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Global Warning - Aug 15, 2004 - Printable Version
- The Day it Rained Cats...
by Robin Buckallew
The story you are about to hear is true. In fact, it falls into that category of stories you know must be true, because if you saw it in a movie, you would never believe it. But I feel I must issue a warning here - if you are one of those who like to surf with your cat on your lap, this story has been rated for mature cats only. Exercise extreme caution. And yes, some animals were harmed in the making of this story. Remember the 1950s? The era where the world was all right, because women were baking cookies and vacuuming in pearls? The era where we were safe from communism because Senator McCarthy was on the alert? Back when the world was black and white? Into this setting, I introduce my little tale of action and bathos, death and despair, poverty and illness, and flying cats. The setting is Borneo. Imagine yourself in Borneo..
Borneo. A small island nation, rich with wildlife, jungles, a wonderful idyllic spot to live. A small island nation plagued with the terrible scourge of malaria. Enter the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) - a hard-working, caring, dedicated group of bureaucrats who were determined to save the world. A noble goal indeed, and now they were going to save Borneo. Malaria, as we all know, is caused by a nasty little protozoan called Plasmodium. It is carried by the Anopheles mosquito, which has a distribution nearly worldwide. Plasmodium requires a vector to transmit it into the bloodstream of a warm-blooded animal, where it can complete its life cycle, often making its final host very ill in the process, leading ultimately to the death of the host. Though not much of a problem in rich, developed nations, malaria wrecks havoc on the tropical nations, especially those where people live in poverty.
The WHO had an easy solution to the problem of malaria - a popular chemical known as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, affectionately called DDT. This pesticide was being used worldwide, and was widely touted for its safety and its effectiveness. So the WHO, bolstered by wisdom from years of school and money from rich countries around the world, sprayed DDT all over Borneo. It worked. The mosquitoes died, and the people slept soundly, knowing their troubles were over. That is, they slept soundly until all their roofs fell in. The cause of this perplexing development was soon determined. It seems there is a caterpillar that eats thatch, and is kept in control by a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs in the caterpillar. This keeps the caterpillar population under control, and everyone can have a thatched roof. This was easily enough fixed, the bureaucrats announced - everyone was provided with a new tin roof, indigestible to caterpillars. The WHO folks breathed a sigh of relief, and went back to their desk jobs.
But my saga doesn't end here. Soon, everyone was getting ill. Not malaria - no, that problem was solved by killing the mosquitoes. Instead, they were getting typhoid fever, and the plague. The plague? Something is definitely amiss when the World Health Organization causes the spread of the plague. So now, back to Borneo. It seems that, when the DDT was sprayed, the bugs died. This, of course, was expected. But it also set up a domino effect up the food chain. The DDT-coated bugs were eaten by the lizards. The lizards were eaten by the cats. Since DDT is designed to kill, it killed the cats. With the cats gone, the rat population experienced rapid, exponential growth. And, as we all know, rats carry diseases. Such as typhoid fever and the plague.
Now, we come to the flying cats I promised. In order to rectify the worsening situation in Borneo, the UN gathered up cats throughout the world (stray cats, of course, not your pet Fluffy). The cats were loaded into airplanes, and given parachutes. When the airplanes were over Borneo, the cats were pushed out, and parachuted down into Borneo, where they settled down to a new life as official rat control agents. Except, of course, those cats that landed in the middle of the ocean, and drowned before they made it to Borneo. I'm not exactly sure where PETA was during all of this.
I tell you this story not just as an amusing anecdote from the deep dark days of Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best. I do not tell you this story just to bring a smile to your face. You see, this is a story of human hubris run amok. This is a story of leaping before you look. And this is a story that best demonstrates ecological principles in action. Everything in our world is interconnected. As John Muir once said, "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world". We should always exercise the utmost caution when altering nature, though our impact may seem limited. For we cannot know when we pull out one little string what other things we might find it attached to.
And I tell this story for another reason. Lately, there has been a move afoot to begin using DDT in a "limited" way in tropical countries to combat malaria. Many fine minds and intelligent thinkers have gotten on board this runaway train. Inspired to tears and compassion by the sight of children dying horrible deaths, it is hard not to want to instantaneously head for the DDT. But there are several aspects of this discussion that are receiving precious little attention, and I would like to direct your attention to these issues.
Mosquitoes are a very resilient organism. Studies of mosquitoes and DDT have shown that they evolve resistance extremely rapidly. Within as short a period as three generations, it is possible for an entire population to be resistant. And mosquitoes have very rapid generation times. By the second year, the mosquitoes are back, and stronger than ever. Meanwhile, many other insects that are not problems, and are actually beneficial to the system, will not develop resistance, and will be eradicated from the area. These other insects may be important pollinators, or may be predators of pest species. And, as demonstrated above, the DDT will move up the food chain, destroying large mammals and birds. It was DDT that nearly caused the extinction of the bald eagle.
Advocates of DDT treatment argue that the use will be strictly limited. Use will be restricted only to immediate areas, such as homes and gardens. This, to me, is no comfort. Even limited usage can cause the effects mentioned above. And, if you advocate limited usage, and believe this, I want you to keep two things in mind: one, this is being run by bureaucrats, and two, it will be contracted out to the lowest bidder (or Halliburton, if they want it). That is all I wish to say about limited application.
Many of you by now are no doubt angry. You will accuse me of not caring about the health and well being of all the children (and adults) currently dying of malaria. You will be wrong. I do care. I care deeply. But DDT is not the answer. We cannot cure the Third World of malaria by raining down upon them a curse of DDT. The real problem of malaria is one of poverty. Poverty that limits sanitation. Poverty that leads to the cutting down of rainforests, driving the mosquitoes down out of the canopy in search of a warm protein meal. Poverty that keeps families from acquiring the mosquito netting that can do so much to prevent the spread of disease. Poverty that limits access to drug therapies that can help treat malaria. We cannot do more with DDT than achieve an illusion of control. To truly defeat this deadly disease, we must defeat poverty.
It is possible this last statement made you start sputtering, "but..but.but.we don't know how to defeat poverty". This is a common response to such idealistic dreaming. And it is mistaken. We do know how to defeat poverty. We just don't know any way to defeat poverty that meets with the acceptance of the rich and powerful. And this, folks, is the real problem we have to solve. Otherwise, we could very well be facing a future full of flying cats.
ADDENDUM:
Some of you may be aware that DDT is already being used in the developing world. When it was banned in this country in 1973, our chemical companies continued manufacturing it and shipping it overseas where it is not illegal. It gets routinely sprayed on the crops that are grown in the tropics, and much of it gets shipped back to this country, where you eat it on your bananas, mangoes, papayas, etc. The movement that I am referring to in the story above is a push to begin spraying it in the homes and gardens of the people who are living there. In a limited way, of course.
By Robin Buckallew
Oct. 5, 2004
This just in from Monterrey, Mexico. Chihuahua state officials are on the lookout for stray cats, hoping to collect around 700 cats to be relocated to a remote farming village known as Atascaderos. The ads requesting cat donations began circulating in Chihuahua newspapers last week, and the officials are hopeful that cat donations will begin arriving soon.
So, what’s with the cats? Well, remember the tale of the raining cats? It seems we are having a sort of rerun in Chihuahua. About a year ago, the local citizens began noticing a rat problem, and farmers started setting out rat poison in their barns. Unfortunately, this had no effect on the rats, who are healthy and fertile, reproducing in huge numbers. The animals that prey on the rats (cats, of course) died from the rat poison. The town now has no cats, and more rats than they know what to do with. It is estimated that about 800 households are infested with rats, with an average of 200 rats per home.
Once again, man thinks he has control over nature. And once again, it seems nature has the last laugh. Have you set out your rat poison today?
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