[afro-nets] Science in Environmental Policy Making

[Dieter Neuvians MD <neuvians@mweb.co.za>]

Science in Environmental Policy Making
--------------------------------------
 
By Roger Bate
TESTIMONY
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (Washington)
Publication Date: September 28, 2005
 
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.23259,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
 
DDT is safe for human use and there has never been a peer-
reviewed replicated study showing any human harm from the 
chemical, even though billions have been exposed to it hundreds 
of millions in moderate to high doses. Its bioaccumulation and 
persistence in the environment have caused far less harm than is 
commonly believed. But small problems did occur when massive 
amounts were used in farming, and today, quite correctly, it is 
used solely in disease control where tiny amounts are used. But 
some environmental groups continue to conflate tiny vital use in 
disease control with massive and potentially dangerous use in 
agriculture. These groups have sustained pressure against its 
use for over three decades with disastrous results. Today, their 
mistaken rhetoric is repeated by aid agencies around the world.

--
Africa Fighting Malaria is a health advocacy group based in South 
Africa and the U.S. They monitor the activities of aid agencies and 
health groups in Africa, and in other parts of the world, and 
advise those interested in policies to combat malaria and other 
diseases.