Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, is a synthetic pesticide created by humans.
 

Main applications:

Disease control: Helped curb diseases like malaria, typhus (spread by lice) during the 1940s and 1950s.
 

Agriculture: Increased crop yields by combating pests.
 

Example: Imagine a big, annoying mosquito buzzing around you. DDT is like a superhero swatting away these disease-spreading mosquitos and lice, helping us stay healthy and our crops intact!

• Health benefits: Reduction in cases of malaria means fewer days off work due to sickness, increasing productivity.
• Economic benefits: Lower healthcare costs for everyone - governments, employers, families, and individuals.
• For instance, it's like when you get vaccinated, you not only protect yourself from getting sick, but also save money on potential hospital bills. It's similar with DDT, which protects us from malaria-carrying mosquitoes, leading to overall cost savings.

In the 1960s, views on DDT changed due to Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring". Carson highlighted the negative impact of widespread pesticide use, leading to:
 

Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification: Top predators die because of DDT accumulating in their bodies through the food chain.
 

Effects on birds: DDT leads to the thinning of eggshells in birds, like the peregrine falcon.
 

Health risks in humans: Potential links between DDT and cancer, premature births, low birth weight, and reduced mental development.
 

Imagine you're eating a burger. Now imagine if a small dose of poison was added to each ingredient - the lettuce, the patty, the tomato. It might not seem harmful at first, but as you eat the whole burger, you consume a large amount of poison. This is similar to how DDT affects top predators in the food chain.