WHAT ARE DEAD BLACKS TO GREEN WESTERNERS?:

An Invaluable Insecticide: DDT has come under fire from large corporations and environmentalists. But it is saving lives in Southern Africa. (Roger Bate, June 13, 2008, The American)

Uganda’s High Court recently ordered the health ministry to stop spraying the insecticide DDT in the northern part of the country. Until there is a final ruling on a lawsuit brought by nine companies (including those supplying British American Tobacco), no life-saving DDT can be sprayed. The companies allege that their exports of organic produce, including tobacco, might be harmed if they became contaminated with traces of DDT. Given that more than 300 Ugandan children die each day from malaria, delaying the indoor spraying of DDT will surely cost lives.

In part, the Court’s decision reflects environmentalist hostility to DDT, which has made many African officials unduly skittish about using the chemical. European governments have issued mixed messages, privately advising against DDT use and publicly saying they will boycott produce imports if traces of the chemical are too high. Only those governments and companies courageous and rich enough to ignore Western environmental pressure—notably those of Southern Africa—are using significant and useful amounts of DDT.

Rachel Carson might at least have been ignorant, but what's Al Gore's excuse.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 13, 2008 7:53 PM