Debbie at Yerba Buena PerryWhen I first heard about this startling documentary on the 1972-EPA ban on DDT, called “3 Billion And Counting,” I almost did a double take.
DDT was what I had sprayed on myself when I was a kid as a preventative measure against insects, including mosquitoes.
Written, produced and directed, over the course of five years, by Dr. Taylor Rutledge, the 102-minute movie is a revelation.
Rutledge says few realize that a full 80 percent of all infectious diseases are transmitted by insects. The film debunks old 20th century beliefs about DDT being poisonous to humans, animals, the environment or cancer causing agents in humans.
The film reveals that the actual EPA DDT band hearings never before seen by the public which effectively proved the efficacy and harmlessness of DDT.
Rutledge, was quoted in a recent interview, saying: “Even the bedbugs are mounting” … referencing a possible side effect of the ban. Chillingly, the DDT ban is cited as perhaps the greatest technological genocide in world history.
Turns out that the good doctor’s better half is pop-star Debbie Gibson, in town with the doctor last week for a reception at Chris Gilman’s splendid downtown eatery Yerba Buena Perry.
There were scads of familiar faces at the event, including Aubrey Reuben from Playbill, comedian/actress Rachael Robbins, Melissa Daniels from Momentum Marketing, who sponsored the event with the restaurant, uber-publicist David Salidor, David Batista from “Entertainment Tonight,” and, Mark Scheerer from the Public News Service.
