DDT Wars: Rescuing Our National Bird, Preventing Cancer, and Creating the Environmental Defense Fund

by Charles F. Wurster

Bob Burnap

EDF’s first treasurer.

The EDF of October 6, 1967, bore no resemblance to that organization of the future, nor did it for several years thereafter. There were no offices, no staff, no money, no membership, no bylaws, not even a letterhead—in short, none of the ingredients that fit the definition of an organization.

But the new EDF had one asset—an idea—in its collective mind.

environmental law” had become a recognized subject taught in law schools and a strategy employed routinely by numerous environmental organizations, including some that were suspicious of it in 1967.

the Environmental Defense Fund drew its name from the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP;

Bob Burnap had coined the name. Vic Yannacone must have liked it, because he typed it into his incorporation certificate, but we never discussed or voted on it.

EDF; the full name was too long. EDF was it—no resolution,...

scientific, educational and charitable purposes

to encourage and support the conservation of the natural resources of the United States of America

sue the b...

EDF was born of the frustrations of those 10 people with the American system as it then existed for pr...

Dragging the enemy into court seemed just about right, surely exciting, and perhaps even fun.

Lew Batts described an imminent planned application of the insecticide dieldrin in western Michigan.

EDF’s trustees voted to cautiously sue the Michigan Department of Agriculture, and anybody else if necessary, to prevent the dieldrin treatment.

There was also evidence that DDT was already present in the salmon and might be inhibiting their reproduction

In our complaint we would treat dieldrin and DDT together, as though they were one hyphenated word.

Sanitation of elm trees, in fact, saves the elm trees where DDT does not

We had already learned that battles are easier to win when alternatives are offered.

Presentation of alternatives has been a consistent theme throughout EDF’s history.

the Detroit Free Press called us “a powerful group of scientists.”

EDF also enjoyed the support of several Michigan environmental organizations, which provided hospitality, contacts, and funds for meals and airfares.

After all our masterful strategy and effort of wrapping dieldrin and DDT into the same package, the judge immediately split the action in two.

But a new and unknown ally shortly intervened on our behalf.

It wasn’t long before we had court orders requiring all nine cities to stop the use of DDT.

We had won without a fight, surviving in court because someone forgot to kick us out.

It was a funny mix of getting kicked out of court for having no legal right to be there, winning while losing, winning by default, good science, and divine intervention.

Litigation was a powerful tool for environmental protection, and there appeared to be an opportunity for its implementation in the United States.

One was sovereign immunity: “You can’t sue the Crown” because “the King can do no wrong.

To have standing to enforce a particular law, a citizen, such as EDF, must have a direct and tangible stake or interest in the matter before being allowed to come before the court.

Joseph L. Sax, professor of law at the University of Michigan and the leading advocate for developing environmental law, gave us invaluable advice for the pursuit of those

A persistent program of litigation to force agencies to enforce laws appeared to be the best way to break down these legal barriers and to allow citizens to participate in decisions that gravely affect their lives.

If we were going to lose on law, we had to win on science if we were to have any chance of prevailing.

DDT would break down the courthouse door so that other, less powerful environmental cases could enter.

We were avoiding state legislatures and Congress, where such pressures prevail, and where large numbers of legislators and the general public would need to be convinced of the validity of our actions.

Lorrie Otto, an environmental leader in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Citizens Natural Resources Association (CNRA). CNRA would raise money and provide all additional logistic support that might be necessary during whatever proceedings might develop.

On October 2, 1968, EDF filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Milwaukee that was quite similar to the one filed nearly a year earlier in Michigan.

If declared a water pollutant, the substance under challenge can be barred from further use within Wisconsin.

The hearing would take place before a state agency, not a court, with no legal challenges on standing or jurisdiction.

George Woodwell chaired a Scientists Advisory Committee with a growing list of scientists in many fields who supplied expertise and testimony on request, all without fee.

Scientific accuracy and credibility has long been EDF’s strength.

Our strategy in preparing our case was to depict the pesticide industry as narrow-minded specialists knowing only that DDT kills insects, all insects, and that it does not kill people outright.

After a long struggle, Lorrie prevailed, created a beautiful wild garden in Milwaukee, and became an environmental heroine.

In only one generation, [DDT has] contaminated the atmosphere, the sea, the lakes, and the streams and infiltrated the tissues of most of the world’s creatures, from reindeer in Alaska to penguins in the Antarctic, including man himself,

Vic Yannacone then stunned us all by calling Louis McLean, opposing attorney

“The primary contaminants of the atmosphere are natural substances such as dusts, pollen, viruses, and bacteria,

Ellsworth H. Fisher, a UW professor and entomologist and an outspoken DDT advocate. The intent was to put into the record a rough outline of the opposition’s case to come. “You can’t shoot at empty air,” said Yannacone.

My direct testimony took about one hour but was followed by nearly three days of wide-ranging cross-examination by McLean.

EDF soon learned that the Task Force for DDT was not well prepared with regard to the current scientific literature on DDT.