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Rachel carson the obligation to endure review
Rachel carson the obligation to endure review
Rachel carson the obligation to endure review
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Rachel Carson’s “ Silent Springs” was written with the intent to warn the public of the harmful use of chemical pesticides such as DDT. Soon after excerpts of Carson’s “ Silent Springs” started appearing in The New Yorker and succeeding in warning the general public of DDT and other pesticides; chemical manufactures took to the public as well to express the positive outcomes of DDT and other pesticides. Thus leading to one of the biggest controversial arguments on a book that Justice William O. Douglas called the “ most important chronicle of the century”. (Indiana.edu) Before writing “ Silent Springs” Carson had a career as a Marine Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wild life Service. Having grown up with a passion for nature and the talents …show more content…
However, after the war DDT was used by farmers in the U.S. and all over the world to ward off pest from their crops. DDT heavily affects wildlife in many ways. In a recent report that I did on the Bald Eagle, I discovered that DDT played a huge role as to why the Bald Eagle was listed on the Endangered Species list in 1967. It was discovered that DDT accumulates in fatty tissues and impairs the egg formation, making them thinner then normal, causing a decline in reproduction. This was not only the case for the Bald Eagle but also for a numerous amounts of other birds. Not only does DDT have an affect on birds but other mammals by attacking the nervous system and attacks aquatic life at the plasma membrane says Cruising Chemistry, a website used by Duke University. Throughout “ Silent Springs “ Carson gives multiple examples of the unpredicted dangers of DDT. One example is when she discusses a real problem that occurred at Michigan State University
Rachel Carson, before publishing Silent Spring, would major in marine zoology at Pennsylvania Women's College, where she would develop her interest in the naturalism and conservation going on at the time (Lear, 23). After graduating, she would take a job at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, where she would write about different issues concerning the environment at the time. After writing several books to some success, she would begin work on Silent Spring, as she would find her naturalist causes to be her impetus. She even later on in her life wrote to her friends, What I discovered was that everything which meant most to me as a naturalist was being threatened, and that nothing I could do would be more important. " (Carson, 17)
By the name of “superspecies” we try to change the world feature and control the nature with science. With science, a lot of technology has been invented to support people demand for products. Without anticipation about the bad consequences, sometime the invention is causing more damaged than it provide in later on. In 1930, DDT that use for killing insect was discovered by Paul Mueller, working for the chemical company Geigy in Switzerland. For this reason, the benefits of using DDT became immediately obvious (65). Years letter, the unbelievable side effect of using DDT was found. While Biologists investigated the decline of eagles and hawks, they discovered the hitherto phenomenon of “biomagnification”, which compounds gather as they are ingested up the food chain (67). DDT phenomenon proves that thinking like science is only to understand the world in separate pieces. It is lack of understanding the rhythms, patterns and cycles of the nature. Therefore, we need to think beyond the science to see the connections between us and nature because in the reality this world is the world of
Rachel Carson establishes ethos to begin constructing her argument against poisonings. In lines 8-12, she cites the Fish and Wildlife Service to demonstrate that her concerns extend to credible organizations and are not unfounded. She documents an example where farmers in southern Indiana “went together in the summer of 1959 to engage a spray plane to treat an area of river bottomland with parathion” (lines 12-16). To further establish her ethos and authority to speak on this topic, she also supplements this example by explaining a healthy, eco-friendly alternative to how the farmers could have responded. In lines 17-22, she states that agricultural practice revisions would have sufficed for a solution, making the poisonings unnecessary. By offering a solution, Carson not only
The Baby Boomer generation and the time period has a lasting effect on the economy and the environment. The baby boom for the United States was similar to other countries after World War II. Several economies also blossomed, but overall with very little care for the environment. After World War II the use of industrial made chemicals increased in popularity throughout the United States and the world (The “New Environmentalism” OF THE 1960S). The chemical DDT was originally being used widespread to eradicate disease vectors, such as mosquito carrying Malaria ("The DDT Story."). DDT influenced more than just mosquitoes as it had lasting effects in the environment where it noticeably bioaccumulate in the food chain and caused high mortality in young bald eagles ("The DDT Story."). Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring released to the public in 1962 which is the time period in which environmental health and human health were connected (The “New
The pesticide DDT banned in 1987 was a detrimental to the environment leading to it to be banned in 1987. DDT remains in the soils for a long period of time. The chemicals affect the ecology of the soil and water run off causing contamination of livestock and native animals and aquatic species. Studies indicated a range of human health impacts from DDT including cancers, infertility, miscarriage and nervous system impairment. The social and economic impact of DDT use in viticulture was significant.
There is so much that can be learned from the past. Especially from an event that was as catastrophic as this one. How does one person gain such a grip on so many people? How was he able to influence them to change their entire life’s to conform to what he wanted. Somehow he was able to get them to move to a completely new place and create a world all their (his) own. How does one person convince and force so many people that it was time for their life to end? How does he force them to kill themselves? So many questions that are still being answered to this day. There are plenty of movies and research done on this event but there is still a lot to learn.
The main downfall of the bald eagle was the pesticide DDT. DDT otherwise known andichlorodiphenyltrichoorethane, would not dissolve in water or break down in the environment. This cause it to be absorbed by small animals or aquatic plants. The contaminated plants or small animals were thereatfter eaten by fist. These subsequent fish were then scooped and and eaten by bald eagles. Now, the higher up in the food chain DDT travelled, the more embedded it became in the animal’s fate. This caused the eagles to lay eggs with weak shells which, in turn caused the population to diminish. After the government found tra...
“Carson used the era’s hysteria about radiation to snap her readers to attention, drawing a parallel between nuclear fallout and a new, invisible chemical threat of pesticides throughout Silent Spring,” (Griswold 21). She described radiation as the creation of human’s tampering with nature, and warned that similar dangers would become inevitable with the continued use of pesticides (Carson 7). Carson also knew that a large percent of her audience would be housewives, who she could use as example of those who found poisoned birds and squirrels in their gardens. She angled much of Silent Spring towards this audience, which helped her book become the catalyst for environmental change (Griswold
Silent Spring is one of the most important books of the environmental movement. It was one of the first scientific books to talk about destruction of habitat by humans. As a result, one can imagine that Ms. Rachel Carson needed to be quite persuasive. How does she achieve this? In this excerpt from Silent Spring, Carson utilizes the rhetorical devices of hyperbole, understatement, and rhetorical questions to state the necessity of abolishing the practice of using poisons such as parathion. Carson starts out by using the symbiotic nature of hyperbole and understatement to paint the whole practice as dangerous and unnecessary. She further strengthens her argument by using rhetorical questions to make her readers see the ethical flaws and potential casualties caused by deadly pesticides.
Early in history DDT was a very effective chemical that killed many parasites and stopped the mass spread of malaria. But the reward is not worth the damage that it does to the environment, especially in modern day where we have other ways to prevent parasite and diseases from getting to us. "Top of the Food Chain" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, is a story about the absolute absurdity of things that human beings do to their world and to their fellow living beings. Set during a Senate hearing by a chemical company executive on the defensive about the effects of DDT in Borneo. Basically, poison was used to get rid of mosquitoes. Didn't work. So they brought in geckos, that died from the poison. Cats ate dead geckos, and cats died. This brought on rat infestation. So they brought in more cats and cycle started over again. He is arguing that humans are wrong for destroying their planet with pesticides and other harmful things; this satirical piece effectively supports his argument.
Her work as a writer, scientist, and ecologist became the heartbeat of the movement. According to a biography written by Linda Lear found at the website rachelcarson.org/bio, Carson was always a lover of nature. Studying marine biology, she attended and graduated from college at the Pennsylvania College for Women. She went on to receive her masters in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. She was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. From there she worked in the federal service as a scientist and editor. In 1936, she was haired as the "Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Lear)." This gave her years of experience and provided a background of credibility that would aid her in the years to come. In 1941, Carson published her first book titled, "Under the Sea-Wind." This was followed by her second book, "The Sea Around Us" published in 1952. That same year she resigned from the government to spend more time on her writing. In 1955, she published her third book, "The Edge of the Sea." These books made a name for Carson and developed a better understanding of the interworking 's of the ocean. Carson 's work and research made waves in society and its culture. However, what is arguably Carson 's greatest accomplishment was the publishment of her fourth book titled "Silent Spring." Published in 1962, "Silent Spring" focuses on Carson
In 1962, the publication of Silent Spring Rachel Carson captivated the American public. Carson wrote about the harmful effects of chemical pesticides in the environment, and her writing was very reflective of the events occurring at the time. There is a strong connection between Carson’s writing and the Cold War. In fact, if it were not for the war, the American public may not have responded in the same way to Carson’s writing. Carson used tone and content as methods of getting her point across to the public. Silent Spring shined a light on the damage done to the environment as a result of the Cold War, and this issue was finally being recognized by American public.
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring revolutionized the American point of view concerning the environment. It rejected the notion that pesticides and chemicals are the right choice for “controlling” various animals that are seen as an inconvenience. Carson writes about the dangers of pesticides, not only to nature but man himself.
By the time naturalists learned of DDT's effect on wildlife, it was almost too late.
I remember when I first thought about the power one person could have to create change. I was a teenager growing up in the South when I read Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”. This beautifully written book is a powerful indictment of the widespread use of pesticides. Rachel Carson criticized the chemical companies for claiming that pesticides were safe despite mounting evidence to the contrary. And she criticized public officials who accepted the chemical industry’s claims.