It’s almost as interesting that these posts show up on the same day, as what they say.
Following on the heels of the impromptu Malaria/DDT carnival earlier in the week, take a look at these posts:
- From My Garden – A Kiwi Gardener’s Green Blog, a note that the bees have gone missing in New Zealand, too, and some conjecture on why.
- From :the flash advancer, an announcement of pending publication of a study showing links between pesticide exposure and neurological disease.
This new research shows that farmers who used agricultural insecticides experienced increased neurological symptoms, even when they were no longer using the products. Data from 18,782 North Carolina and Iowa farmers linked use of insecticides, including organophosphates and organochlorines, to reports of reoccurring headaches, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, hand tremors, numbness and other neurological symptoms. Some of the insecticides addressed by the study are still on the market, but some, including DDT, have been banned or restricted.
These findings will be available online in April, and published in the June issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The research is part of the ongoing Agricultural Health Study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, two of the National Institutes of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
- From Dear Thyroid, a meditation on continuing remission of thyroid cancer. The author wonders whether running through DDT sprays as a child contributed to the thyroid cancer. Interesting thought — thyroid cancers are almost common among downwind victims of the fallout from U.S. atmospheric atom bomb tests, but I am unaware of links to DDT. I’ve asked the author for more information.
- From Sociolingo’s Africa, the press release from Africa Fighting Malaria (AFM) complaining about European Union regulations of pesticides, claiming that such regulations make availability of pesticides difficult for malaria fighters in Africa. AFM is Roger Tren’s organization, Tren being one of the foremost frothers against Rachel Carson and rational restrictions on DDT use. The petition seems to make no sense, other than offering an opportunity for a press release against environmentalists. Again, I’ve asked the blogger for more details, if any.
Posted by Ed Darrell 
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 