Forty years after the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring there are still those that claim the impacts of DDT to be benign, and the devastating impacts this chemical had on bird populations to be "bogus". Troy Ettel Nashville, TN Letters from readers - The Greenville News Thursday, August 22, 2002 Environmentalists, not science, obstruct DDT As a legislator, I am accustomed to meeting lobbyists. These lobbyists represent all sorts of special interests. Pro-life, pro-abortion, highways, senior citizens, schools, teachers, superintendents, animal rights, drugs, DHEC, insurance, and gamblers just to mention a few. The alcohol and tobacco industries and their lobbyists are particularly strong. These products are responsible for millions of American deaths. Yet in South Carolina, these products continue to receive most favored product status. Not coincidentally, the products that cause the most harm are funded at the greatest levels. There may be at least one exception to that rule - "the mosquito lobby." I must admit that I have not met a member of that firm but they are incredibly powerful. You see, they became active about 30 years ago when they successfully lobbied to ban DDT. This was done under the pretense that DDT would harm people for which there is zero evidence after 30 more years of study. There was circumstantial evidence that bird eggs would be affected, but that proved to be bogus as well. DDT will eradicate mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria and the West Nile Virus. When DDT was banned, only 1 percent of the total was being used in this country for mosquito control. Isn't it time to reintroduce that 1 percent to our environment? The fragility of the environment is not the problem. The problem is the fragile brains of the radical left who continue to place a greater value on egg shells than they do on human life. Mike Fair Greenville Senator Michael L. Fair District 6 - Greenville Co. Contact Address: (H) P.O. Box 14632, Greenville, 29610 Bus. (864)246-4257 Home (864)246-4257 (C) 211 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29202 Bus. (803)212-6420 E-Mail Address: CP@xxxxxxxxxxxx =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================