GEF

Unit 8  |  Government and Sustainability 170 8.2  Policy Successes andChallenges Governmental environmental regulations have achieved many successes. One example is the near-total ban on the use of the pesticide DDT worldwide. Beginning after World War II, DDT was heavily used to control insects in agricultural fields as well as in residential areas. In Silent Spring , Rachel Carson detailed the harmful effect of DDT on wildlife and human health. Following the book’s publication in 1962, public pres- sure against DDT increased until the EPA banned production and use of the chemical in 1973, in the U.S. Biologists credit the government ban, along with the Endangered Species Act, with reviving nearly extinct populations of bald eagles and other birds of prey in the continental U.S. DDT is still used in some countries to control insects that spread disease. Another example of a successful environmental regulation is the international ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) . These chemicals were developed in the 1930s and used exten- sively as refrigerants, propellants used in spray cans, and for other industrial uses. Research during the 1970s proved CFC chemicals were damaging the ozone layer . This raised alarms DDT The chemical compound Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroe- thane, developed in the 1940s as the first synthetic pesticide. CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS (CFCs) Manmade chemicals exten- sively used as refrigerants, propellants, and for other industrial uses. CFCs have been shown to harm the ozone layer. OZONE LAYER The portion of the atmo- sphere that protects life on Earth from harm by absorb- ing incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation.