You all know what Hug Words are don't you?
No you don't because I just made it up.

Hug Words are words like Bambi, smokefree,
gaypride, Smokey the Bear, and any word that ends
in "challenged", and any word that includes the word "eco".
(Except Umberto Eco the Italian semantist, who should be kept away from all coherent words).

Antipodal to Hug Words are Poko Moko* words; words that by their mere vocalization brings forth fire and brimestone to the simple minds of the knee-jerk, jerk-water,** clowns who make up the vast minions of the Politically Correct.

And so now, good people, the Poko Moko word of the day is DDT.

DDT***

In Ceylon (now Ski Lanka), where 2.5 million cases of malaria were recorded annually in the 1950s, regular spraying of DDT led to just 31 cases in 1962. The world had never seen such a miraculous result.

Coincidently, 1962 also marked the publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", in which she described DDT as the "Elixir of death".

"Silent Spring" is dedicated to Albert Schweitzer who said " man has lost the capacity to forestall and will end up by destroying the Earth."

Carson's implication was that Albert Schweitzer was talking about DDT. She lied. Albert Schweitzer was a proponent of DDT. He had seen it control malaria and boost crop output,
he was talking about the advent of possible Nuclear War, not DDT.

Today in Africa many starve annually because of the wholesale ban on DDT. But they have no voice to complain.
Chants and slogans have banned DDT.

Neat story: Dr. J. Gordon Edwards of San Jose State University is recognized as a world expert on the toxicity of insecticides and is a vocal critic of DDT's opponents.
Before he retired he would often begin his lectures on DDT by eating a spoonful of it, and Doctor Edwards was still climbing mountains well into his eighties.

_____________________(END)__________________

Ok Class, can you think of any other Poko Moko words
that might be killing people?


* Poko Moko see
http://www.clown-ministry.com/History/abbott-costello/slowly-i-turned.html
** after water-jerk towns.
*** Taken from an excellent book
by Dr. Joe Scharcz - 2004
The Fly in the Ointment
70 Fascinating Commentaries
on the Science of Everyday Life

DDT might not be (as) toxic when ingested(vs. asperated)but its does accumulate in human fat tissue, and it can be found human breast milk.(what is the acceptable dose of DDT for a nursing infant?)

it does seem to be toxic to birds.

i never read silent spring, (i have read other articles about DDT).

Yes, i almost always agree human life should be valued higher than animal life.. but.. we humans are dependent on many animals, and i hope my granddaughter doesn't end living in a world stripe mine of its beauty, with only domesicated animals alive.

There are no more bears in queens--(a local history mentions the story of queens man traveling a scant mile from his home to his church, and encountering a bear on the way (circa 1654)) and i am very glad of it. but i would be sad if there were no bears anywhere in NYS. or US.

NYS has a greater percentage (and except for alaska, greater acreage) of park land than any other state in the union. NYS also has some of the highest taxes in the US.
I don't mindthe taxes too much. NYS parks are huge, and create complete, unbroken habitates. I like what my tax money buys.

as dicussed here, red hawk tails have 'learned' that city scapes can be "good" nesting places.. (cities are still learing to deal with this!)

some NYer's aren't thrilled with a hawk ripping apart a pidgeon or squirrel, and feeding in city parts,(its a bit too gory for them, and besides, they feed those same pidgeons and squirrels!)

i don't think i would enjoy eagles swooping down, and carrying off stray (or just out playing) dogs and cats..
i think eagles have a place in the world.. but i am rather glad i don't have to watch them eating.

Is there a way to have DDT and eagles? its not clear.

are there ways to control malaria besides DDT? yes.
i don't think we have to chose millions dead with malaria OR no eagles. (or other birds)

there are other choices.
There are plenty of people who chose developement over conservation. Low taxes (and relitively little protected lands and animal habitats.)

While Ms carson might have miss represented Schweitzer, i don't think her book was a total fabrication.
there is real evidence DDT is not good for birds.

You are so right of troy, DDT can accumalate in the fatty tissue of birds that eat insects that have been sprayed with DDT. But unlike you I have read Silent Spring and was very impressed with the artful prose and became an advocate of protecting our oceans and rivers from insecticides. For thirty years I believed in the evil of DDT. So did and so do others. But I find today that the facts don't support the contention. Thirty years before the the use of DDT became widespread the egg shells of birds were thining as is evidenced by the eggshells that have been examined in museums. Acid rain? Maybe. But we should know the truth before reacting like children and banning chemicals that can perhaps save the children of backward countries from starvation.

All chemicals can be considered toxic when overpresent in the human body. All I ask is for we the blessed to consider the unblessed when choosing our things to hate.

What is wrong with proofs?

Milo, where was this reasoned (and salient) tone in your first post? That one read like knee-jerkism to me. Fighting fire with fire?!

Gee, tsuwm, you think me a robot? For thirty years I, like a robot, followed the manifesto of Rachel Carson.
I read all three books. I danced her dance and beat her drum.
Now I find that her mantra was a false one. What now do I, flesh and blood I, say to those whose lives were made unhappy by my misguided and ignorant but arrogant beliefs?

Sorry, backward person, we've been wrong about DDT for two generations, but hey, today we think it cool to kill the bugs that make you sick, eat your crops, and kill your children.
Drop now the scales from your eyes, no more will we treat your people willy-nilly.
Sing praise, this time...we give you the truth.