
~ § —~ I.A.S. Newsletter, August 1967 Fr 

A LETTSR TO YOUR CON3RUISSMAN CAN HaiLP 
Two facts of life are abundantly clear. One is that the 
success of any major conservation cause today depends importantly 
on political action. Government holds most of the answers in, 
say, our fight to get more water for the Everglades, or to ban 
DDT, or to protect our wetlands. 
Fact two is that political action is nothing to be ashamed 
of. Our government is predicated on the idea of informed 
citizens expressing themselves through their representatives. 
It is not just the conservationist's right, it is his duty 
as a citizen to let his local, state, and federal legislators 
know his views. 
DDT IS A BIOCIDE 
The May 22, 1967 issue of Newsweek magazine has an excellent article 
on Pesticides, The article makes three dramatic points. 
DDT and other hydrocarbon insecticidesare dangerous 
because of their ability to resist the forces of 
natural disintegration. DDT is insoluble and is 
easily absorbed and passed along to the higher levels 
of the food chain. 
Some scientists now believe pesticides are posing 
a serious genetic hazard to man ... by disrupting the 
structure of DNA ... triggering harmful mutations 
in future generations. 
Charles Wurster believes that DDT is mre than a 
pesticide, A pesticide just kills pests. An insecticide 
just kills insects. But DDT is a biocide, Spraying it 
over a forest or marsh in the name of mosquito control 
is almost like dropping an atom bomb on New York City 
to eliminate its criminals. 

