Ka-che YIP (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622095878
- eISBN:
- 9789882206854
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622095878.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Studying malaria in modern East Asia in the context of the global history of the disease, this book fills an important gap in our understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and political ...
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Studying malaria in modern East Asia in the context of the global history of the disease, this book fills an important gap in our understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and political dimensions of the relationship between malaria and human society in a region which has often been neglected by historians of the disease. The authors examine the development and consequences of various anti-malaria strategies in Hong Kong, Okinawa, Taiwan, mainland China, and East Asia as a whole. The British and Japanese colonial models of disease control are explored, as is the later American technological model of DDT residue spraying, promoted by the Rockefeller Foundation which played a significant role in the global anti-malaria campaign and the development of public health in Asia. In the post- World War II period, the use of DDT and international political and economic interests helped to shape anti-malaria policies of the Nationalist government in Taiwan. In mainland China, the Beijing government's mass mobilization and primary health care model of anti-malaria control has given way to new strategies as recent changes in the health care system have affected anti-malaria efforts and public health developments. This book illuminates an important and largely unexplored dimension of the history of malaria: the interplay of the state (colonial or sovereign), international interests, new medical knowledge and technology, changing concepts of health and disease, as well as local society in the formulation and implementation of anti-malaria policies.Less
Studying malaria in modern East Asia in the context of the global history of the disease, this book fills an important gap in our understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and political dimensions of the relationship between malaria and human society in a region which has often been neglected by historians of the disease. The authors examine the development and consequences of various anti-malaria strategies in Hong Kong, Okinawa, Taiwan, mainland China, and East Asia as a whole. The British and Japanese colonial models of disease control are explored, as is the later American technological model of DDT residue spraying, promoted by the Rockefeller Foundation which played a significant role in the global anti-malaria campaign and the development of public health in Asia. In the post- World War II period, the use of DDT and international political and economic interests helped to shape anti-malaria policies of the Nationalist government in Taiwan. In mainland China, the Beijing government's mass mobilization and primary health care model of anti-malaria control has given way to new strategies as recent changes in the health care system have affected anti-malaria efforts and public health developments. This book illuminates an important and largely unexplored dimension of the history of malaria: the interplay of the state (colonial or sovereign), international interests, new medical knowledge and technology, changing concepts of health and disease, as well as local society in the formulation and implementation of anti-malaria policies.
Daniel Strickman, Stephen P. Frances, and Mustapha Debboun
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195365771
- eISBN:
- 9780199867677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365771.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Natural History and Field Guides
Many people are afraid of pesticides, but these chemicals can be used with safety and effectiveness to help control many kinds of biting and stinging pests. The use of insecticides has changed a ...
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Many people are afraid of pesticides, but these chemicals can be used with safety and effectiveness to help control many kinds of biting and stinging pests. The use of insecticides has changed a great deal during the last 60 years since the first introduction of DDT. Modern chemicals are much safer for the environment. Insecticides for use by the public in and near homes are generally the safest of the chemicals. It is important to follow all the precautions and directions on a product's label in order to avoid injury to the applicator and other people who might contact the insecticide.Less
Many people are afraid of pesticides, but these chemicals can be used with safety and effectiveness to help control many kinds of biting and stinging pests. The use of insecticides has changed a great deal during the last 60 years since the first introduction of DDT. Modern chemicals are much safer for the environment. Insecticides for use by the public in and near homes are generally the safest of the chemicals. It is important to follow all the precautions and directions on a product's label in order to avoid injury to the applicator and other people who might contact the insecticide.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.003.0009
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter examines neonicotinoids, synthesized compounds from nicotine and related insecticidal compounds. Agricultural usage of neonicitinoids exploded when the EPA cancelled the registrations of ...
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This chapter examines neonicotinoids, synthesized compounds from nicotine and related insecticidal compounds. Agricultural usage of neonicitinoids exploded when the EPA cancelled the registrations of many organophosphates. In 2013, neonicotinoids surpassed organophosphates as the most widely used insecticides in the world. Neonicotinoids provided agribusiness with alternatives, but ones that may contaminate ecosystems and threaten nontarget organisms, including bees and birds.Less
This chapter examines neonicotinoids, synthesized compounds from nicotine and related insecticidal compounds. Agricultural usage of neonicitinoids exploded when the EPA cancelled the registrations of many organophosphates. In 2013, neonicotinoids surpassed organophosphates as the most widely used insecticides in the world. Neonicotinoids provided agribusiness with alternatives, but ones that may contaminate ecosystems and threaten nontarget organisms, including bees and birds.
Paul Julian Weindling
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206910
- eISBN:
- 9780191677373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206910.003.0051
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Campaigns against insects in the east became entwined with preparations for biological warfare. The idea of unleashing disease pathogens to destroy Nazi Germany's enemies fascinated disinfection ...
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Campaigns against insects in the east became entwined with preparations for biological warfare. The idea of unleashing disease pathogens to destroy Nazi Germany's enemies fascinated disinfection experts, for it seemed to them that if a disease could be prevented, it should also be possible for epidemics to be deliberately spread. The fear that Germany's opponents were stockpiling arsenals of biological and chemical weapons spurred on offensive preparations. Consequently, disease control programmes became radicalized, shifting from containment and prevention to strategies for total eradication of pathogens and their carriers. Whereas the Germans clung to delousing by poison gas, the Allies adopted innovative DDT-based methods, and accelerated louse- and mosquito-control studies. Ironically, Germany's development of biological warfare remained stunted. Leading figures in biological warfare profoundly disagreed over theoretical approaches to epidemiology. As the German sanitary measures became more draconian, they accelerated genocide.Less
Campaigns against insects in the east became entwined with preparations for biological warfare. The idea of unleashing disease pathogens to destroy Nazi Germany's enemies fascinated disinfection experts, for it seemed to them that if a disease could be prevented, it should also be possible for epidemics to be deliberately spread. The fear that Germany's opponents were stockpiling arsenals of biological and chemical weapons spurred on offensive preparations. Consequently, disease control programmes became radicalized, shifting from containment and prevention to strategies for total eradication of pathogens and their carriers. Whereas the Germans clung to delousing by poison gas, the Allies adopted innovative DDT-based methods, and accelerated louse- and mosquito-control studies. Ironically, Germany's development of biological warfare remained stunted. Leading figures in biological warfare profoundly disagreed over theoretical approaches to epidemiology. As the German sanitary measures became more draconian, they accelerated genocide.
Paul Julian Weindling
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206910
- eISBN:
- 9780191677373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206910.003.0052
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Before World War II ended, allied medical experts devised stringent measures to prevent a massive ‘blow up’ of epidemic typhus in Germany. The United States of America Typhus Commission (USATC) ...
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Before World War II ended, allied medical experts devised stringent measures to prevent a massive ‘blow up’ of epidemic typhus in Germany. The United States of America Typhus Commission (USATC) conducted chemotherapeutic and clinical trials in US-liberated camps. While the typhus problem was most acute in the liberated camps, it also shaped responses to ‘displaced persons’ (DPs), who were suspect as potentially criminal, disorderly, and diseased, and so required detention, and sanitary processing by delousing and DDT dusting. When epidemic hazards declined, the possibility of migration loomed once again. The medical techniques of disinfestation, fumigation, and disinfection which were devised to facilitate safe migration were unleashed by the Nazis for genocide. With the end of the war a new climate of compassion slowly dawned. The defeat of Nazism meant the demise of typhus. The fear of an epidemic recrudesence in 1945 meant that the Americans wished to maintain the Behringwerke as a functioning entity. The Nuremberg Trials were carried out to prosecute war criminals from Nazi Germany.Less
Before World War II ended, allied medical experts devised stringent measures to prevent a massive ‘blow up’ of epidemic typhus in Germany. The United States of America Typhus Commission (USATC) conducted chemotherapeutic and clinical trials in US-liberated camps. While the typhus problem was most acute in the liberated camps, it also shaped responses to ‘displaced persons’ (DPs), who were suspect as potentially criminal, disorderly, and diseased, and so required detention, and sanitary processing by delousing and DDT dusting. When epidemic hazards declined, the possibility of migration loomed once again. The medical techniques of disinfestation, fumigation, and disinfection which were devised to facilitate safe migration were unleashed by the Nazis for genocide. With the end of the war a new climate of compassion slowly dawned. The defeat of Nazism meant the demise of typhus. The fear of an epidemic recrudesence in 1945 meant that the Americans wished to maintain the Behringwerke as a functioning entity. The Nuremberg Trials were carried out to prosecute war criminals from Nazi Germany.
Marita Santos, Janice Lewis, and Janet Scully
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199892761
- eISBN:
- 9780199301515
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199892761.003.0022
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
In the late 1990’s the US Environmental Protection Agency designated the Palos Verdes Shelf off the coast of Los Angeles County as a superfund site due to heavy contamination with DDT ...
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In the late 1990’s the US Environmental Protection Agency designated the Palos Verdes Shelf off the coast of Los Angeles County as a superfund site due to heavy contamination with DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichlorothane) and PBEs (polychlorinated biphenyls). In the same time period, locally sold fish, specifically white croaker, were found to be contaminated with levels of DDT and PBE that exceeded the US Food & Drug Administration levels. Consumption of contaminated fish posed a public health threat. In conjunction with federal and state partners, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department engaged on a three-prong institutional controls program: public education and outreach; increased enforcement of commercial and recreational fishing restrictions; and monitoring markets and ocean fish quality. This chapter describes the events leading to the local public health response, the strategies to reduce health risks and quantifies the impacts of the activities implemented in Los Angeles County.Less
In the late 1990’s the US Environmental Protection Agency designated the Palos Verdes Shelf off the coast of Los Angeles County as a superfund site due to heavy contamination with DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichlorothane) and PBEs (polychlorinated biphenyls). In the same time period, locally sold fish, specifically white croaker, were found to be contaminated with levels of DDT and PBE that exceeded the US Food & Drug Administration levels. Consumption of contaminated fish posed a public health threat. In conjunction with federal and state partners, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department engaged on a three-prong institutional controls program: public education and outreach; increased enforcement of commercial and recreational fishing restrictions; and monitoring markets and ocean fish quality. This chapter describes the events leading to the local public health response, the strategies to reduce health risks and quantifies the impacts of the activities implemented in Los Angeles County.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
Rachel Carson's eloquent book Silent Spring stands as one of the most important books of the twentieth century and inspired important and long-lasting changes in environmental science and government ...
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Rachel Carson's eloquent book Silent Spring stands as one of the most important books of the twentieth century and inspired important and long-lasting changes in environmental science and government policy. This text sets Carson's study in the context of the twentieth century, reconsiders her achievement, and analyzes its legacy in light of toxic chemical use and regulation today. The book examines the history of pesticide development alongside the evolution of the science of toxicology and tracks legislation governing exposure to chemicals across the twentieth century. It affirms the brilliance of Carson's careful scientific interpretations drawing on data from university and government toxicologists. Although Silent Spring instigated legislation that successfully terminated DDT use, other warnings were ignored. Ironically, we replaced one poison with even more toxic ones. The book concludes that we urgently need new thinking about how we evaluate and regulate pesticides in accounting for their ecological and human toll.Less
Rachel Carson's eloquent book Silent Spring stands as one of the most important books of the twentieth century and inspired important and long-lasting changes in environmental science and government policy. This text sets Carson's study in the context of the twentieth century, reconsiders her achievement, and analyzes its legacy in light of toxic chemical use and regulation today. The book examines the history of pesticide development alongside the evolution of the science of toxicology and tracks legislation governing exposure to chemicals across the twentieth century. It affirms the brilliance of Carson's careful scientific interpretations drawing on data from university and government toxicologists. Although Silent Spring instigated legislation that successfully terminated DDT use, other warnings were ignored. Ironically, we replaced one poison with even more toxic ones. The book concludes that we urgently need new thinking about how we evaluate and regulate pesticides in accounting for their ecological and human toll.
Adam Tompkins
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801456688
- eISBN:
- 9781501704215
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801456688.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Occupations, Professions, and Work
This chapter examines the budding movement for pesticide reform during the period 1962–1972. It begins with a discussion of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring, which introduced the public to the ...
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This chapter examines the budding movement for pesticide reform during the period 1962–1972. It begins with a discussion of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring, which introduced the public to the adverse effects of pesticides by addressing the unexplainable sicknesses and death that plagued people and livestock living in a fictional town. It then considers how concerned scientists disseminated information about the ill effects of pesticides directly and indirectly to the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee and environmental organizations. It also discusses the growing concern of both environmentalists and farmworker groups about pesticides, particularly DDT, as well as their development of fairly different strategies in their attempts to make change. The chapter argues that the differences in strategies limited but did not preclude opportunities for collaboration between farmworkers and the environmental movement, especially in mounting legal challenges. Their efforts paid off when in June 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an order to ban nearly all uses of DDT in the six months following.Less
This chapter examines the budding movement for pesticide reform during the period 1962–1972. It begins with a discussion of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring, which introduced the public to the adverse effects of pesticides by addressing the unexplainable sicknesses and death that plagued people and livestock living in a fictional town. It then considers how concerned scientists disseminated information about the ill effects of pesticides directly and indirectly to the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee and environmental organizations. It also discusses the growing concern of both environmentalists and farmworker groups about pesticides, particularly DDT, as well as their development of fairly different strategies in their attempts to make change. The chapter argues that the differences in strategies limited but did not preclude opportunities for collaboration between farmworkers and the environmental movement, especially in mounting legal challenges. Their efforts paid off when in June 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an order to ban nearly all uses of DDT in the six months following.
David Kinkela
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199755356
- eISBN:
- 9780199345090
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755356.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter examines the history of the chemical pesticide DDT after the United States banned its use in 1972. It explores how U.S. policy makers, environmental activists, and chemical corporations ...
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This chapter examines the history of the chemical pesticide DDT after the United States banned its use in 1972. It explores how U.S. policy makers, environmental activists, and chemical corporations shaped federal pesticide regulation throughout the 1970s. During this period, the global marketplace for DDT and other chemical pesticides exploded, as domestic and foreign chemical corporations marketed their products around the world. The dramatic increase of pesticide consumption worldwide called into question the limits of state power. This chapter considers the regulatory limits of the nation-state and its impact on the global environment by situating the history of U.S. pesticide regulation in an international context.Less
This chapter examines the history of the chemical pesticide DDT after the United States banned its use in 1972. It explores how U.S. policy makers, environmental activists, and chemical corporations shaped federal pesticide regulation throughout the 1970s. During this period, the global marketplace for DDT and other chemical pesticides exploded, as domestic and foreign chemical corporations marketed their products around the world. The dramatic increase of pesticide consumption worldwide called into question the limits of state power. This chapter considers the regulatory limits of the nation-state and its impact on the global environment by situating the history of U.S. pesticide regulation in an international context.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter describes how toxicology emerged with the rise of public health crises in Chicago. With the industrialization of meat production in Chicago and the rise of novel technologies in ...
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This chapter describes how toxicology emerged with the rise of public health crises in Chicago. With the industrialization of meat production in Chicago and the rise of novel technologies in agriculture to combat the threat of insect invasion, many safeguards fell by the wayside. Americans found their health and welfare compromised by pesticides and adulterated drugs. By the 1930s, the president called on Congress to revisit food and drug legislation and forge a law with greater power to protect Americans. After the Elixir Sulfanilamide tragedy, in which 93 individuals died after ingesting a contaminated drug, legislators passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. During and after World War II, the Division of Pharmacology at the FDA applied the new techniques of toxicology to DDT, a new insecticide introduced for the control of insect-borne disease.Less
This chapter describes how toxicology emerged with the rise of public health crises in Chicago. With the industrialization of meat production in Chicago and the rise of novel technologies in agriculture to combat the threat of insect invasion, many safeguards fell by the wayside. Americans found their health and welfare compromised by pesticides and adulterated drugs. By the 1930s, the president called on Congress to revisit food and drug legislation and forge a law with greater power to protect Americans. After the Elixir Sulfanilamide tragedy, in which 93 individuals died after ingesting a contaminated drug, legislators passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. During and after World War II, the Division of Pharmacology at the FDA applied the new techniques of toxicology to DDT, a new insecticide introduced for the control of insect-borne disease.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.003.0002
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter examines the different harmful effects of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) to different species in the environment. At the beginning of World War II, economic entomologists ...
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This chapter examines the different harmful effects of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) to different species in the environment. At the beginning of World War II, economic entomologists appreciated DDT for its high toxicity against a wide range of insect pests. Due to its effectiveness, scientists also explored its effects to plants, animals, and even humans. They conducted extensive pharmacologic studies on laboratory animals, including rats, rabbits, chicks, mice, guinea pigs, dogs, and monkeys. The results suggested the potential risks DDT posed to humans. All of these DDT studies contributed in some degree to the study of toxicology. DDT broadened the scope of toxicology by instigating wildlife studies, which became part of toxicological evaluation.Less
This chapter examines the different harmful effects of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) to different species in the environment. At the beginning of World War II, economic entomologists appreciated DDT for its high toxicity against a wide range of insect pests. Due to its effectiveness, scientists also explored its effects to plants, animals, and even humans. They conducted extensive pharmacologic studies on laboratory animals, including rats, rabbits, chicks, mice, guinea pigs, dogs, and monkeys. The results suggested the potential risks DDT posed to humans. All of these DDT studies contributed in some degree to the study of toxicology. DDT broadened the scope of toxicology by instigating wildlife studies, which became part of toxicological evaluation.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.003.0005
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter examines the different risks associated with exposures to pesticides and analyzes hearings held by legislators to determine the implications of pesticides for public health. Throughout ...
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This chapter examines the different risks associated with exposures to pesticides and analyzes hearings held by legislators to determine the implications of pesticides for public health. Throughout these hearings, the DDT and its potential toxicity to humans was frequently cited in testimony. Due to uncertainty about pesticides, Congress revised existing legislation to address possible risks. The Miller Amendment restricted food residues and empowered the FDA to establish tolerances for foodstuffs. Congress also approved the Delaney Clause, forcing the FDA to set the tolerance for any carcinogenic food additive to zero.Less
This chapter examines the different risks associated with exposures to pesticides and analyzes hearings held by legislators to determine the implications of pesticides for public health. Throughout these hearings, the DDT and its potential toxicity to humans was frequently cited in testimony. Due to uncertainty about pesticides, Congress revised existing legislation to address possible risks. The Miller Amendment restricted food residues and empowered the FDA to establish tolerances for foodstuffs. Congress also approved the Delaney Clause, forcing the FDA to set the tolerance for any carcinogenic food additive to zero.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.003.0006
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter discusses Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a bestseller which alerted Americans to the hazards of insecticides. Carson's prose revealed hazards found with the indiscriminate use of DDT and ...
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This chapter discusses Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a bestseller which alerted Americans to the hazards of insecticides. Carson's prose revealed hazards found with the indiscriminate use of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons. With the exception of malathion, organophosphates posed greater risks to humans and wildlife. However, organophosphates had one notable advantage over DDT and the chlorinated hydrocarbons: organophosphates broke down into relatively harmless components over the course of weeks or even days, whereas chlorinated hydrocarbons accumulated in ecosystems and the bodies of wildlife and humans. In general, Silent Spring painted a sharp picture of toxicological risk in layman's terms.Less
This chapter discusses Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a bestseller which alerted Americans to the hazards of insecticides. Carson's prose revealed hazards found with the indiscriminate use of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons. With the exception of malathion, organophosphates posed greater risks to humans and wildlife. However, organophosphates had one notable advantage over DDT and the chlorinated hydrocarbons: organophosphates broke down into relatively harmless components over the course of weeks or even days, whereas chlorinated hydrocarbons accumulated in ecosystems and the bodies of wildlife and humans. In general, Silent Spring painted a sharp picture of toxicological risk in layman's terms.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205176
- eISBN:
- 9780300210378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205176.003.0007
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter discusses the use of different pesticides after the banning of DDT in 1972. Based on the message from Silent Spring, many Americans considered DDT as the most harmful insecticide due to ...
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This chapter discusses the use of different pesticides after the banning of DDT in 1972. Based on the message from Silent Spring, many Americans considered DDT as the most harmful insecticide due to its effects on wildlife, particularly birds. American legislators became concerned about environmental cancer. When DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons underwent scrutiny, farmers turned to alternatives such as toxaphene and organophosphates. By 1976, organophosphates dominated insecticides in agricultural use. The passage of the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996 and the review of organophosphates in 2006 ultimately led to the removal of organophosphates the market.Less
This chapter discusses the use of different pesticides after the banning of DDT in 1972. Based on the message from Silent Spring, many Americans considered DDT as the most harmful insecticide due to its effects on wildlife, particularly birds. American legislators became concerned about environmental cancer. When DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons underwent scrutiny, farmers turned to alternatives such as toxaphene and organophosphates. By 1976, organophosphates dominated insecticides in agricultural use. The passage of the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996 and the review of organophosphates in 2006 ultimately led to the removal of organophosphates the market.
Frank M. Snowden
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108996
- eISBN:
- 9780300128437
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108996.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses a new stage in the world history of malaria began in the midst of the emergency that had engulfed the Pontine Marshes. In June 1945, Alberto Missiroli announced in a speech to ...
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This chapter discusses a new stage in the world history of malaria began in the midst of the emergency that had engulfed the Pontine Marshes. In June 1945, Alberto Missiroli announced in a speech to the Provincial Antimalarial Committee (CPA), over which he presided, the availability of the new and magic weapon of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). It was so powerful that he predicted to a dubious audience that within five years malaria would be vanquished both locally in Littoria and throughout Italy. In this unexpected declaration, Missiroli had proclaimed the beginning of a new era in malariology that was to last for a generation. It was characterized by American dominance, euphoric optimism, and reliance on DDT to slay the hydra of malaria.Less
This chapter discusses a new stage in the world history of malaria began in the midst of the emergency that had engulfed the Pontine Marshes. In June 1945, Alberto Missiroli announced in a speech to the Provincial Antimalarial Committee (CPA), over which he presided, the availability of the new and magic weapon of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). It was so powerful that he predicted to a dubious audience that within five years malaria would be vanquished both locally in Littoria and throughout Italy. In this unexpected declaration, Missiroli had proclaimed the beginning of a new era in malariology that was to last for a generation. It was characterized by American dominance, euphoric optimism, and reliance on DDT to slay the hydra of malaria.
Marla Cone
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231159319
- eISBN:
- 9780231500586
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231159319.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This essay reviews the book Silent Spring (1962), by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring alerted readers to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides and other toxic ...
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This essay reviews the book Silent Spring (1962), by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring alerted readers to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides and other toxic pollutants, spurring revolutionary changes in U.S. laws affecting our air, land, and water. What Carson called the “chain of evil”—the buildup of chemicals in our environment—continues unbroken to this day. And even though the political firestorm Silent Spring stirred up forty-three years ago burns with just as much intensity today, most of Carson's science remains sound and her warnings prescient. If we take a mental snapshot of what we know now about the dangers of chemical exposure, the questions still outnumber the answers. Yet one thing remains as certain as it was in 1962: we are leaving a toxic trail that will outlive us. Carson described in great scientific detail the dangers of DDT and its sister chlorinated chemicals, and her writings transformed how people felt about pesticides.Less
This essay reviews the book Silent Spring (1962), by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring alerted readers to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides and other toxic pollutants, spurring revolutionary changes in U.S. laws affecting our air, land, and water. What Carson called the “chain of evil”—the buildup of chemicals in our environment—continues unbroken to this day. And even though the political firestorm Silent Spring stirred up forty-three years ago burns with just as much intensity today, most of Carson's science remains sound and her warnings prescient. If we take a mental snapshot of what we know now about the dangers of chemical exposure, the questions still outnumber the answers. Yet one thing remains as certain as it was in 1962: we are leaving a toxic trail that will outlive us. Carson described in great scientific detail the dangers of DDT and its sister chlorinated chemicals, and her writings transformed how people felt about pesticides.
D. Clayton Brown
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604737981
- eISBN:
- 9781604737998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604737981.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter describes the struggle against boll weevils. The Mexican boll weevil (A. grandis) became the most dreaded insect pest of the South, with its capacity to wipe out entire fields of cotton. ...
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This chapter describes the struggle against boll weevils. The Mexican boll weevil (A. grandis) became the most dreaded insect pest of the South, with its capacity to wipe out entire fields of cotton. In 1923 President Warren G. Harding urged the cotton-growing states to “unite with the national government in the war on the boll weevil.” Triumph over the boll weevil finally came through the efforts of agricultural entomologists, the NNC, along with dependable government support. The struggle lasted about a century, with the real progress beginning around 1945, when a new era of insect control began with the introduction of DDT, benzene hexachloride (BHC), and toxaphene.Less
This chapter describes the struggle against boll weevils. The Mexican boll weevil (A. grandis) became the most dreaded insect pest of the South, with its capacity to wipe out entire fields of cotton. In 1923 President Warren G. Harding urged the cotton-growing states to “unite with the national government in the war on the boll weevil.” Triumph over the boll weevil finally came through the efforts of agricultural entomologists, the NNC, along with dependable government support. The struggle lasted about a century, with the real progress beginning around 1945, when a new era of insect control began with the introduction of DDT, benzene hexachloride (BHC), and toxaphene.
Peter A. Kopp
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520277472
- eISBN:
- 9780520965058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520277472.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The botanical disease downy mildew destroyed Willamette Valley hop acreage, leaving only dozens of farming families tending the crop by the midcentury compared to the hundreds earlier. Their worries ...
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The botanical disease downy mildew destroyed Willamette Valley hop acreage, leaving only dozens of farming families tending the crop by the midcentury compared to the hundreds earlier. Their worries did not end with disease, though. Growers during that period feared their prospects because large brewing companies used increasingly fewer hops in their beers, initially to meet post-Prohibition mandates and then the bland tastes of the 1950s and 1960s. In hindsight, the hop growers need not have worried. Even though American beers were less flavorful and hoppy, successful marketing by the big beer companies led to a major expansion in beer production and sale. During this era, big beer also supported Willamette Valley hop growers. Famers persevered because of these connections and because the growers also adopted industrial farming methods of the early Cold War. Yet, the fruit of their labor became less visible to American consumers.Less
The botanical disease downy mildew destroyed Willamette Valley hop acreage, leaving only dozens of farming families tending the crop by the midcentury compared to the hundreds earlier. Their worries did not end with disease, though. Growers during that period feared their prospects because large brewing companies used increasingly fewer hops in their beers, initially to meet post-Prohibition mandates and then the bland tastes of the 1950s and 1960s. In hindsight, the hop growers need not have worried. Even though American beers were less flavorful and hoppy, successful marketing by the big beer companies led to a major expansion in beer production and sale. During this era, big beer also supported Willamette Valley hop growers. Famers persevered because of these connections and because the growers also adopted industrial farming methods of the early Cold War. Yet, the fruit of their labor became less visible to American consumers.
Finis Dunaway
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226169903
- eISBN:
- 9780226169934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226169934.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
This chapter presents three sets of images as together constituting a prehistory of environmental icons: advertisements against nuclear testing produced by SANE (the National Committee for a Sane ...
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This chapter presents three sets of images as together constituting a prehistory of environmental icons: advertisements against nuclear testing produced by SANE (the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy); the Daisy Girl and other TV commercials produced for the 1964 Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential campaign; and pesticide imagery that followed publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) and culminated with the 1972 federal ban on DDT. These images depicted the temporality of the environmental crisis by portraying the long-term risks of radioactive fallout and pesticides to the environment and the human body. This chapter explains how popular images challenged the Cold War emotional style by picturing innocent children as the prime victims of environmental danger. From SANE ads to the DDT ban, images helped popularize notions of the ecological body by explaining the ways that Strontium-90 and pesticides could enter the food chain and thereby threaten fragile ecosystems and human health.Less
This chapter presents three sets of images as together constituting a prehistory of environmental icons: advertisements against nuclear testing produced by SANE (the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy); the Daisy Girl and other TV commercials produced for the 1964 Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential campaign; and pesticide imagery that followed publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) and culminated with the 1972 federal ban on DDT. These images depicted the temporality of the environmental crisis by portraying the long-term risks of radioactive fallout and pesticides to the environment and the human body. This chapter explains how popular images challenged the Cold War emotional style by picturing innocent children as the prime victims of environmental danger. From SANE ads to the DDT ban, images helped popularize notions of the ecological body by explaining the ways that Strontium-90 and pesticides could enter the food chain and thereby threaten fragile ecosystems and human health.
Thomas Jundt
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199791200
- eISBN:
- 9780199378562
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199791200.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century, Cultural History
In the late 1950s a government aerial spraying program to stop the spread of the forest-devouring gypsy moth in the Northeast raised public concerns about DDT’s effect on the environment and humans. ...
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In the late 1950s a government aerial spraying program to stop the spread of the forest-devouring gypsy moth in the Northeast raised public concerns about DDT’s effect on the environment and humans. Less than a year later, a second controversial massive spraying program in nine Southern states against the “imported fire ant” raised similar concerns. In November 1959, the Food and Drug Administration furthered anxieties about chemical contamination when it revealed that cranberries might not be safe to eat due to contamination by a weed killer called aminotriazole that had been shown to cause thyroid cancer. The next month the FDA announced a halt to the production and sale of chickens treated with the synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol because it caused cancer. The restrictions were the FDA’s first enforcements of the “Delaney Clause” to the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, which forbade food additives found to cause cancer.Less
In the late 1950s a government aerial spraying program to stop the spread of the forest-devouring gypsy moth in the Northeast raised public concerns about DDT’s effect on the environment and humans. Less than a year later, a second controversial massive spraying program in nine Southern states against the “imported fire ant” raised similar concerns. In November 1959, the Food and Drug Administration furthered anxieties about chemical contamination when it revealed that cranberries might not be safe to eat due to contamination by a weed killer called aminotriazole that had been shown to cause thyroid cancer. The next month the FDA announced a halt to the production and sale of chickens treated with the synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol because it caused cancer. The restrictions were the FDA’s first enforcements of the “Delaney Clause” to the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, which forbade food additives found to cause cancer.
