« The Arab–Israeli Conflict Reflected at Home | Main | Enviromoonbattery in the Courtroom »
October 12, 2005
Environmentalism Kills Africans
Runaway environmentalism isn't just bad for the economy — it's bad for human health. Take the case of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). This wonder chemical has saved millions of lives by killing the one species that has given the human race the most trouble — the mosquito. According to a WaPo op ed, the National Academy of Sciences estimated in 1970 that DDT had prevented 500 million deaths.
It would be saving millions of lives still, if it hadn't fallen afoul of environmentalists.
DDT has proven highly effective against the spread of typhus, dengue, and yellow fever, but it's best known from combating malaria, which would make it highly useful in Uganda, which had 12 million cases of malaria out of a population of 27 million in 2003. But the European Union doesn't approve of DDT, and is threatening Ugandans with crippling import restrictions if they employ the chemical.
There's no solid evidence that DDT is harmful to people. But when it comes to moonbattery, you don't need evidence, you just need to believe. One million people a year still die from malaria. But the most effective weapon against it can't be used, in order to indulge elite bureaucrats in their fashionably kooky environmentalism.
Thanks to Byron for the tip.
Posted by Van Helsing at October 12, 2005 8:58 PM
Comments
One more example of the ethnocentric elitism among the EnviroKooks.
“The environmental movement I helped found has lost its objectivity, morality and humanity. The pain and suffering it is inflicting on families in developing countries must no longer be tolerated. Eco-Imperialism is the first book I’ve seen that tells the truth and lays it on the line. It’s a must-read for anyone who cares about people, progress and our planet.”– Patrick Moore, Greenpeace co-founder
So these selfish monsters would insist that Ugandans spend money they don't have to use the pesticides we have the luxury of being able to afford here in the developed world. Either that or fuck 'em, I guess.
Posted by: LC TripleNeckSteel at October 13, 2005 1:53 AM
Thomas Sowell has written about this very topic: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell060701.asp
Posted by: Pam at October 13, 2005 12:23 PM
I remember seeing a photo somewhere of a man eating a spoonfull of DDT to prove that it wasn't harmful to humans. In my book, thats a pretty solid sell - since I wouldn't even eat a spoonfull of baking soda to prove a point. If DDT can effectively protect people and crops that would otherwise die inthe third world, let them use it. If more people die because asshole enviroweenies want to impose sanctions or economic obstacles as a result of third world people trying to survive, then logic would have it that enviroweenies are deadlier than pesticides, and should be banned immediately.
Posted by: Josh at October 13, 2005 1:06 PM
For proof that DDT is not fatal you need to look no further than the current president of the Ukraine. DDT is a PCB, or PolyChlorinated Byphenyl. PCBs are routinely pabbed as hyper-deadly cancer causing agents that are poisonous to humans. This propoganda was spread around as part of the original effort to ban DDT and it seems that the Russians believed the stories so much that they tried to poison the Ukrainian presidential candidate Victor Yushchenko with a prolonged heavy dose of PCBs. It did him damage, sure, but the worst he suffered from a supposedly lethal dose was a severe case of acne that will, granted, last for a long time and a mild liver problem that will probably have sorted itself out by now.
Posted by: Archonix at October 13, 2005 2:52 PM
