The bottom line is people are dying in large numbers, and have been for a very long time, because of concerns about things OTHER than people dying. Finally, somebody cares about the humans...

Why can't you admit that one, malaria, is much, much worse than the alternatives, that haven't even been proven to be large problems?

I am for looking for alternatives, but the fact is that DDT is the best way to save lives. If that's what you care about.

Or do most people here just care about PC policies?

If I was dying of malaria in the Sahara, I'd tell you where you could shove your Scirus USGS crap.

AS an aside, we've had several deaths this year from West Nile in North Texas. They are starting to spray nieghborhoods. Think about it. Several DEATHS.

While I want the least toxic method for irradicating mosquitos used, it still has to WORK.

I think people who like to complicate things usually have an agenda.

Or, they simply can't comprehend straight fact and simple choices. Things just HAVE to be more complicated. This is usually the case of most liberal thinkers. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar...

As reported, perhaps there will be some linkage to cancer. So far, none PROVEN.

1-1.5 MILLION A YEAR. Proven. What is wrong with your ability to realize the ORDER OF MAGNITUDE difference between DDT problems and Malaria Deaths?

Explain, in any terms, scientific or other, how many people die of DDT use. But give a hard number. And back it up.

VgKg, the wide range spraying of BT could cause the eradication of huge amount of "insects" that have a catepillar stage. The effect of a rational DDT based program would cause less damage. Tom
Tom

Some commercially available Bt varieties and target pests:

Bacillus thuringiensis

var. tenebrionis - Colorado potato beetle and elm leaf beetle larvae

var. kurstaki - caterpillars

var. israelensis - mosquito, black fly, and fungus gnat larvae

var. aizawai - wax moth larvae and various caterpillars, especially the diamondback moth caterpillar

those lists aren't meant to be exhaustive, they only describe which insects they control effectively. It says nothing about which, if any, non-target insects the bacteria might affect.

Ryan

No, I am saying that the information provided in this thread thus far is insufficient to make an informed decision about which method is superior. I am equally suspicious of the environmental movement and the better living through chemistry crowd, particularly where tax dollars are at stake.

Ryan

IF YOU were to look at the big picture you would see how it is all related. You claim to care about children in africa and yet deny the underlying causes that are creating these situations and that is the type of attitude that allows these things to continue on. So how much do you really care? sorry but you are part of the problem for these people, you just dont seem to realise it.

Not UNPROVEN global warming.

To prove global warming, just record temps. That's all. Compare to 20 years ago. Then, look at the historical record. Is it really outrageously warm? As compared to 1000 years ago? 2 thousand? How about 4 thousand? IF the world is being so adversely impacted by men, then do comparisons.

AS I understand it, the 1400s were warmer. So were other periods in recent history. And, there is a clear pattern of warming and cooling over the centuries and millennia.

Don't get me wrong. Reasonable responses to real problems are fine. Most of what gets proposed is radical, not reasonable.

great idea, except it's already been done. temperature data has been collected going back 600 000 years, scientists have been collecting this data since the 50s from ice core samples, and the temperature variations and co2 levels ARE outrageously different. why do you think this whole issue came up? no one decided to invent global warming as a theory, it was observed out of the data that was being collected. while you can sit back thinking air temperatures are just a little weird, or there are still snowflakes falling so its all a load of garbage, ocean temperatures ARE rising and that is one of the pivotal things about global warming and how it changes climate, and climates around the world are changing already because of it. If you think this whole thing is unproven, then you dont know the facts

There are SO many problems in Africa, it seems freakish that you focus on one that is bad for the environment as being the most important to implement.

If you love life so much, what groups have you been supporting to help the people in Africa? I give money to Habitat for Humanity International, and Women for Women International, which helps women in devasted war torn regions support themselves and their families so they don't starve or lead miserable lives. Also the Carter Center, which works for peace, free elections, and against many diseases like river blindness and distributes mosquito nets (for sleeping) on a mass scale. Doctors without Borders, providing basic medical care for the poor and distressed in many parts of the globe. Also Amnesty International and International Planned Parenthood. They both save people's lives, too. I am also learning about a great group called Water First, which helps drill and repair wells in Africa, so that people have clean drinking water, which prevents a lot of deadly disease.

Are you against the death penalty, and anti-war? I do anti-war stuff from time to time. I am sure war kills more people than malaria, why don't you do something about that? There are so many good causes out there, as an environmentalist I admit I find it hard to get behind DDT. If you want to throw yourself into it, be my guest, but don't expect me to make it a priority. Too many causes, too little time and money. I do what I can, and I think it is more than most people do.

Marcia

What I wonder about is how much the poorer areas in Africa in particular lead to contamiation of waters, streets, excess germs, blahblahblah... Well, all I'm saying (as one of a larely ignorant mass, here) is that perhaps another good step might be to simply try to clean up the area a little so there's less to spread. Yeah, right, I know, much easier said then done... *Ponders*