The Black Plague and its descendants

Washington Times ^ | 4/13/2005 | Alan Caruba

[worldclass]

Pesticides, which undergo an Environmental Protection Agency registration process that can cost up to $50 million for a single new product, has seen many excellent products withdrawn from the market despite years of successful and effective use against a wide range of insect or rodent pests. There is little incentive to introduce new ones. Too many people remained convinced the pesticides will kill them, not the pests.

[worldclass]

DDT, pests....pests, liberals...hmmm...

[Mind-numbed Robot]

When I was young the mosquito control program was new. The city had trucks that would fog the neighborhoods with DDT. Us kids would follow the trucks for blocks running through the fog so thick we could not see. Well, I am 67 now and no ill effects that I know of.

[sionnsar]

It is estimated to have killed a third of Europe's population.
"The medieval plague is the second-greatest catastrophe in the human record," writes Mr. Kelly. "Only World War II produced more death."

Huh? WWII killed a third of Europe's population?

[worldclass]

"Well, I am 67 now and no ill effects that I know of."

well-spoken by a mind-numbed robot...:-) :-)

sorry, it was just too tempting...shame on me

[null and void]

Me too. I was the only place in Beaufort that was mosquito free...

[null and void]

Not quite, WWII killed more people world wide than there were in 1/3 of the euro-peon medieval population.

[reformedliberal]

In 1975, we visited Papua, New Guinea. We spent a week at Ambion, on the Karawari, a tributary of the Sepik. This is a lot like the the Mississippi or the Amazon: a wide, slow river surrounded by bush.

In order to visit the villages along the river, we had to pass through thick wild forest. The guides would not allow anyone, including themselves. to leave the boat before being coated w/DDT. I mean so coated that our local guides were literally white. We did this 4-5 times. The locals were adamant that no one pass through the bush unprotected.

Once into the village, we noticed that there was always a crew of men cutting the grass and weeds by hand w/machetes "to keep the bugs down". The latrines were packing crates containing 55-gallon drums. Before being allowed to use one, the locals first fogged the inside with more DDT, instructed us to hold our breath and do our business quickly.

We had no ill effects.

I am 62 and DDT was used in my home town when I was young. We were a lot more afraid of polio and *brain fever* (encephalitis).

[chit*chat]

My Mother used to spend her summers with extended family on their MD farm. Her uncle would spray the sheep, then line up the kids and spray them front, then back. She and my Aunt are extremely healthy (no meds) and well past 70! I should age so well.

[Servant of the 9]

When I was young the mosquito control program was new. The city had trucks that would fog the neighborhoods with DDT. Us kids would follow the trucks for blocks running through the fog so thick we could not see. Well, I am 67 now and no ill effects that I know of.

We did too, and even Hillary Clinton described doing the same thing.

The EPA has killed more people than Hitler and Stalin together.
They did it by outlawing DDT and letting malaria run rampant inhte third world.

So9

[Renfield]

The Washington Times needs a competent editor. The first sentence of this article demonstrates a lack of subject-verb agreement. The current editor should be fired for such a failure.

[aBootes]

The Washington Times needs a competent editor. The first sentence of this article demonstrates a lack of subject-verb agreement.

And here I was, just feeling thankful that the sentence had both a subject and a verb... Your standards are very high for these modern times!

[Little Bill]

As a member of the Black Plague, Descendant, Survivors Organization of the West of England, I am offended that you should say that the death of a fraction of a larger population has more impact than the death of quarter of a smaller population. Your granny have a third eye?

[null and void]

Yes she did.

Where did I say anything about the impact of the deaths? I merely noted the way the numbers were compared.

[rsobin]

BTDT.

[lupie]

So did I. I am almost 51. We used to love it when the "fog" truck came by. The fog had kind of a sweet smell to it.

[Little Bill]

I am talking about genetic viability and population growth, the ability of a population to take a big hit and survive as an Identifiable group.

If your Granny did have the Third Eye FReep mail me, folklore is an interest of mine.

[null and void]

I'm pretty sure she did. She had the two normal ones in her head, and always said she'd keep an eye out for me. I never saw it, though...

[SuziQ]

The city had trucks that would fog the neighborhoods with DDT. Us kids would follow the trucks for blocks running through the fog so thick we could not see

Y'all did that, too?! The fog just smelled so sweet!

[SuziQ]

LOL!! Saw you post after I'd posted mine. Funny the things we remember from our childhood, huh? I also love the smell of creosote. It reminds me of my teenage summers at our fishing camp. My younger sister and I, and a couple of friends would leave the camp and walk for hours! First we'd go by the post office to see if we'd gotten any mail from our cousins and friends at home, then we'd just wander. One of the roads we took went beside a creosote plant. In fact, whenever I hear the song, "Ode to Billy Joe", I'm transported to that winding road, and can smell the creosote, cause the song had just come out that summer we did our wandering.

[Little Bill]

They used to fly over the passion pits, drive in movies, a phase we all went through, no one noticed.