WILLIAM RUCKELSHAUS

At the height of the Watergate scandal, the president wanted special prosecutor Archibald Cox fired, because Cox was developing evidence against the president. The attorney general, Elliot Richardson, refused to fire Cox and resigned. The chief of staff then turned to the deputy attorney general, William Ruckelshaus, who also refused and resigned. Finally, the Solicitor General, next in line of authority, agreed to fire the special prosecutor. These events happened on a Saturday night and became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre”. This event persuaded most Americans that Nixon was guilty of felonies and was desperately trying to cover things up. Congress would include “obstruction of justice” in it’s list of crimes that they would have impeached Nixon for had he not resigned.

The scientific panel he had appointed to study the issue, did not recommend that DDT be banned. However, powerful environmental groups and lobbyists were able to force the ban politically. When he banned DDT, there were other pesticides available which were not as potentially toxic but were reasonably effective in controlling mosquitoes and hence malaria. However, the other pesticides are much more expensive and third world countries could not afford the alternatives. By the beginning of the 21st century, malaria affected over 100 million people, It is interesting to note that in Colonial America malaria was the largest single cause of premature death in the United States.

The scientific panel he had appointed to study the issue, did not recommend that DDT be banned. However, powerful environmental groups and lobbyists were able to force the ban politically. When he banned DDT, there were other pesticides available which were not as potentially toxic but were reasonably effective in controlling mosquitoes and hence malaria. However, the other pesticides are much more expensive and third world countries could not afford the alternatives. By the beginning of the 21st century, malaria affected over 100 million people, It is interesting to note that in Colonial America malaria was the largest single cause of premature death in the United States.