User:Kmcolgan/DDT

Article body:
DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was developed as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides in the 1940s. It had high success rates for insect control and helped with managing human-illnesses correlated with insect populations. It was used not only in livestock and crop but also in residential areas with regard to quick pest control over insects and weeds in suburban homes and gardens. Prior to the use of DDT, residents and gardeners used hand-pulling and animal keeping methods to maintain healthy landscapes. The manufacturing of pesticide and fertilizer was a cost effective example of post war-time productivity. Rachel Carson's dissertation on lawn chemical ingredients listed mercury, arsenic, and chlordane as some of the primary chemicals used in these household products. The recommended rates of chemicals by the corporations lead to intense exposure risks and accumulation in clothing, watersheds, and flora/fauna. Pests, however, did develop resistance to pesticides. Local, regional and national levels have all put in effort to the counter-institutionalization of toxic lawn solutions. Local levels can push for “weed laws” however most municipalities drop cases, on the stress of private property rights. Neighbors and neighborhood managers are often the authorities on when weed laws have been violated - forcing proactive requirements for lawn management within a living community which speaks to the property value culture in North American landscaping. Public lands are much easier to manage as far as chemical usage goes at the National and State levels.

References:
DDT - A Brief History and Status. (n.d.). EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status

The Lawn-Chemical Economy and Its Discontents Paul Robbins and Julie Sharp From Antipode, vol. 35, issue 5 (2003): 955-979. © 2003 Editorial Board of Antipode. Published by Blackwell Publishing. © 2004 John Wiley and Sons. Used by permission of John Wiley and Sons.