National Geographic Acknowledges Huge Loss of Life to Malaria and Need for DDT

LifeSiteNews ^ | 8/7/07 | Steve Jalsevac

[wagglebee]

August 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - National Geographic (NG), a leading environmentalist, de-population supporting magazine, has published a major cover story by Michael Finkel on the extraordinarily deadly and complex malaria parasite. The July 2007 NG edition article discusses possible solutions to the disease but also uncharacteristically acknowledges a leading expert's contention that the international ban on DDT was a terrible mistake which may have cost many millions of lives, especially in poor African nations. Environmental ideologues have been quick to slam Finkel's article as being flawed and damaging to the their past success in convincing the world to ban the DDT pesticide.

The article, Malaria, Stopping a Global Killer, states, "This year malaria will strike up to a half billion people. At least a million will die, most of them under age five, the vast majority living in Africa. That's more than twice the annual toll a generation ago."

Finkel writes that Robert Gwadz, a malaria specialist at the US National Institutes of Health, says the worldwide ban on DDT that eventually followed the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which condemned use of the chemical, "may have killed 20 million children." The quote by Gwadz does not include the huge number of adults that have also died since "DDT become nearly impossible to procure" because "the chemical was outlawed by most of the world for agricultural use".

The deaths caused by malaria, however, are only the beginning of the problems caused by the disease. A far greater number of the continent's people are regularly afflicted by malaria, which often causes life-long disabilities and devastating effects on African economies. Gwadz tells NG that "It's possible that due to malaria, almost every child in Africa is in some way neurologically scarred".

NG relates that in the past there were massive numbers of malaria cases in the United States. "A million Union Army casualties in the U.S. Civil War are attributed to malaria." There were also millions of U.S. malaria cases in the 1930s, which led to the launching of an intensive antimalaria program. The Centers for Disease Control was founded in 1946, "specifically to combat malaria". By 1950, reports National Geographic's Finkel, "transmission of malaria was halted in the U.S."

Finkel reports that prosperous nations such as the U.S have been able to eradicate malaria, but "In the meantime, several distinctly unprosperous regions have reached the brink of total malarial collapse." The author presents his own analysis of why this has happened. He does not, however, address the argument presented in past LifeSiteNews articles, that racist western depopulation policies were likely a large factor in the withholding of desperately needed, inexpensive life-saving measures such as DDT from high birthrate African nations.

Internationally prominent author Michael Crichton, who, while having a severe anti-religious bias, nevertheless excels in the area of thoroughly researched fictional novels on scientific issues, presented a more directly condemning view of the Rachel Carson inspired DDT ban in a speech he gave in Sept. 2003. 

In this speech, Environmentalism as a religion, Crichton stated:

"I can tell you that DDT is not a carcinogen and did not cause birds to die and should never have been banned. I can tell you that the people who banned it knew that it wasn't carcinogenic and banned it anyway. I can tell you that the DDT ban has caused the deaths of tens of millions of poor people, mostly children, whose deaths are directly attributable to a callous, technologically advanced western society that promoted the new cause of environmentalism by pushing a fantasy about a pesticide, and thus irrevocably harmed the third world. Banning DDT is one of the most disgraceful episodes in the twentieth century history of America. We knew better, and we did it anyway, and we let people around the world die and didn't give a damn."

The National Geographic magazine website appears to have buried its July malaria cover story. Anyone visiting the site would not be aware that such an important article was published by NG. The article is not listed in the section of latest features at http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/hubs/latest-features.... It can can only be found by doing a search which brings up the appropriate link. 

See the complete National Geographic article at http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature1/index.h... See previous LifeSiteNews and other reports:  

See previous LifeSiteNews and other reports on the malaria issue: 

Green Hands Dipped In Blood: The DDT Genocide
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/aug/050816a.html

Finally an End to Massive Genocide Caused by Environmental Extremists' DDT Ban http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/06092709.html

Call for DDT Opponents to be Held Accountable for Millions of Preventable Malaria Deaths
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/060927a.html

50-80 Million Deaths Blamed On Environmental Extremists' DDT Ban
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/aug/05081601.html

U.N. TREATY RESTRICTIONS CRIPPLE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2001/jun/01061301.html

Tierney Takes on Rachel Carson and 'Silent Spring' DDT Ban
http://newsbusters.org/node/13269

Give Us DDT
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB118160970924631993-lMy...;

[wagglebee]

Finkel writes that Robert Gwadz, a malaria specialist at the US National Institutes of Health, says the worldwide ban on DDT that eventually followed the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which condemned use of the chemical, "may have killed 20 million children." The quote by Gwadz does not include the huge number of adults that have also died since "DDT become nearly impossible to procure" because "the chemical was outlawed by most of the world for agricultural use".

It's about time the left had to answer for their incredible death toll.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Finkel writes that Robert Gwadz, a malaria specialist at the US National Institutes of Health, says the worldwide ban on DDT that eventually followed the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which condemned use of the chemical, "may have killed 20 million children."

But remember - the Zero Population Growth wing of the Left thinks that is a good result.

[wagglebee]

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[dead]

the worldwide ban on DDT may have killed 20 million children."

Yeah, but think of all the mosquitos the liberals saved!

[nyyankeefan]

where is rachel carson and al gore when the world needs them???

after all....its for the children....about 20,000,000 that have died without the ddt!!!

[Shermy]

As if there are no other pesticides and counter-measures against malaria vectors.

Life Site News is now a part of the DDT industry’s bizarre PR plan to get them money for their poison? And they complain about Amnesty International?

[samtheman]

This is an old story. Been around for years. The leftist MSM has been studiously ignoring it and covering it up. I’m amazed that NG would even touch it, let alone cover-story it, but it won’t matter. ABCNBCCBSCNN will continue to ignore it and cover it up.

Having said that, I have a question regarding a different anti-mosquito agent. I remember reading about 10 years ago about a revolutionary new weapon against mosquitoes. At the time it was referred to as the Mosquito Diet Pill. It was a biological agent that could be spread on the surface of ponds and other bodies of water that prevented mosquito larvae from ingesting whatever it is the little critters ingest. At the time it was billed as “The End of the Mosquito”.

Does anybody remember reading about that? What ever happened to that? Did the environmental nazis kill that one, too?

[wagglebee]

Rachel Carson never claimed to care about children, her only interest was how thick birds eggs were.

[Wonder Warthog]

"It's about time the left had to answer for their incredible death toll."

"The left" has never given a damn about the deaths their efforts have caused--witness the 150,000,000 people killed by various socialist systems ("national socialist" or "international socialist). A few tens of millions is chicken feed compared to what they've already done.

[samtheman]

think of all the mosquitos the liberals saved!

They didn't do it to save mosquitoes. They did it, ostensibly, to save birds. In reality, they did it to fight chemical companies. It's one of their "things".

[wagglebee]

As if there are no other pesticides and counter-measures against malaria vectors.

Then WHY aren't they being used?

[BeckB]

The Left lied and people died.

[samtheman]

where is rachel carson

She has far more deaths on her hands than does Hitler. (I know. Groan. Bringing up the H-word. But it's true.)

[wagglebee]

I know it’s an old story, anyone with half a brain had it figured out over thirty years ago.

[tennteacher]

Here we go again.

Nobody tells Al Gore.

[rabscuttle385]

But remember - the Zero Population Growth wing of the Left thinks that is a good result.

As long as it's the children of others who suffer needlessly.

However, when it comes to their own children, they are very defensive.

[ValerieTexas]

Put down the Kool Aid

[samtheman]

Then WHY aren't they [alternatives to DDT] being used?

They are hugely more expensive (and in Africa that's a show-stopper) and hugely less effective.

DDT worked. It stopped mosquitoes dead.

But it also killed birds the left would rather have dead people than dead birds. Any day of the week.