Synopses & Reviews
On a December day in 1968, DDT went on trial in Madison, Wisconsin. In Banning DDT: How Citizen Activists in Wisconsin Led the Way, Bill Berry details how the citizens, scientists, reporters, and traditional conservationists drew attention to the harmful effects of and#147;the miracle pesticideand#8221; DDT, which was being used to control Dutch elm disease.
Berry tells of the hunters and fishers, bird-watchers, and garden-club ladies like Lorrie Otto, who dropped off twenty-eight dead robins at the Bayside village offices. He tells of university professors and scientists like Joseph Hickey, a professor and researcher in the Department of Wildlife Management in at the University of Wisconsinand#150;Madison, who, years after the fact, wept about the suppression of some of his early DDT research. And he tells of activists like Senator Gaylord Nelson and members of the stateand#8217;s Citizens Natural Resources who rallied the cause.
The Madison trial was one of the first for the Environmental Defense Fund. The National Audubon Society helped secure the more than $52,000 in donations that offset the environmentalistsand#8217; costs associated with the hearing. Today, virtually every reference to the history of DDT mentions the impact of Wisconsinand#8217;s battles.
The six-month-long DDT hearing was one of the first chapters in citizen activism in the modern environmental era. Banning DDT is a compelling story of how citizen activism, science, and law merged in Wisconsinand#8217;s DDT battles to forge a new way to accomplish public policy. These citizen activists were motivated by the belief that we all deserve a voice on the health of the land and water that sustain us.
Review
Bill Berrys careful research and straightforward writing approach help us better understand the ruinous effect that DDT, the so-called miracle insecticide, had on the environmentand the steps leading to its banning. Lessons can be learned from the book: Citizen activists can make a difference and chemicals widely applied in agriculture and beyond must be carefully studied for negative effects that go well beyond their intended use before they are licensed.” (Jerry Apps, author of The Quiet Season, Old Farm: A History, and other books on environmental topics)
Review
Bill Berryandrsquo;s careful research and straightforward writing approach help us better understand the ruinous effect that DDT, the so-called miracle insecticide, had on the environmentandmdash;and the steps leading to its banning. Lessons can be learned from the book: Citizen activists can make a difference and chemicals widely applied in agriculture and beyond must be carefully studied for negative effects that go well beyond their intended use before they are licensed.
(Jerry Apps, author of The Quiet Season, Old Farm: A History, and other books on environmental topics) Bill Berry manages to turn one of the stateand#39;s most historic- and perhaps longest- environmental battles into what sometimes feels like a fast-paced thriller... David is going up against multiple Goliaths: the very powerful pesticide industry, a university where researchers relied upon millions of dollars from the pesticide companies to fund their research, and a state in which agriculture is zealously protected as a key part of the economy.Berryand#39;s book is a must read for those engaged in such battles.and#160;It is by turns, inspirational and entertaining. Perhaps more importantly, Banning DDTand#160; provides lessons in how to patiently carry on in the face of powerful, entreched bureaucracies that, whether through intertia or corruption, turn a deaf ear to the ordinary person who finds a dead bird in their yard and wants to know why.(Ron Seely, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters)
...the history of DDT cannot be told without referencing the people and events of the state. Wisconsinand#39;s history of strong environmentalists such as Aldo leopold and Gaylord Nelson, EDFand#39;s decision toand#160;use Wisconsinand#160;as a test case, and the remarkable mobilization of volunteers all contributed to the success of citizen activists and serve as an example of how a grassroots movement can influence policy. Berry writes, andquot;Citizen movements are built on guts and tenacity.and#160; They are propelled by commitment and a belief in purpose.andquot;(Elizabeth Wheat, Voyageur Magazine)
Synopsis
Banning DDT: How Citizen Activists in Wisconsin Led the Way is the story of the garden club ladies, hunters and fishers, bird-watchers, university professors and scientists, newspaper reporters and columnists, and traditional conservationists who drew attention to the harmful effects of and#147;the miracle pesticideand#8221; DDT, which was being used to control Dutch elm disease. The six-month-long DDT hearing in Madison, Wisconsin, which began in December 1968, was one of the first chapters of citizen activism in the modern environmental era.
About the Author
Bill Berry grew up in Green Bay and earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsinand#150;River Falls. After more than twenty years as a reporter, columnist, and editor for several daily newspapers, he redirected his energy to communicate about conservation and agriculture. This work has taken him across the United States to learn and teach about private lands conservation. A columnist for the Capital Times of Madison, he lives in Stevens Point with his wife and is the father of two daughters.