The human costs have been horrific in the poor countries 
    where malaria returned after DDT spraying was abandoned. 
    Malariologists have made a little headway recently in 
    restoring this weapon against the disease, but they’ve had
    to fight against Ms. Carson’s disciples who still divide 
    the world into good and bad chemicals, with DDT in their 
    fearsome “dirty dozen.” 

    Ms. Carson didn’t urge an outright ban on DDT, but she 
    tried to downplay its effectiveness against malaria and 
    refused to acknowledge what it had accomplished. As Dr. 
    Baldwin wrote, “No estimates are made of the countless 
    lives that have been saved because of the destruction of 
    insect vectors of disease.” He predicted correctly that 
    people in poor countries would suffer from hunger and 
    disease if they were denied the pesticides that had 
    enabled wealthy nations to increase food production and 
    eliminate scourges.