Bald Eagle

I saw a bald eagle today. Which makes me give thanks to Rachel Carson that I would have the pleasure of seeing this magnificent creature today.

How much money is seeing a bald eagle worth? Can you put a monetary value on seeing such beauty? When will we learn to see value where no exchange of money changes hands?

Rachel Carson has been villainized by some right wingers in this country as being responsible for the deaths of millions of people in the third world because of not being able to use DDT to eradicate mosquitoes. She has even been called a mass murderer. They hate almost every environmental law and have spend much of their time scheming and telling lies in order to discredit a heroine of the environmental movement. There are those who think that the use of DDT was not injurious to the eagle population (this argument can be found on the website Junkscience, which is financed by Exxon and R.J. Reynolds). Of course, this is rubbish. DDT can still be used in the Third World. Simple Mosquito nets are an effective barrier. And the real reason for the increase of mosquitoes in the world are an ever changing, and warming, climate.

For me, Rachel remains a hero.