DDT, Eggshells, and Me
Cracking open the facts on birds and banned pesticides
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Anderson notes that DDT and DDE levels in nature have been falling for decades. Populations of bald eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, and brown pelicans have all bounced back. In 1969, researchers reported finding total DDT accumulations ranging from 5,000 ppm to 2,600 ppm in the fat of North American peregrine falcons. Today, one would typically find 50 ppm in raptors, according to Anderson. Such body burdens would yield only about 2.5 ppm in eggs. Anderson notes that there appears to be a threshold of one to three ppm for DDE in eggs below which there is no eggshell thinning in even sensitive bird species. Dusting DDT on the walls of houses in developing countries to control for mosquitoes seems unlikely to cross that threshold for birds.
In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson asked, "Who has decided—who has the right to decide—for the countless legions of people who were not consulted that the supreme value is a world without insects, even though it be also a sterile world ungraced by the curving wing of a bird in flight? The decision is that of the authoritarian temporarily entrusted with power."
Banning DDT saved thousands of raptors over the past 30 years, but outright bans and misguided fears about the pesticide cost the lives of millions of people who died of insect-borne diseases like malaria. The 500 million people who come down with malaria every year might well wonder what authoritarian made that decision.
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thanksss
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Great article -- and yes balanced.
But remember, the reason DDT spraying in countries where malaria was so prevelant was NOT environmental. It was practical -- all synthetic pesticides - DDT amongst them -- (as well as some natural ones, such as pyrethrins) eventually cause the insect populations to build up resistence. They thus lose their effectiveness after constant use.
Some natural materials used do not cause this, since they do not operate chemically, instead relying on simple mechanical means. Clove, orange oil (and some of its distillates) etc. operate by a combination of suffocation/exoskelatal destruction. Unfortunatley, many of these essential oils also kill plants, and thus are harder to use in agriculture. Many individuals find their odors too strong -- and allergic symptoms can even result in some cases. They can also cause skin burns and eye irritation/damage.
Still, I prefer them myself. But there seems to be no perfect silver bullet!
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L Carroll|2.20.10 @ 4:45PM
Makes it an even huger crime to have banned it when they did huh! -
I doubt that Ronald Bailey even checks the comments section for a six-year-old article, but I was surprised to find this American Spectator story that is at odds with the above piece:
http://spectator.org/archives/.....nd-tragedyThat story directly contradicts the claim that DDT has been proven to thin eggshells with some compelling supporting data. I have to give the benefit of the doubt to Ron's integrity and research, although I'd love to get his take on the veracity of the Spectator story.
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This Spectator story doesn't contradict Mr. Bailey regarding egg shell thinning, and in fact doesn't even mention the Lincer's study on Raptors. The Spectator story is nothing but a retread of the old pro-DDT argument using poultry as evidence.
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>Lincer fed captive kestrels a DDE-laced
>diet and then compared their eggs with
>those taken from the nests of wild
>kestrels.Why would he do that? He should have had a control group and an experimental group, both captive kestrels. As represented here, this study doesn't prove anything about DDE any more that it proves something about captive vs. wild kestrels. It seems more likely that the wild diet would have a positive nutritional and therefore eggshell quality effect than DDE would have a negative one.
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This whole discussion is amazing to me, but in essence all boils down to little more than emotions with little, if any, true scientific proof that is not tainted by a desired outcome.
Very similar to the current day discussion of Global Warming, Global Climate Change or the label de juer. All these and other myths being promoted by politically tainted "scientists".
So let me get this right, we have sacrificed the lives of millions upon millions of human beings for the potential that DDT or DDE might have caused eggshell thinning of three raptors.
Who with a modicum of scientific purity can develop these conclusions?? Those that have caused the suffering and deaths of untold numbers of human beings. Can they really feel good about their "science" and the inhumane effect on their co-inhabitants of this earth.
While I love nature and all its beauties, to deny masses the use of safe pesticides that prevented their ultimate demise over the "potential" of this chemical having caused the problem is unconscienable at best.
But then the enviro-nazis are only concerned in one thing and that is taking the societies of the world back in history to pre-homosapien times.
Pretty amazing..........but I guess that approach will have one positive effect.........they too will be extinguished from being able to promote their "false" science to the detriment of humanity!!
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thank u man a lot's
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thank u
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Thanks
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Superb article. Thanks for injecting some balance into this debate.
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You lost me here. You showed that there is valid research that DDE actually causes egshell thinning in sensitive species. Where is the research that SHOWS that the amount of eggshell thinning caused by the likely amounts of DDE ingestion in the wild, eg. the amounts actually observed in wild populations, increases mortality of babies to a significant amount?!?!?!?!
We KNOW that poisoning and trapping caused significant drops in population. The drop in populations CANNOT be used as any kind of PROOF that eggshell thinning caused excess mortality to a damaging extent!!
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thanks
