pesticides Archives - Does God Exist? Today

March 9, 2023February 28, 2023

The Fascinating World of Insects

This week, we have talked about the fascinating world of insects. My least favorite insects are mosquitoes. However, we have pointed out that mosquitoes perform valuable functions. Common flies are probably the second least favorite on my list, but even those flies have a purpose.

WHAT GOOD ARE FLIES?

Of course, there must be some way to control insect populations, especially mosquitoes and flies. Humans create pesticides to manage them, but that doesn’t work very well. Insects evolve resistance to pesticides, and those pest-killing chemicals also kill helpful insects and cause harm to the birds and animals that eat them. Natural insect control by birds, bats, and even insects is safer and often more effective.

BIRDS ARE BETTER THAN PESTICIDES

INSECTS CONTROL INSECTS

Some insects can also serve as nutritious, high-protein food for people. In addition, insects support the life of plants, animals, and humans in many ways.

INSECTS AS FOOD

WHY DO WE NEED INSECTS?

We can fear insects (entomophobia) or hate them, but we might as well love them because the fascinating world of insects is part of life on Earth. Thank God that we have insects to provide food for birds and other animals while pollinating the plants that provide food for us. Here is a final thought about “bugs.”

HOW MANY BUGS ARE IN YOUR HOME?

August 16, 2021August 12, 2021

Dangerous Chemicals Cause Human Suffering

The problem of human suffering has been at the center of debates over the existence of God for hundreds of years. However, in recent years, increasing evidence has come to light that, to a large extent, dangerous chemicals cause human suffering.

In April 2021, a federal appeals court ordered the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos from food. Mounting evidence indicates that it and other organophosphate pesticides are related to a host of human ills, especially in children.

The federal agency regulating nuclear waste recently proposed putting “very low level” nuclear waste into unlicensed landfills. We know that nuclear radiation increases the risk of cancer, birth defects, immune disorders, and a host of other health issues.

The state of Washington decided to get rid of toxic firefighting foam by shipping it to an out-of-state incinerator. Burning the foam releases poly-fluoroalkyl substances, which can stay in the human body for decades and are related to cancer.

The federal government plans to reopen the Homestead Detention Center in Homestead, Florida, to detain migrant children. That center is near a military superfund site saturated with contaminants linked to cancer, kidney failure, blood disorders, and developmental damage. Dangerous chemicals cause human suffering.

The list goes on and on of decisions that can ultimately bring pain and suffering to humans. We can’t blame God for what we do to ourselves by selfishness, bad judgment, greed, and abuse of God’s gifts.

References: Earthjustice Quarterly Magazine for Summer 2021 and “Pesticides are Killing Our Soils” in Scientific American August 2021.

April 24, 2021April 19, 2021

Stop the Killing of Bees

There are many things that God has provided that we take for granted, and yet without them, we would not be able to live on planet Earth. One example is the common bee. The Earthjustice organization has been involved in trying to stop the killing of bees, and they gave some interesting statistics.

Bees fly an average of 55,000 miles (88,000 km) to produce one pound of honey. They can see colors that humans can’t see, and they communicate by dancing. Very importantly, it’s hard to realize that one-third of our food crops are dependent on bees. It takes 60,000 bees to pollinate one acre of an orchard, and without bees, we would have no almonds, apples, apricots, squash, and many other fruits and vegetables. An average hive contains about 30,000 bees.

One problem is that every year farmers apply over 5.6 billion pounds of pesticides to our country’s crops, and that is a factor in the decline of the bee population. The current alarm over the drop in the bee population is an excellent time to remember that God provided bees, not just for honey. They also sustain the food crops we need. That is why we must stop the killing of bees.

Reference: EarthJustice website.