Lemott 1
Rahzel Lemott
AP Environmental Science
Andrew Allshouse
9 December 2014
Against Pesticides
Pesticide use is very common, but few realize how dangerous the chemicals in them actually are. The government allows liberal use of pesticides without regard for the consequences. I believe pesticides should be banned because they don't work as well as we think, they're bad for the environment, and they can be harmful to the wellbeing of humans.
Research shows that pesticides don't work as well as we think. Even though pesticide use has increased almost ten times in the past 50 years but crop yields have not. In fact, crops lost due to insects have nearly doubled. It's clear that even though pesticides aren't doing what they're designed to do, still don’t need them to sustain our crops. When large amounts of pesticides are used, the target pests become resistant, making them ineffective. The point of using pesticide is to decrease crop losses, but when they don't work, it's a waste of time and money. In one instance, when farms in Sweden reduced their pesticide use by 50 percent, their crop yields actually increased slightly.
The benefits of pesticide are also offset by some serious environmental damage. Pesticides are often sprayed over a field or forest. As a consequence, numerous non-target organisms are affected. Pesticides often kill beneficial insects like honeybees and ladybugs. Though bees may seem like tiny and seemingly insignificant insects, if they disappear, the ecosystem will be hugely affected. Bees pollinate dozens of crops, so if they are destroyed, these plants won't produce food or reproduce. Not only do pesticides harm bugs; they can harm
Lemott 2 animals too. Years ago, the widespread use of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons sickened predatory birds, disrupting their ability to reproduce and driving the bald eagle to near extinction. If predatory birds disappear, the number of prey animals will surge and change the ecosystem.
Pesticide exposure can cause a range of neurological health effects such as memory loss, loss of coordination, reduced speed of response to stimuli, reduced visual ability, altered or uncontrollable mood and general behavior, and reduced motor skills. These symptoms are often very subtle and may not be recognized by the medical community as a clinical effect. Other possible