<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/author/doctorbulldog/> Did the EPA Contribute to the Bed Bug Epidemic? <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/did-the-epa-contribute-to-the-bed-bug-epidemic/> *doctorbulldog <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/author/doctorbulldog/>* | 30 August, 2010 at 10:36 am | Categories: EPA<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/category/epa/>, Environ-mental-ism<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/category/environ-mental-ism/>, Health <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/category/health/>, Medicine<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/category/medicine/>, politics <http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/category/politics/> | URL: http://wp.me/p1NPg-6s4
*An interesting question that certainly has merit. * *Equally interesting is that head lice infestations also began rising almost immediately after the EPA banned certain pesticides in 1996 that were used to treat such infestations. CLICK HERE for a 1998 Time article<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987644,00.html>which notes the increase in head lice; yet, unsurprisingly, fails to associate the EPA's pesticide ban as a contributing factor to the epidemic. * <http://doctorbulldog.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/bed-bugs.jpg> *Is the EPA to blame for the bed bug ‘epidemic’?* *By Jonathan Strong - The Daily Caller<http://dailycaller.com/2010/08/30/is-the-epa-to-blame-for-the-bed-bug-%E2%80%98epidemic%E2%80%99/print/> * Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband. Bed bugs are biting everybody out there – in recent weeks invading the headquarters of CNN, Elle magazine and a popular movie theater in Times Square. While worst in the Northeast and especially New York City, blood-sucking bed bugs are making a remarkably rapid resurgence worldwide. Though not known to spread disease, the itchy welts from their bites and the general distress caused by knowing one is being feasted on while asleep prove a nightmare for many victims. Eradication can take months and cost thousands of dollars. There’s also the stigma — many high-end New York residences, for instance, keep their bed bug infestations secret to avoid embarrassment. But why are bed bugs back? Though they’ve been sucking humans’ blood since at least ancient Greece, bed bugs became virtually extinct in America following the invention of pesticide DDT. *There were almost no bed bugs in the United States between World War II and the mid-1990s*. Around when bed bugs started their resurgence, Congress passed a major pesticides law in 1996 and the Clinton EPA banned several classes of chemicals that had been effective bed bug killers. The debate isn’t over long-banned DDT, since modern bed bugs have developed a tolerance for that chemical. But in the pre-1996 regime, experts say, bed bugs were “collateral damage” from broader and more aggressive use of now-banned pesticides like Malathion and Propoxur. Now some health officials are clamoring to bring those chemicals back to help solve the bed bug “emergency.” Meanwhile, EPA bureaucrats have downplayed the idea and environmentalists are pushing hard against the effort, citing safety concerns. Read more of this post<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/did-the-epa-contribute-to-the-bed-bug-epidemic/#more-24804> Add a comment to this post<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/did-the-epa-contribute-to-the-bed-bug-epidemic/#respond> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/24804/> [image: WordPress] WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com/> | Thanks for flying with WordPress! Manage Subscriptions<http://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=5d39acfd19218362d540a3fc3dc3315d&email=baconlard%40gmail.com>| Unsubscribe<http://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=5d39acfd19218362d540a3fc3dc3315d&email=baconlard%40gmail.com&b=CIL%3D%5Be94%3Fo3GfKm7qDJexwBydWt51abm%2Fy-Bo5H5>| Reach out to your own subscribers with WordPress.com.<http://wordpress.com/signup/?ref=email> *Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:* http://subscribe.wordpress.com -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
