Bring Back DDT

I read this very interesting and informative article about DDT.  I did not know it had been deployed during WWII or how important it proved to be.  When I was reading a lot about Theodore Roosevelt, I remember that thousands died of yellow fever and malaria during the construction of the Panama Canal.  After DDT was introduced, malaria deaths practically vanished.  The link has the details.  With the coming of the Zika virus, yet another ailment spread by mosquitos, wouldn't it be nice to just wipe out the mosquitos?  And though I still see commercials asking people to call a lawyer about asbestos exposure, I have never seen a similar add about DDT.  Why is that?

Obviously, this article is offering one side of the story and may be overlooking problems or not fairly expressing Rachel Carson's view.  She was concerned that overuse of pesticides would create immunity, in much the same way as antibiotics are creating superbugs.  Valid concern but we haven't stopped the use of antibiotics - and let people die - in order to prevent bacteria from developing such an immunity.  We have taken that path with pesticides to the detriment of millions who have died from malaria in the intervening decades.  I suspect there are many countries that would have preferred the long term costs of DDT use than the long term costs of mosquito-born illnesses.