THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 87, April 16, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE BLACK DEATH & ITS DESCENDANTS
By Alan Caruba
ENVIRONMENTALISM & ITS THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH --THE ENVIRONMENTALIST MOVEMENT & ITS DRIVE TO ELIMINATE
THE USE OF DDT & EVERY OTHER PESTICIDE THAT COULD PROTECT HUMAN LIVES THROUGH PREVENTION OF THE SPREAD OF
DEADLY DISEASES
FULL STORY:
This month, the New Jersey Pest Management Association issued a news release to warn against the prospect of billions of
mosquitoes and the threat of West Nile Fever which they pose. West Nile Fever arrived in New York City in 1999 and, within three
years, it had spread to California.
In Washington, D.C., an executive order was signed recently to insure that avian flu does not reach these shores and, when a single
case of Mad Cow Disease was discovered, the border was shut to Canadian beef. When SAARS broke out in Red China a few years
ago, it too was quickly quarantined. Like the Black Death that originated in inner Asia, many of the plagues that threaten us today
begin there as well. We, however, live in an era of global communication in which these forms of pestilence can be identified and
steps taken to thwart their spread.
That wasn’t the case in 1347, when Yersina pestis, the Black Death, arrived in Europe, having made its way there from trading
outposts in the Crimea. In a fascinating new book, The Great Mortality by John Kelly ($25.95, Harper-Collins), the story of
how this plague bacillus would transform history, as it moved from nation to nation, is told. It is estimated to have killed a third of the
entire population of Europe.
“The medieval plague is the second greatest catastrophe in the human record,” writes Kelly. “Only World War II produced more
death.” Though distant in time from us, such massive death is not unusual in our times. Every year, millions die of Malaria in Africa,
simply because the environmentalist movement, sparked by a book written by Rachel Carson in the 1950s, has done everything in
its power to eliminate the use of DDT and every other pesticide that might otherwise protect our lives.
That is murder on a grand scale. Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. If DDT had not been banned by a United Nations protocol, those
millions would have been spared an early death. Its favorite victims continue to be women and children.
The Black Death was spread by a combination of rats and fleas. The disease was spread from infected rats to humans by the fleas.
Anyone who does not credit Nature with the capacity to wipe out vast numbers of humans does not know history. I can recall
being on Fox News Channel in 1999 to rebut somebody from the Audubon Society who was opposed to spraying to kill the
mosquito population in and around New York City. Ironically, West Nile Fever kills birds by the thousands. That year there were 62
human cases and it killed seven people. Within a year, the crow population was decimated.
Conditions in New York City in 1999 and today were quite different from the cities of medieval Europe, where the Black Plague thrived.
People did not bathe. Rats were everywhere. Rivers were used as sewers. Human offal was tossed into the streets. There was no
sanitation. At best, life expectancy was in the thirties. An estimated 25 million died from the Black Plague.
There is a reason we are not overwhelmed by a population of rats. A legion of people, descendents of medieval rat catchers, work to
protect human life and billions in property. They are the members of the modern pest management industry. It used to be called the
pest control industry, so labeled until the incessant anti-pesticide propaganda of the environmentalists convinced the pest
contollers to change the name of their business. There was a not-to-distant time when they proudly called themselves
“exterminators.”
Environmentalist propaganda forced a change in the way pest control was practiced. Now “Integrated Pest Management” is the style
of the times, with a heavy emphasis on inspections and recommendations of ways to interdict insect and rodent pests before they
gain access to a home or any other structure. Under Integrated Pest Management, pesticide application is the last measure used,
used when all other measures fail.
Pesticides, all of which undergo an Environmental Protection Agency registration process that can cost up to $50 million dollars for a
single new product, has seen the loss of many excellent products, which have been withdrawn from the marketplace, despite years of
successful and effective use against a wide range of insect or rodent pests. There is little incentive to introduce new ones. Too many
people remained convinced the pesticides will kill them, not the pests.
Are we safer now? I don’t know, but I am inclined to think we’re not.
We can pardon the ignorant masses of Europe and Asia for being party to their own decimation, since they did not know how disease
was spread. When the Black Death subsided in about four years, having spread throughout Europe to England, it was followed by
another in 1361, which was known as the “Children’s Plague” and which took the lives of those born after the first plague. Other
plagues would follow, but they would not have the profound affect on history that the Black Death had.
The philosopher, George Santayana, warned that those who are ignorant of the past are condemned to repeat it. It is folly to think that
some new plague could not occur. Meanwhile, we worry that Islamic radicals will use “bio-warfare,” but it is Nature about whom we
must worry most. Nature with its rats, mice, fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
It is not for nothing that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are War, Famine, Disease, and Death.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, Communications Director of the American Policy Center,
and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly
column, "Warning Signs," posted on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center
(www.anxietycenter.com). A compilation of his past columns, entitled Warning Signs, is published by Merril Press. In addition
to Warning Signs, Caruba is the author of A Pocket Guide to Militant Islam and The United Nations vs. the United States,
both of which are available from the National Anxiety Center, 28 West Third Street, Apartment 1321, South Orange, New Jersey, 07079.
© Alan Caruba 2005
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume VII, 2005
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues