The Use of Chemical Pesticides Endangers Wildlife and the EnvironmentRachel Carson documented DDT [dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane]-poisoned birds in 1958. Since the, scientists have been tracking the dramatic toll on wildlife of a planet awash in pesticides . Today, drips and puffs of pesticides surround us everywhere, contaminating 90 percent of the nation's major rivers and streams, more than 80 percent of sampled fish, and one-third of the nation's aquifers. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fish and birds that unsuspectingly expose themselves to this chemical soup die by the millions every year.
