Pesticide Debate

[Purrybonker]

A number of cities are, or are on the verge of banning pesticides/herbicides for use in residential/commercial landscaping.

Apparently components of these that are toxic to humans (as well as other innocent bystander species) are showing up in increasing concentrations in wrong places like mother's breast milk.

In one of our local (exceptionally right-wing) tabloids the "letter of the day" in the editorial section was this gem:

"I was happy to read Michael Platt's piece on, for lack of a better word, the expansion of pseudoscience in our country, and culture. ("Fear rules us," June 10.) As a chemistry and philosophy teacher, I have battled this same problem for years.

If we are being exposed to a seemingly ever-increasing amount of toxic chemicals, why does the average life expectancy of people continue to increase? Thank you again for Platt's contribution to saving us all from the insanity of irrationality. "

Depressing to note that teachers can be guilty of demonstrating such absurd thinking skills....

[joeclarke]

I think I'd be more disturbed that a main-stream paper could be guilty of publishing such an absurd letter.

That man is obviously out to lunch. Any idiot knows that our lifespans are on the increase because of our easy access to guns (protecting us from those bad men) and SUVs (keeping us safe when we bang into things) and because we have liberated the world of Saddam and his WMDs (keeping us safe from the forces of evil). And undoubtedly, GM foods have gone a long way to improving the nourishment of our diets.

I suspect that buring those rainforests is helping somehow too, but I haven't quite figured that one out yet...

But then, I'm not a man of science - so what do I know?

[RickM]

Apparently herbicides up the odds of bladder cancer in Scottish Terriers...... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=7469

[pwd72s]

I find it amusing, in a way...people who drive Porsches who also support the "greens" of this country. Until I retired, one of my "hats" was that of a state licensed pesticide consultant. If you ever want to have a "green" neighbor scream, complain of disease symptoms, and threaten to sue? Let her see you, wearing a backpack sprayer, going over your own lawn. Then present her with documented and notorized proof that your sprayer contained nothing but H20 on the day that supposedly "caused" her symptoms. Common table salt is more toxic than the majority of pesticides or herbicides used today...

[vash]

wait until west nile disease brings back DDT.

[dhoward]

Originally posted by vash
wait until west nile disease brings back DDT.

'bout time. Chlorodane too...

[Zeke]

I'd have to agree with Paul. However, I have very little knowledge on this subject, so that's a blind agreement. One thing that Paul may not be considering is the accumulation factor in densely populated areas.

And balance of nature. We may be living longer, but I seldom see any butterflys anymore.

I still agree with him, though.

[vash]

it is actually a vicious cycle. i dont see, bats, spiders, birds and stuff either. they eat alot of bugs, even the bad ones.

[Hugh R]

This is old news. I studied bioaccumulation as an undergraduate 25 years ago (Environmental Engineering degree). Do you remember Rachel Carsons book "Silent Spring". Pesticides have their place, but they get over used, used for the wrong reasons, and like most things because they're cheap and effective. Most people don't want to plant a micro-ecosystem in their yard where one plant (garlic for example) repels yellow jackets, and disperse ladybugs which eat lots of aphids. Ironically, the banning of DDT accounted for millions of people in third world countries dying from malaria. BTW, DDT is still manufactured and used in many countries.

[pwd72s]

The trend now is to allow only insecticides that biodegrade...rapidly break down after use. In some cases, the rules makers have gone too far, IMHO. Termite control, for example...when doing a subsoil application around a home foundation to kill and prevent termites? You betcher Donkey...most would want the chemical to be persistant and long lasting. Hugh has a point...there is a history of overuse and misuse.
But to remove these tools from humanity is a mistake...