War on insects: Warfare, insecticides, and environmental change in the United States, 1870-1945. (Volumes I and II).

Abstract

The relationship between war and environmental change has been virtually unmapped by historians. This dissertation explores one example of that relationship, the development and promotion of insecticides from 1870 to 1945. The central argument is that efforts by humans to wage war and to control their environment were linked. The mobility of metaphors, images, and technology between military and civilian institutions, and the influence of war on both types of organizations, had profound consequences for humans and other species. A variety of motives stimulated interest in insecticides, including desires to boost agricultural productivity, protect people from insect-borne diseases, win wars, develop chemical weapons, further scientific knowledge, advance institutional interests, and gain profit. World War I prompted growth and collaboration among institutions committed to these goals. The interwar period saw some institutions collaborate and others drift apart. Research for military needs during World War II revitalized alliances and hastened the development of two important classes of insecticides, chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates. Organophosphates were simultaneously developed as nerve gases. Like technology, metaphors and images moved between civilian and military spheres. Tapping long cultural traditions and contemporary fears, scientists, armies, and chemical companies described insecticides as weapons in wars on insects. They also portrayed human enemies as insect pests in need of extermination. The consequences of these developments were profound. During World War II, armies killed millions of people characterized as insects, often with compounds sold as insecticides. In August 1945, the US government released the military insecticide DDT to civilians for a total war on insects. This accelerated a revolution in insect control characterized by a shift from biological to chemical methods of pest control. Scientists credited new chemicals with conquering insects, but also blamed them for increasing pest problems and harming non-target species. Similarities between metaphors and technology, then, suggest that people often perceived and conducted wars on insects and wars on humans in similar ways.