Michael, 

Mosquitoes are not a big problem in NYC, and especially not during August and 
September, 1999, when the pesticide campaigns began.

Mosquito populations were extremely low when the pesticide spray campaigns 
against mosquitoes began dramatically on Sept 3rd, in NYC.  Virtually no rain 
occurred for many weeks prior.  Some local articles were entitled "The 
Mosquito-Less Summer".

On Sept 5th, a NYSDEC statement was published by the NYTimes, preliminarily 
diagnosing the massive crow deaths as from industrial poisoning.  The full DEC 
report was to be released within two weeks, but was never released.

A heavy media campaign was run through the mayor's office, the CDC, and 
internationally, that promoted the idea that the crow deaths were due to West 
Nile virus causation.   Every evening for years to follow during each summer, 
the headlines blared, "Deadly West Nile Virus", accompanied by pictures and 
videos of helicopters going into military style action, saving the city.

The first veterinarian to investigate the crow deaths, Dr. Charos (who's office 
was near the initial epidemic center, Flushing Queens), said the crows appeared 
to be poisoned.  He received many calls from journalists, and he gave dates for 
peak incidence of crow deaths.  He was mis-quoted in all major media, putting 
the time-line perception 5-6 weeks off. 

Jim West
http://harpub.co.cc

===
On Thu, 4 Aug 2011 17:31:30 +0200, Michael Balter 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>My point is that you are trying to convince people in New York City to put
>up with the mosquitos here and now with an argument that looks to the 
future
>and which may not even be applicable. The spraying is going on precisely
>because your coalition has failed to convince enough people of your
>argument. It's one thing to do a study in a swamp which is also near forest
>and lake land, which is a very different environmental area, and another to
>apply this logic to a metropolitan area where there are many fewer of the
>kinds of predators you are talking about (the study does not deal with that
>urban situation.)
>
>Your strongest argument is the possible health effects on humans and
>animals. I'm not for the spraying, but you have to convince people. Thus
>it's unfortunate, as I said, that they chose to quote your weakest argument.
>
>MB
>
>On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:19 PM, Mitchel Cohen
><[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>>  At 05:12 AM 8/4/2011, Michael Balter wrote:
>>
>> It's unfortunate that they chose to quote one of Mitchel's least convincing
>> arguments. These "natural predators" clearly aren't up to the job.
>>
>> MB
>>
>> Not sure why you imply that is not convincing. See, for instance,
>> Cicero Swamp Study, showing that pesticides killed off the natural
>> predators of mosquitoes and that mosquitoes came back much stronger 
after
>> the spraying, because many of their natural predators (which have a longer
>> reproductive cycle) were dead. These studies were done in New York state 
for
>> mosquitoes carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and found a 15-fold
>> increase in mosquitoes after repeated spraying, and that virtually all of
>> the new generations of mosquitoes were pesticide-resistant. (Journal of the
>> Am Mosquito Control Assoc, Dec; 13(4):315-25, 1997 Howard JJ, Oliver New
>> York State Department of Health, SUNY-College ESF, Syracuse 13210, 
USA).
>>
>> - Mitchel
>>
>> On Thursday, August 4, 2011, Mitchel Cohen < 
[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>> > Here's the WFUV story, broadcast on the air the same way it reads (they
>> took my 10+ minutes loaded with info and extracted just this one sentence
>> from it, alas):
>> >
>> >
>> http://www.wfuv.org/news/science-health/110803/mosquitoes-plague-
brookyln-and-queens-residents
>> >
>> > Mosquitoes Plague Brookyln and Queens Residents
>> >
>> > New York City Health Department sprays pesticides to combat 
mosquitoes.
>> >
>> > By Katie Fisher
>> > Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - 3:47pm
>> >
>> > Mosquitoes are an unavoidable part of summer, but some New Yorkers say
>> they've had enough.
>> >
>> > Places like the Rockaways in Queens and Park Slope in Brooklyn have 
been
>> hit especially hard with mosquitoes this year.  That's why the city's
>> Department of Health is spraying pesticides Wednesday and Thursday of 
this
>> week to combat  the pests.
>> >
>> > "These folks pay their property taxes just as much as anyone else and
>> they deserve to be able to go out the backyard," said John Gaska with
>> Community Board 14 in the Rockaways.
>> >
>> > Gaska also said mosquitoes can carry diseases like West Nile Virus.
>> >
>> > But, some environmentalists say pesticides are dangerous and question
>> their effectiveness in combatting mosquitoes.
>> >
>> > "They actually kill the mosquitoes' natural predators like dragonflies,
>> bats, and birds and frogs," said Mitchel Cohen with the No Spray Coalition.
>> "The mosquitoes come back stronger after the spraying is done."
>> >
>> > But, Gaska said the spraying is necessary to give residents relief from
>> the nuisance of mosquitoes.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > http://www.MitchelCohen.com
>> >
>> >
>> > < http://www.mitchelcohen.com/>Ring the bells that still can ring,
>> Forget your perfect offering.
>> > There is a crack, a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in.
>> > ~ Leonard Cohen
>> >
>> >
>> ******************************************
>> Michael Balter
>> Contributing Correspondent, Science
>> Adjunct Professor of Journalism,
>> New York University
>>
>> Email:  [log in to unmask]
>> Web:    michaelbalter.com
>> NYU:    journalism.nyu.edu/faculty/michael-balter/
>> ******************************************
>>
>> 擢aced with the choice between changing one痴 mind and proving that 
there is
>> no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof."
>>                                                   --John Kenneth Galbraith
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  http://www.MitchelCohen.com
>>
>>
>>  <http://www.mitchelcohen.com/>
>> Ring the bells that still can ring,  Forget your perfect offering.
>> There is a crack, a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in.
>> ~ Leonard Cohen
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>-- 
>******************************************
>Michael Balter
>Contributing Correspondent, Science
>Adjunct Professor of Journalism,
>New York University
>
>Email:  [log in to unmask]
>Web:    michaelbalter.com
>NYU:    journalism.nyu.edu/faculty/michael-balter/
>******************************************
>
>“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there 
is
>no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof."
>                                                  --John Kenneth Galbraith
>