Measles in 2019?

Measles in 2019?

Measles? Malaria? Smallpox? Plague? These are diseases that were wiped off the face of the earth by advances in science and medicine and inoculation techniques developed in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  And along came Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in 1962, and the ensuing environmental hysteria, and lo and behold, DDT was banned and malaria was back.  Tens of millions died of malaria in Africa and South Asia.

In the 1950’s pseudo-science postulated a perceived and anecdotal link between MMR vaccination of 12-18 month-old toddlers, and the onset of autism.  Basically, “if autism happens when the child is vaccinated, the vaccine must have caused the autism”.  The popular press, fueled by the environmental movement, picked up and spread this idea, creating a marked resistance over the years to vaccinating children.  Hence, the return of measles as a public health concern, right now, in the NY/NJ area.

There are similar other deleterious ramifications of the environmental movement that are based on pseudo-science, rumors, falsehoods and politics, rather than on scientific or medical principles.  For example, addition of GMO’s to crops to increase yields to feed the world is a case in point of such a charged issue, as are politicized discussions around the human role in climate change.

Ray Gruszecki

April 26, 2019