A Stitch in Haste

"Hey farmer, farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give millions malaria
But leave me the birds and the bees"

This Steven Milloy piece is an absolute must-read (actually, every "Junk Science" column he writes should be considered a must-read):

Dr. Edwards [who recently passed away] led the opposition to environmental extremist efforts to ban DDT in the wake of Rachel Carson's infamous 1962 book "Silent Spring." The testimony of Dr. Edwards and others during Environmental Protection Agency hearings in 1971 on whether to ban the insecticide led to an EPA administrative law judge ruling that, "DDT is not a carcinogenic hazard to man. DDT is not a mutagenic or teratogenic 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."

Inexplicably — or so it seemed — DDT was nonetheless banned by EPA administrator William Ruckleshaus. Dr. Edwards investigated and uncovered disturbing statements and troubling connections between Ruckleshaus and anti-DDT environmental extremist groups.
...
Now, even the New York Times has seen the light, running a pro-DDT editorial on Dec. 23, 2002 ("Fighting Malaria with DDT), a pro-DDT op-ed column on Aug. 7, 2003 (Is there a place for DDT?") and, most recently, a pro-DDT New York Times Magazine article on April 11, 2004. ("What the World Needs Now is DDT").

Milloy chronicles the ruthless and ethically questionable behavior of certain anti-DDT activists, boh in and out of government. The article is a good reminder of just how dangerous, and sometimes sociopathic, the eco-wingnuts can be.

P.S. The Counting Crows version sucks even worse.

More on the "Silent Spring" hysteria here.