DDT

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(DDT bans and mass murder)
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This article is shit. Please read [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT Wikipedia's article] for a less shit view.
'''DDT''' (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is a powerful insecticide with a controversial history. It is an extremely stable and resistant [[chemistry|chemical]]: the discoverer found that jars that had had DDT in them and were subsequently autoclaved<ref>Brought up to a very high pressure and temperature in a specially designed device, the autoclave, and left to react.</ref> ''still'' had enough DDT residue in them to kill insects.  A little goes a long way.
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DDT use was restricted and then banned in most western countries in the '60s and '70s, and even in countries where it is still legal, it is only used as a health measure to control the mosquitoes that spread [[malaria]]. Only [[China]] and [[India]] still manufacture it.
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==DDT bans and mass murder==
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[[Wingnut]]s ([[Lee Doren]], from the[[YouTube]] channel, "HowTheWorldWorks" is one example) and [[experts for hire|corporate shill]]s will sometimes imply that a supposed worldwide ban on DDT has killed millions of people by giving them malaria or some other mosquito-borne disease,  and that [[Rachel Carson]]'s book ''Silent Spring'' was responsible for the alleged ban.  There's even a site run by the right-wing think tank [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]] titled Rachelwaswrong.org<ref>[http://rachelwaswrong.org/ Rachel was wrong]</ref><ref>[http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3186  Rachel Carson, Mass Murderer? The creation of an anti-environmental myth]</ref> This is of course, as with all denialist claims, total rubbish. Rachel Carson devoted some of her book into weighing up the pros and cons of DDT use<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2007/05/the_unending_war_on_rachel_car.php#comment-438787 The Unending War on Rachel Carson]</ref><ref>[http://www.isreview.org/issues/57/feat-rachelcarson.shtml In defense of Rachel Carson SARAH GREY takes a fresh look at the author of the environmentalist classic Silent Spring]</ref>. Carson's work did not lead to a global ban; there was and is no global ban; places with deadly mosquito-borne illnesses still use DDT<ref>http://www.panna.org/issues/persistent-poisons/the-ddt-story</ref>; and in some places, excessive use has led to DDT-resistant mosquitoes.  This ignores the fact that places with deadly mosquito-borne illnesses are allowed to use DDT.<ref>http://www.panna.org/issues/persistent-poisons/the-ddt-story</ref>
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==DDT deniers==
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*[[Brian Dunning]]'s DDT Skeptoid episode
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*[[Michael Fumento]]
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*[[Steve Milloy]]
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==See also==
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*[[Rachel Carson]]
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==External links==
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*[http://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/pest/pest1.html DDT: An Introduction], Duke University
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*[http://www.epa.gov/pbt/pubs/ddt.htm DDT profile], EPA
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*[http://membracid.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/ddt-and-attacks-on-rachel-carson-the-cliffsnote-version/ DDT and Attacks on Rachel Carson, Cliffs Notes version], Bug Girl
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*[http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/ddt/ Deltoid DDT category] and [http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2005/12/ddt-ban-myth-bingo.php DDT ban myth bingo]
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*[http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/tag/ddt/ Ed Darrell DDT category]
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*[http://www.storiesthatmatter.org/20090602105/natural-resources-news-service/bate-and-switch-how-a-free-market-magician-manipulated-two-decades-of-environmental-science.html Bate and Switch: How a Free Market Magician Manipulated Two Decades of Environmental Science], Stories That Matter
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==Footnotes==
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{{reflist}}
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[[category:chemistry]]
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[[category:biology]]
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[[Category:Environmentalism]]
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[[Category:Denialism]]
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Revision as of 02:20, 6 November 2011

This article is shit. Please read Wikipedia's article for a less shit view.

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