If you read stories about it, though, they’ll probably propogate the most deadly myth of the last century: That DDT was involved in their decline. It wasn’t. But Rachel Carson’s screed puts her in rarified company:

Those hearings found that, contrary to Carson’s alarm, DDT had no deleterious effect on humans, freshwater fish, estuarine organisms, wild birds or other wildlife. And yet, 10 years after publication of Carson’s scare-manual and after 7 months of testimony, the 2 year old EPA banned DDT due to its “unreasonable adverse effects on man and the environment.”

As no other pesticide has proven effective against malarial mosquitoes, this action put the final signature on what would amount to the death warrant of up to 3 million people each and every year.

As a gruesome corollary, unbridled environmental activism killed more people last century than Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Ze-Dong, Hideki Tojo and Pol Pot combined. Granted, the deaths were inadvertent — but then, the perverse consequences of unqualified system meddling generally are. Global warming scare-mongers – pay heed!

(Emphasis added)