“I have recently been informed that a couple weeks ago I had the distinct honor of being ‘Lamberted.’ That is, I was the object of a tirade by Australian blogger Tim Lambert, a computer science professor who fancies himself an expert on everything from DDT to climate change.
Lambert is one of the “DDT deniers” I reference in my book Eco-Freaks: Environmentalism Is Hazaardous to Your Health. Following the lead of his idol, Silent Spring author Rachel Carson, Lambert continues to promote the untruth that third-world countries ceased using DDT because the insecticide became ineffective due to mosquito resistance. Eco-Freaks explains the concept of resistance and details Carson and Lambert’s misunderstanding and/or misrepresentatons of these facts. (Tim, to use an analogy from your field of computer science, you wouldn’t forgo the best antivirus software simply because a hacker could develop a new super-virus that could get around it.)
Before I get to the “meat” of Lambert’s criticism (and, when you cut through all the rhetorical “fat,” it’s an awfully slim bone), let me again repeat that is indeed an honor to become the target of his attacks. This is because it puts me in such distinguished company. Several of my colleagues, such as Iain Murray, have had the pleasure of being “Lamberted.” I also join New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and editorial writer Tina Rosenberg, courageous liberals who deviated from the anti-DDT eco-orthodoxy, as one of the objects of Lambert’s venom. He is also none-too-happy that the World Health Organization, taking its cue from malariologists rather than crank computer scientists, recently reversed its long-held postition and now recommends DDT spraying “in areas with constant and high malaria transmission.”
What is it that has raised Lambert’s ire about yours truly? Lambert’s attack on me happened after Instapundit’s eminent blogger Glenn Reynolds linked to commented on my OpenMarket blog entry “The Don Imuses of Envrionmentalism,” about racist and outrageous quotes from prominent environmentalists. Lambert accused me of being a “quote doctor.” Yet a review of Lambert’s “refutations” shows it is Lambert who is attempting to perform the emergency “triage” surgery — to fix quotes embarrassing to the environmental movement…
Read the complete blog post here: http://www.openmarket.org/2007/05/04/the-honor-of-being-lamberted/#more-1411
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.