Chapter 1006 The sound of drums at three o'clock in the morning
There are still different opinions on whether DDT is good or not.
Although DDT does have an impact on humans, one thing is undeniable: DDT is the world's best weapon for preventing and controlling insect-borne diseases! Let's just say that DDT has saved at least tens of millions of human lives.
What are the most terrifying diseases in human history? They are insect-borne diseases, that is, diseases spread by insects such as mosquitoes, lice, and fleas.
Take malaria, commonly known as "shake" in China. Li Yunlong in the film "Drawing Sword" nearly died from it. Before 1955, 40% of the world's population was afflicted, with 300 million patients and millions dying annually. In its worst year, 700 million people were infected and 7 million died! At that time, the disease was truly global, with almost all of the five continents, except Antarctica, terrified by the mere mention of malaria.
In 1955, the World Health Organization called on the world to use DDT to combat malaria. The results were remarkable. One set of statistics is quite alarming: before the introduction of DDT, Sri Lanka saw an additional 2.8 million malaria cases per year. After its introduction, what happened? By 1963, there were only 17 new cases! Similar results were achieved in countries across Africa, South America, and India.
Therefore, DDT is both effective and irreplaceable in combating insect-borne diseases. Even Rachel Carson, the "mother of environmentalism" who exposed the harmful effects of DDT, wrote in her book "Silent Spring": "My point is not that chemical pesticides are completely unusable. My point is that we are indiscriminately placing toxic and bioactive chemicals in the hands of the people, in large quantities, and without any understanding of their potential harm."
To put it bluntly, her opinion is to properly control these toxic chemicals so that they can achieve the best effect and cause the least harm.
However, the American was running for president at the time, and to secure his position, Nixon simply established the Environmental Protection Agency, whose original intention was to ban the use of DDT worldwide. Under their promotion, DDT was indeed achieved, and it became a demon in people's minds that only brought disaster.
However, with the ban on DDT, malaria quickly made a comeback around the world, especially in third world countries, including China at the time, which suffered heavy losses. Take Sri Lanka as an example: in the first year after they banned DDT, the number of malaria cases soared by 500,000! The situation in Africa is even worse. After South Africa banned DDT, the number of malaria cases in one province increased by more than 40,000! There are now more than 400 million malaria patients worldwide, and the annual death toll exceeds seven figures! More than 3,000 children and infants die from malaria every day! The vast majority of them are developing countries in tropical regions! The situation is especially serious in Africa! This is why foreigners coming to Africa must first get a malaria vaccine!
Scientists around the world began arguing: environmentalists demanded a complete ban on DDT, while disease control experts advocated its continued use. In 2006, the World Health Organization, responsible for health, recommitted its use for malaria prevention; while the World Environment Conference, held in Stockholm, outlined a plan to phase out DDT by 2020.
The reason why this happened is understandable. After all, those who pay attention to environmental protection are rich people, and only poor people worry about death from disease...
Pollution or survival? Definitely the latter! World Environmental Conference: You want to phase out DDT? Then come up with a replacement! If you don't have one, why are you talking nonsense? Since South Africa resumed using DDT in 2003, malaria deaths have dropped by 50% within a year! According to current WHO data, properly and promptly spraying DDT indoors can reduce malaria incidence by 90%! Between the cessation of DDT use in 1972 and its reintroduction by the WHO in 2006, at least 60 million people died from malaria! So, is DDT a good thing or a bad thing? That's a real debate.
To put it bluntly, chemicals aren't inherently good or bad. For a chemistry student, "chemistry is everywhere in life." A banana, while a natural food, is also made up of countless chemicals: maltose, glucose, starch, glutamic acid, leucine, stearic acid, riboflavin, ethyl hexanoate... Chemicals are simply combinations of various building blocks. The negative consequences of chemicals are often the result of human error. The blame can't be placed solely on DDT; it lies with the people who used it and how they used it.
But no matter what, what the Americans did is inhumane! They came to Africa to build chemical plants to make money, so they can make money, but can't they safely dispose of the waste? They just dumped piles of finished products and waste into the local people's mother river like that?
Africa is in no short supply of Western NGOs, more than half of which come under the guise of "environmental protection." They see only poaching and care only about protecting animals. Are they blind to this kind of environmental pollution? Or are they just pretending not to see it? Shouldn't the people here be protected? Do they deserve to die?
Why did Yubu and others go looking for DDT?
For them, DDT is really a good thing! The mosquitoes here are so numerous that they rely on DDT to repel them and prevent malaria. And...
Honestly, even for the Diole people, who rely on agriculture for their livelihood, their so-called "farming" means preparing the land, planting rice, and then waiting for the harvest for three months. As for the harvest, it all depends on the weather. A swarm of locusts is simply astonishing.
DDT's insect repellent power is truly undeniable. American farmers saw a 60% increase in yield after using DDT compared to before. The same is true here. With DDT, their harvests are undoubtedly much greater.
As for the potential health risks of DDT? Haha, what's the choice between starving yourself and dying of disease decades later? Just eat it!
While DDT is a cheap pesticide in other countries, it's a rare commodity in Africa! Since there's free DDT in the river, of course they should grab it right away. Besides, even if DDT is harmful, so what? Even if it pollutes the Casamance River, so what? Would they still be able to stop eating?
I have to say, sometimes 'ignorance' is indeed a kind of happiness.
Xiao Peng was so depressed that he didn't even eat dinner. It was a little strange, though. Since there was no electricity here, their entertainment every night was basically lighting a bonfire and singing and dancing, but tonight was surprisingly quiet.
Xiao Peng didn't care what they did. He called his grandfather to let him know he was safe and then went to bed early!
He didn't sleep for long. At three in the morning, he was woken up by the sound of drums outside the tent.
"Fuck, is this guy going to let people live?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
