Population Resource Environment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Population Resource Environment 2 - Essay Example ess effective in tropical regions rather than areas with high socioeconomic status and well-organized healthcare systems because of the continuous life cycle of the mosquitoes and poor infrastructure (Sadasivaiah, et.al., p.249-250). Eventually, though these mosquitoes developed and became resistant with the pesticide causing a decline in the effectivity of DDT (World Health Organization, p.4-5). The debate with the use of DDT started when its properties were discovered to adversely affect not only insects but also birds and humans. Because of this, further studies have been made to determine if there was a need to ban the use of DDT entirely. This paper would discuss why the use of this pesticide must be banned entirely because of its harmful and toxic effects in humans and other living things. This paper will show that it did not only adversely affect the environment during the time when DDT was sprayed but it also has long-standing effects in the environment. The most famous work that started to question the use of DDT was the book The Silent Spring. Rachel Carson, the author of the book, argued that DDT has an effect in the metabolism of birds, causing eggshell thinning and embryo death, and their reproductive system, causing decrease in their fertility (Carson, p.103-127; Sadasivaiah, p.251). Since DDT can be sprayed, its components can also be airborne causing birds to breathe it. The seeds from the plants that they eat may also have been affected by DDT because of soil erosion. Blown by the wind, DDT in the soil can travel and can be consumed by plants from other areas. Fishes have also become victims of DDT. When DDT enters the streams, the stream environment is altered because of the death of aquatic insects that serve as food for the fishes and the fishes’ reproductive and health is also affected because of living in contaminated waters (Carson, p.129-153). Studies have also established that women with breast cancer have an alarmingly high amount of