Praised for its ability to kill insects effectively and cheaply and reviled as an ecological hazard, DDT continues to engender passion across the political spectrum as one of the world's most controversial chemical pesticides. In DDT and the American Century, David Kinkela chronicles the use of DDT around the world from 1941 to the present with a particular focus on the United States, which has played a critical role in encouraging the global use of the pesticide. Kinkela's study offers a unique approach to understanding both this contentious chemical and modern environmentalism in an international context.

This sweeping history reveals how the use of chemicals has saved lives, destroyed species, and radically changed our planet: “Remarkable . . . highly recommended.” —Choice In The Chemical Age, ecologist Frank A. von Hippel explores humanity’s long and uneasy coexistence with pests, and how the battles to exterminate them have shaped our modern world. He also tells the captivating story of the scientists who waged war on famine and disease with chemistry. Beginning with the potato blight tragedy of the 1840s, which led scientists on an urgent mission to prevent famine using pesticides, von Hippel traces the history of pesticide use to the 1960s, when Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring revealed that those same chemicals were insidiously damaging our health and driving species toward extinction. Telling the story in vivid detail, von Hippel showcases the thrills—and complex consequences—of scientific discovery. He describes the creation of chemicals used to kill pests—and people. And, finally, he shows how scientists turned those wartime chemicals on the landscape at a massive scale, prompting the vital environmental movement that continues today.

The essential, cornerstone book of modern environmentalism is now offered in a handsome 40th anniversary edition which features a new Introduction by activist Terry Tempest Williams and a new Afterword by Carson biographer Linda Lear.

Many of the pesticides applied to food crops in this country are present in foods and may pose risks to human health. Current regulations are intended to protect the health of the general population by controlling pesticide use. This book explores whether the present regulatory approaches adequately protect infants and children, who may differ from adults in susceptibility and in dietary exposures to pesticide residues. The committee focuses on four major areas: Susceptibility: Are children more susceptible or less susceptible than adults to the effects of dietary exposure to pesticides? Exposure: What foods do infants and children eat, and which pesticides and how much of them are present in those foods? Is the current information on consumption and residues adequate to estimate exposure? Toxicity: Are toxicity tests in laboratory animals adequate to predict toxicity in human infants and children? Do the extent and type of toxicity of some chemicals vary by species and by age? Assessing risk: How is dietary exposure to pesticide residues associated with response? How can laboratory data on lifetime exposures of animals be used to derive meaningful estimates of risk to children? Does risk accumulate more rapidly during the early years of life? This book will be of interest to policymakers, administrators of research in the public and private sectors, toxicologists, pediatricians and other health professionals, and the pesticide industry.

The second edition of Dennis Averys 1995 seminal work, Saving the Planet Through Pesticides and Plastics provides the flip side to environmentalist cries of spiraling cancer rates, rising global temperatures and decreasing rainforest acreage. Thoroughly updated and re-written with new information and data, Averys controversial book shows how agricultural technology can save the planet for both people and wildlife.

Although chemical pesticides safeguard crops and improve farm productivity, they are increasingly feared for their potentially dangerous residues and their effects on ecosystems. The Future Role of Pesticides explores the role of chemical pesticides in the decade ahead and identifies the most promising opportunities for increasing the benefits and reducing the risks of pesticide use. The committee recommends R&D, program, and policy initiatives for federal agriculture authorities and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors. This book presents clear overviews of key factors in chemical pesticide use, including: Advances in genetic engineering not only of pest-resistant crops but also of pests themselves. Problems in pesticide useâ€"concerns about the health of agricultural workers, the ability of pests to develop resistance, issues of public perception, and more. Impending shifts in agricultureâ€"globalization of the economy, biological "invasions" of organisms, rising sensitivity toward cross-border environmental issues, and other trends. With a model and working examples, this book offers guidance on how to assess various pest control strategies available to today's agriculturist.

A guide to the diversity of pesticides used in modern agricultural practices, and the relevant social and environmental issues Pesticides in Crop Production offers an important resource that explores pesticide action in plants; pesticide metabolism in soil microbes, plants and animals; bioaccumulation of pesticides and sensitiveness of microbiome towards pesticides. The authors explore pesticide risk assessment, the development of pesticide resistance in pests, microbial remediation of pesticide intoxicated legumes and pesticide toxicity amelioration in plants by plant hormones. The authors include information on eco-friendly pest management. They review the impact of pesticides on soil microorganism, crops and other plants along with the impact on other organisms like aquatic fauna and terrestrial animals including human beings. The book also contains an analysis of pesticide by GC-MS/MS (Gas Chromatography tandem Mass Spectrometry) a reliable method for the quantification and confirmation of multiclass pesticide residues. This important book: Offers a comprehensive guide to the use of the diversity of pesticides and the pertinent social and environmental issues Explores the impact of pesticides from morphological, anatomical, physiological and biochemical perspectives Shows how pesticides affects soil microorganisms, crops and other plants along with the impact on other organisms like aquatic fauna and animals Critically examines whether chemical pesticides are boon or bane and whether they can be replaced by environmental friendly pesticides Written for students, researchers and professionals in agriculture, botany, entomology and biotechnology, Pesticides in Crop Production examines the effects of chemical pesticides and the feasibility of using bio-pesticides.