Nature Wars: People Vs. Pests,

by Mark L. Winston

Book Overview

The aim of this book is to sound the alarm against dangerous tactics for controlling the pests that are an annoying but integral part of our world. Over 30 years after the devastation wrought by DDT, chemical pesticides are as pervasive as ever. The author argues that this ongoing commitment to pesticides reflects our sense of place in nature: embattled, beleaguered and driven to aggression. Here he seeks to show how a more measured and discriminating...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674605411
• ISBN13: 9780674605411
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Advocates Pest Management via Biological Control

Since 1962, when Rachel Carson published her seminal work, Silent Spring, nothing much has changed in our practice of pest control. Carson had advocated that the methods we employ for pest control must be such that they do not destroy us along with the insects. Yet today, despite the lip service we pay to Silent Spring, and in spite of considerable environmental protest, public outcry and the availability of viable alternatives, we still choose to spray chemical pesticides at an alarming rate. In fact, chemical pesticides still remain our pest control method of choice.Our attitude is to approach pests as organisms to control rather than manage; we exterminate instead of reduce; we dominate rather than learn to accommodate. Why this sad state of affairs remains so is a central theme of this book, which introduces the concept of pest management (as opposed to pest control). Pest management forces us to look beyond the immediate benefits and disadvantages, costs and side effects, of pest control methods towards choosing alternatives that are more environmentally compatible and less harmful to our own health. The author explores scientifically exciting alternative technologies such as biological control, yet admits, as the 1990 gypsy moth invasion of Vancouver has shown, that the public needs more education and assurance on its safety and environmental correctness.This book provides such an education and forms the basis for novel biologically based strategies involving pheromones, parasitic insects, bio-engineered crops and pest diseases to become standard practice.Mark L. Winston is professor of biological sciences at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He is the author of two previous books, The Biology of the Honey Bee and Killer Bees.

Good introduction to basics of attempts to control pests

I found this book to be a very good introduction to the issues surrounding control of pests. It uses cases histories such as attempts to control the gypsy and codling moths to introduce not only the biological and environmental issues but also the political influences on decisions to control pests. It's quite readable. Anyone familiar with Silent Spring will enjoy this book.