropics, a very bioactive environment. There are a great variety of effective compounds out there, however there are compounds that should be avoided for certain uses due to side effects.
Imidicloprid will cause mite resurgence.
Horticultural oil will burn plants in the presence of sulfur.
Acephate is a neurotoxin.
2,4,D will not kill grasses.

7 posted on 05/05/2006 1:53:34 PM PDT by Fraxinus
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To: Fraxinus

2,4-D is great stuff, whats the problem? Kills the weeds, leaves the grass, in use since the 1940's, no known problems.


8 posted on 05/05/2006 1:57:34 PM PDT by east1234 (It's the borders stupid.)
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To: Kokojmudd

If it takes out yellow jackets, our whole area could use a dose...


9 posted on 05/05/2006 2:00:56 PM PDT by MD_Willington_1976
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To: Kokojmudd
About a dozen years ago my home was attacked (I mean A-T-T-A-C-K-E-D!!!) by about three colonies of carpenter ants. I was all set to hire one of those expensive exterminators to deal with it when I found a part of a bottle of DDT in my mother-in-law's basement. I sprayed a bit of it where the ants were the worst. Then I sprayed it in lower concentrations around the rest of the foundation.

It says right here that my carpenter ant dilemna cleared up in about six seconds. If there is another wonder substance in the world with that kind of quality, so far I haven't located it.

10 posted on 05/05/2006 2:01:25 PM PDT by stevem
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To: TChris

For a very good article on the politics of DDT please read Life site article at http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/aug/050816a.html

Especially of interest to me was the section on DDT and population control.


11 posted on 05/05/2006 2:05:06 PM PDT by lastchance (Hug your babies.)
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To: stevem

It says right here that my carpenter ant dilemna cleared up in about six seconds. If there is another wonder substance in the world with that kind of quality, so far I haven't located it.

Feed the carpenter ants some dry "Cream of Wheat". It's safe around pets too. The Cream of Wheat swells up in their exoskeleton and kills hem.


12 posted on 05/05/2006 2:10:53 PM PDT by chainsaw (We are going to take things away from you-H. Clinton)
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To: Wurlitzer
"It is now impossible to go outside for even short periods of time without getting bug bites that will itch for at least a week."

Holy C#^p!!! Where do you live? Maybe you have allergies or something.

Seriously though...

I happen to live in the Upper Mississippi River valley, where DDT did kill off MANY eagles. DDT would be in the fish they ate, and it would accumulate in the eagles, resulting in eggs that would break with 1 pound of pressure applied. Therefore, fewer and fewer eagles were being born. (A healthy eagle egg, BTW, can stand up to around 50 pounds of pressure.)

Currently, there are MANY eagles in our area. During the winter months, when the Mississippi freezes over, the eagles congregate around the few holes caused by power plants and Lock&Dams. I have seen as many as 25 eagles in one spot around the LaCrosse Wisconsin area!!

I go outdoors quite a bit. Down by the Mississippi, there are many marshes for MANY, MANY mosquitoes! DEET works great. You don't need to use the 100% stuff either.

Banning DDT has had some positive affects. Could we still use DDT in limited uses? I suppose so. Truthfully, I don't know. I just wanted to inform you that there has been some good that has come about from it's banning.

Sincerely
13 posted on 05/05/2006 2:14:20 PM PDT by ScubieNuc
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To: tomzz
Rachel Carson and William Ruckelshaus are the two greatest mass murderers of all time.

Yes her unscientific garbage has resulted in fools implementing policies that have killed millions of humans for NO reason. I hope her descendent's realize the death of millions is upon her hands for the lies she helped propagate.

14 posted on 05/05/2006 2:19:58 PM PDT by liberty2004
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To: chainsaw
Feed the carpenter ants some dry "Cream of Wheat". It's safe around pets too. The Cream of Wheat swells up in their exoskeleton and kills hem.

I'll keep that in mind if the miserable little devils ever return. The DDT supply I so fortuitously stumbled over has long since been used, sending many a vexing bug to the perdition where they belong.

15 posted on 05/05/2006 2:23:49 PM PDT by stevem
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To: lastchance
Especially of interest to me was the section on DDT and population control.

Thanks, a great article. The environmental Left is as evil as the terrorists.

16 posted on 05/05/2006 2:26:23 PM PDT by liberty2004
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To: ScubieNuc
Banning DDT has had some positive affects. Could we still use DDT in limited uses?

I suggest you read the interesting link in post #11.

17 posted on 05/05/2006 2:27:33 PM PDT by liberty2004
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To: liberty2004
"I suggest you read the interesting link in post #11."

Thanks for the ping. Very interesting article. I didn't see a link or reference that shows the "eagle egg" evidence "proven false." I can only testify to what I can see, and what others tell me (as far as the eagles go). Their population was declining, and now it is doing quite well in this area. Could this be due to other causes? I suppose.

I will say this though, if posed with the question of whether I would save the eagles or hundreds of thousands of people, I would choose people every time! The other poster, I was responding to, seemed to be implying that going outside was now unbearable without DDT. My experience is that that idea is an exageration.

Sincerely
18 posted on 05/05/2006 2:50:23 PM PDT by ScubieNuc
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To: Kokojmudd

When I was young, this was used quiet often by most home owners, worked well. It killed all sorts of bad guys(bugs), but we had to many people so to get rid of a few million people it was outlawed. Surplus people are not needed according to some, but this was more humane and equal way of getting rid of them, instead of war.


19 posted on 05/05/2006 2:54:28 PM PDT by catmanblack. (he is the great I AM-)
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To: catmanblack.

Can we import DDT from Africa? Thats one way to lift up their economy. ;)


20 posted on 05/05/2006 3:24:35 PM PDT by Frohickey
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