Day 4:
Since the beginning of time (7000 B.C.), people looked for ways to keep insects and other animals from eating their crops. Some cultures selected naturally resistant crops, others picked bugs off by hand in order to keep them from being destroyed. In the late 1800's, people started developing chemicals to repel pests from their crops. In the 1870's, people learned how to protect their potatoes by using water-insoluble chemicals such as paris green. Over time people learned to create more and more chemicals to keep their crops from being eaten, and each one was stronger then the previous. It was only in the 1950's when people started seeing their affects. "When they were introduced, pesticides were seen as a wonderful technology that would increase crop yields and reduce insect-borne diseases. The first sign that this was a hopeful myth was the discovery in the 1950s that pesticide volume must be increased to have the same effect it once had. With the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962, an awareness of the danger of unrestricted pesticide use grew." This was because once the pesticides were being used, pests became resistant, and therefore people created stronger ones to keep insects away. People soon found out that pesticides weren't only bad for the people eating the plants, but also for animals such as birds because the pesticides caused problems with their eggs, leading to extinction.
To learn more on the development of pesticides over time, go to this link
-Roni
