DDT and other chemicals

John Ray cites Jerry Pournelle on the hypocrisy surrounding DDT.

Ray comments that:

Overuse of DDT was not a good idea and some Americans sprayed it everywhere. More was used in some farm counties than would be needed for one spraying a year in African residences – all of them in Africa in mosquito areas.

And indeed, DDT overuse causes problems. And so does overuse of just about any chemical there is.

We are finding antibiotic resistant strains all over the place, and a lot of the reason is the overuse of antibiotics. In America, doctors have been too willing to give antibiotics to make their patients feel like something is being done, even in cases where the doctor knows antibiotics are useless.

If we reacted the same way we do to DDT, penicillin would be banned.