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Malaria in Depression-era United States
July 9, 2009
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I take a lot for granted. For instance, I know that when I pull the chain on my bedside lamp, a light will come on. If a pesky mosquito lands on me when I’m running outside, I slap it away — not giving a thought to what diseases it may harbor. But according to the World Health Organization, a child in Africa dies from malaria every 30 seconds. Mosquitoes can harbor a nasty parasite that causes malaria, a potentially deadly disease. As the CDC explains, malaria is found primarily in developing nations, and the cost of treating it can cripple these shaky economies.
While malaria and parasites may seem far removed from us (unless we’re returning from a sub-Saharan African trek), the disease greatly affected a Depression-era initiative launched by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On May 18, 1933, FDR commissioned the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as part of the New Deal. This controversial project promised to bring electricity and progress to the poverty-stricken Tennessee River Basin, where erosion and floods had ravaged the land. The TVA produces the most electric power in the United States, and it’s been the driving factor behind industrial growth in the Tennessee River Basin.
But before the TVA’s success, there were widespread malaria prevention efforts in the region. The CDC notes that 30 percent of the Tennessee population in this area was afflicted with malaria. Due to intensive studies and vigorous efforts to stamp out the disease, by 1947, malaria no longer proliferated here. It required careful attention to water levels (mosquitoes love bodies of stagnant water) and the application of insecticides to accomplish this feat. In case you’re wondering, between 1945 and 1950, the TVA used DDT as a larvicide. The TVA maintains that it prefers to use “environmental or naturalistic control methods.”
If you like your parasites with a little more yuck and a little less history, you must turn your attention to Animal Planet’s Monsters Inside Me. It’s on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.
Quiz yourself on history and money:
Who Said It: Obama or FDR?
Fact or Fiction: The Great Depression
Recession Quiz
Comments
4 Responses to “Malaria in Depression-era United States”
shahbaz says: hi, this is nice devoulopment.keep connect with me.
[...] certainly impeded the progress of the Panama Canal. (It also affected the implementation of the Tennessee Valley Authority.) Aside from parasitical problems, there were other roadblocks that stood in the way of the canal. [...]
tmj99 says: Families for a Clean Tennessee Video Hits the Streets!
VIEW THE VIDEO NOW!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4AfA2_fNMM
Families for a Clean Tennessee released a video reinforcing a poll conducted by Insider Advantage. The poll uncovered that more than 80% of voters oppose dumping nuclear waste in ordinary commercial landfills.
The poll also uncovered the following:
* 90% believe nuclear waste should be disposed of in long-term isolation facilities.
* More than 75% of likely voters-both Democrats and Republicans– are more likely to support a candidate for Governor that is opposed to nuclear dumping and the BSFR program.
* Nearly 60% are more likely to support a legislative candidate that is opposed to nuclear dumping and the BSFR program.
* More than 50% have stated they would actively work for the election of any candidate from either party that opposes the dumping of nuclear waste in Tennessee landfills.
* More than 50% support Senate Bill 687, and more than 60% are more likely to vote for candidates that support Senate Bill 687.
* 63.5% believe that under no circumstance should nuclear waste be dumped in Tennessee.
A copy of the poll has been sent to every legislator in Tennessee along with a pledge asking them to support ending the practice of Bulk Survey for Release.
VIEW THE VIDEO NOW!
Dear Candice and Katie,
Like you, I’m interested in history and the many historical incidents that were never discussed in history class. For that reason I am a fan of your podcast.
I’m surprised however that any student of history would use a term like ‘Robber-Baron’ in a serious discussion of American history.
I grew up in a working-class town in Michigan with a ‘Carnegie Library’. I remember the plaque inside the door describing the $200,000 construction cost and how Carnegie had personally paid for it and 2500 others like it around the world. This was my first exposure to the concept of philanthropy and it changed my view of the world.
If not for Carnegie, there would have never been a library in my town and many others like it. This was the first time I’d heard of philanthropy and the concept amazed me. It still does.
As far as ‘assuaging his guilt’, I really doubt the accuracy of that quote. That doesn’t sound like Carnegie to me.
In future podcasts, please stay with the facts and leave the political opinion to MSNBC.
Thanks,
Jeff Ward