DDT As Portrayed In Silent Spring By Rachel Carson

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) has had a huge impact on the fight against malaria, helping to ensure the control or eradication of malaria in many countries around the world in the mid-twentieth century. However, since its peak in the 1960s, succeeded by environmental and health concerns about the usage of the insecticide, more and more countries have been banning the use of DDT.

Malaria is a disease characterized by fever and flu like illness that according to the CDC “if not treated can lead to jaundice, kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death” (CDC p.2. There are four types of malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae with the most common type being plasmodium falciparum. (CDC p.1) ).. This disease can only be transmitted by an interaction of blood as the parasite lives in the red blood cells of the infected host individual. This can be due to blood transfusions, sharing of syringes or by its common vector, the Anopheles mosquito.Because of its vector being a mosquito malaria is common in areas with warm temperatures and causes the most damage in poor developing

Malaria has been a huge problem among many developing nations over the past century. The amount of people in the entire world that die from malaria each year is between 700,000 and 2.7 million. 75% of these deaths are African children (Med. Letter on CDC & FDA, 2001). 90% of the malaria cases in the world are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Once again, the majority of these deaths are of children (Randerson, 2002). The numbers speak for themselves. Malaria is a huge problem and needs to be dealt with immediately.

DDT should not be used because it is harmful to animals, humans, and the environment. DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was first thought as helpful but was later found out to be harmful to many organisms. This injurious chemical caused disasters among all abiotic and biotic organisms in the environment.

Another disputed environmental issue is the use of DDT and if it should be banned worldwide. DDT has been a cheap and effective pesticide used against mosquitos carrying malaria, saving millions of lives. However, this pesticide has now been included in the “dirty dozen” due to its environmental effects, but about 25 countries continue to use the toxin (Easton, 281). Anne Platt McGinn provides the stronger argument stating DDT is less effective than previously and it should be banned or reserved for emergency use due to the environmental effects. On the other hand, Professor Donald R. Roberts ineffectively argues the environmental hazards have been misrepresented and the threat of malaria is more important, making DDT necessary to save lives.

In the article, “DDT Ban: Is DDT Dangerous or Beneficial” written by Lillian Forman, looks at a chemical used to fight off insects that carried disease after World War II. The chemical compound that was used to kill the unwanted pest is called dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or DDT. The chemical was used to fight insects that carried diseases to soldiers in camps, people in refugee camps, tourists in tropical areas, and people in bombed out cities. Because the chemical was used in Europe and Asia, and save millions of lives many believed it was a miracle chemical. Though some insects like lady bugs, bees, praying mantises are useful, humans have a good reason to fear other insects. Some of the feared insects include mosquitoes, ticks, body lice, cockroaches, and flies. Mosquitos carry malaria and contagious illnesses such as West Nile virus. Ticks carry Lyme disease and body lice infect their victims with typhus. Whereas cockroaches carry germs that can cause severe gastrointestinal problems. Flies carry even more dangerous pathogens, some of which cause deadly meningitis. Insects are harmful to more than just human health, locusts periodically destroy crops, termites eat away wooden structures, and moths ruin cloth.

First off DDT has the ability to kill insects that carry diseases such as malaria. There is

The use of DDT in the United States is banned, although it is still used in many other countries. DDT is still used in other places to try and control the mosquitoes that spread malaria around. India is the only country that still chooses to use DDT in large quantities today, whereas Belize and Bolivia, among others, have dropped the use of DDT out of fear of losing foreign subsidies. When the worldwide availability of DDT declined, poor countries did not have the ability to afford it. Due to this, 15 African countries declared that they would start producing the chemical to fight against malaria carrying

The following involves the second chapter of Carson’s book, Silent Spring that was written in 1962. In this chapter Carson argues persuasively the adverse impacts of pesticides upon the environment and the risks on human health and the environment associated with these “genetic invaders” (Carson, 1962). Many of the extremely diverse people from Carson’s audience targeted were under the impression that chemicals like DDT, at that time in history, were safe for their health. Carson reconciles and attempts to persuade the public to consider the idea that DDT, which in the 1950s and 60s was one of the many chemical pesticides being manufactured and sold to

Aerial spraying, overspray, and drift threaten food crops not modified to withstand the pesticides. Soil is bare and exposed seven months of the year, resulting in tremendous soil erosion. It isn’t our soil to lose. Future generations will pay the price” (McCulloch). Farms that operate on a monocultural based scale have made it easy for specific insects to multiply abundantly. However, at the rate and to the extent that pesticides are being applied, has resulted in and continues to cause overall disturbance to the natural ecosystem. Through the studies of Rachel Carson, as infected insects were being consumed by birds, runoff from crops were leaking into streams and rivers and people were being diagnosed with illnesses. Because DDT is a synthetic chemical compound, many organisms do not have an enzyme to break it down and it becomes stored in fat and liver tissues where it cannot be

Carson’s other books, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us (which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 86 weeks), and The Edge of The Sea all focus on nature’s strength and the inter-connectedness of nature and all living things. But DDT exposed the vulnerability of nature and I think this influenced the writing of Silent Spring. DDT was the most powerful pesticide in the world at the time of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Unlike most pesticides, whose effectiveness is limited to destroying one or two types of insects, DDT was capable of killing hundreds of different kinds at once. Developed in 1939, it first distinguished itself during World War II, clearing South Pacific islands of malaria-causing insects for U.S. troops, while in Europe being used as an effective de-lousing powder. Its inventor was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Throughout his essay, Suzuki supports his arguments with specific examples. To justify his reasoning, the author uses the case of DDT, otherwise known as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. This chemical compound is used as an insecticide to eliminate the population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, which it did effectively, and saved millions of lives. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, complications arose, which led to an increase in chemicals and caused a domino effect of

The use of pesticides is an important decision that thousands of communities face each year. Nobody likes dealing with mosquitos and the diseases they bring so using chemicals and pesticides is an option but with other consequences. Mosquitos carry West Nile Virus that affects the city of Genericville every year with 50 cases projected this year in the city and two fatalities as well. On the other hand, the chemicals proposed for controlling the mosquito population has its own risks. The pesticide Malathion is also dangerous to people if they come in contact with it before it degrades. The potential for citizens of the city being exposed is almost a certainty

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the Beginning of the Environmental Movement in the United States

The use of pesticides in the United States began after WWII. During this time there was no regulation on the use of pesticides such as DDT and other chemical compounds known as chlorinated hydrocarbons crystallized in 1962. Pesticides usage is at an astronomical 850 million pounds a year. Pesticides are also sold for home use as well, this poses a main health concern to the general public who are unaware of the potential hazards of selling pesticides.