DDT wars : rescuing our national bird, preventing cancer, and creating EDF / Charles F. Wurster.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

1. A New England town sprays its elm trees with DDT : How did I get into this? ; DDT kills birds but doesn't save the trees -- 2. Sue the bastards on Long Island: the power of an idea : DDT goes to trial on Long Island ; Rigging the Audubon Convention: a Wall Street lawyer was unimpressed ; The Environmental Defense Fund is born -- 3. Proceed with caution, then sue the bastards in Michigan : The suit partly unravels: another win while losing ; The cities cave in, forget to kick us out ; Evolving a master plan -- 4. On to Wisconsin, the Dairy State : DDT, goes to trial in Madison, Wisconsin ; Birds die, nests fail ; DDT, thin eggshells, and reduced reproduction in birds ; DDT reduces reproduction in trout and salmon ; Wayland Hayes: "DDT is absolutely safe" ; A toxicologist arrives from Sweden ; The task force for DDT questions the analyses ; confusion with PCBs ; Integrated pest management without any DDT ; Summation: DDT is a pollutant in the Wisconsin ecosystem ; To make an omelet, you will break some eggs ; Mid-1969: where did we stand, what had we accomplished? ; Final verdict from the DDT hearings in Wisconsin -- 5. EDF, barely an organization, getting its act together : Environmental Defense Fund, or fundless environmental defenders? -- 6. EDF diversifies into new environmental arenas : The Environmental Decade: the 1970s ; Environmental Defense Fund: biggest bang for the buck ; The judicial approach is contagious -- 7. Time to go after the Feds : What!? DDT also causes cancer? ; What!? DDT also causes mutations and birth defects? ; Both Federal agencies react to the petitions. Barely! ; The Environmental Defense Fund takes two Federal agencies to court ; The Appeals Court makes an historic decision ; The bruising battle of the briefs -- 8. Escalating the DDT issue with more court cases : Flushing tons of DDT into the Los Angeles sewer system ; What happened to Montrose and its pollution legacy after 1972? ; Bald eagles gone, golden eagles move in -- 9. Changes in Washington affect the DDT battle : EDF begins to expand: new people, new Washington office -- 10. DDT goes to trial, finally, in Washington, DC : DDT: global contamination problem ; Predatory birds pay the price ; Mechanism for DDE-induced thin-shelled eggs ; Dangers of DDT to fish and people who eat them ; Superior insect control without DDT ; Does DDT cause cancer? : In mice? Rats? Humans? ; DDT industry shortage of qualified witnesses -- 11. Ruckelshaus decides : The Ruckelshaus decision: DDT gets canceled! Almost! ; Both sides appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeals ; Passing the test of time ; They are after us again: 40 years later. Why? ; The use of DDT for controlling malaria -- 12. Encores: five more bad actors were dispatched ; Aldrin and Dieldrin on trial: suspension mid-stream ; Heptachlor/chlordane: another suspension mid-stream ; Mirex will "eradicate" the imported fire ant -- 13. The DDT wars: four great victories : DDT ban led to greater cancer prevention ; DDT precedents launched environmental law ; Remove the threat and the birds will recover ; EDF today: brilliant, innovative, optimistic, and effective -- Epilogue : The last word / President Fred Krupp.

AlDDT Wars is the untold inside story of the decade-long scientific, legal, and strategic campaign that culminated in the nation ban of the insecticide DDT in 1972.

WorldCat record variable field(s) change: 650