The New Silent Spring

Can you imagine a time in which the policies of virtually every government on the planet result in the illness of billions and the deaths of millions and all you hear from the world media is silence. There is no need to imagine it. You're living in it.

Here is how it all got started.

In April 1972, after seven months of testimony, EPA Administrative Law Judge Edmund Sweeney stated that “DDT is not a carcinogenic hazard to man. ... The uses of DDT under the regulations involved here do not have a deleterious effect on freshwater fish, estuarine organisms, wild birds, or other wildlife. ... The evidence in this proceeding supports the conclusion that there is a present need for the essential uses of DDT.”*

Two months later, EPA head [and Environmental Defense Fund member/fundraiser] William Ruckelshaus - who had never attended a single day’s session in the seven months of EPA hearings, and who admittedly had not even read the transcript of the hearings - overturned Judge Sweeney’s decision. Ruckelshaus declared that DDT was a “potential human carcinogen” and banned it for virtually all uses.**

The U.S. ban on DDT was adopted around the globe and the results have been disasterous. Junk Science has a running Malaria Clock that you should spend a few frightening moment staring at. And while you do, think for a moment about the motives behind the people who made this happen, and allow it to continue in silence. * Sweeney EM. EPA Hearing Examiner’s recommendations and findings concerning DDT hearings. 25 April 1972 (40 CFR 164.32)
** Ackerly RL. DDT: a re-evaluation, part II. Chemical Times and Trends. October 1981:55

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 05:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment