The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.
Zika is a real and present danger that destroys lives. So, the rational response would be to stop the spread of this disease by spraying and killing the mosquitos that carry this nasty disease. The pesticides being used for this purpose have all been tested by the EPA and found to be safe for use.
However, environmentalists, who have been raising false fears about “long-term impacts on human health,” are in no mood to compromise.
The fact is, it was exactly this kind of ideological antipathy to pesticides that has made us vulnerable to Zika in the first place. Environmentalists in the U.S. and Europe pushed worldwide bans on DDT because their mosquito problem had already been eliminated with DDT. Activists looked the other way as Latin America and Africa became a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The preservation of human life, both here and in Africa, must be our highest and only priority. We can’t allow ourselves to fall once more into the Disco Era trap of thinking otherwise.
Read full, original post: Learning from past mistakes in the fight against Zika
