Since the release of Rachel Carson' s Silent Spring in the 1960' s, mankind has expanded its quest to come to grips with the competing virtues of human economic entropy and of maintaining the integrity and diversity of the natural environment. As awareness of environmental degradation has increased, so has the realization of the complexity of interconnected webs of relationships among organisms and the physical and chemical environment. With this awareness, we have also come to realize that environmental problems are not easily fixed by simply focusing on a single problem with no analysis of other issues.
This tendency to blindly solve environmental problems without understanding the full complexity of the problem was evident in the Environmental Protection Agency' s (EPA) recent mandate that Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) be a required ingredient in gasoline formulas with the goal of increasing combustion efficiency. A fuel oxygenate, MTBE enhances the octane in gasoline and decreases carbon monoxide emission by increasing burning efficiencies. In its haste to declare MTBE as a required ingredient in gasoline, the EPA failed to consider a basic chemical property of MTBE and its long-term effects upon the environment. Because MTBE is highly water-soluble, it dissolves in water, leading to higher concentrations of MTBE in many lakes in the California Sierra Nevada mountains and in many groundwater supplies. Hence, by addressing only one component of a system separately, the EPA failed to see the ramifications of our apparent solution. This myopic approach to environmental remediation commonly subverts our good intentions to solve environmental problems and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how inter-related systems work. It is my goal to aid in our understanding of environmental pollution on a global scale by not only researching the fate and transport of contaminants, but also by analyzing how our current philosophies and policies affect these problems. By applying an interdisciplinary approach to both the specific scientific and technical aspects of a problem and by thoroughly analyzing social and cultural factors, I believe I can more effectively in analyze the true extent of our pollution problem and help to determine an appropriate response.
In preparation for this work, my undergraduate degree in environmental studies has provided me with a solid foundation in both the sciences and state and federal environmental policy. My undergraduate emphasis in hazardous materials has given me a broad knowledge of the types of chemical releases common in both developed and undeveloped countries and their chemical and physical effects upon the environment.
By citing credible organizations and offering her own eco-friendly alternatives, she proves to the reader that she takes a particular interest in the environment and is educated to speak on it. Pairing powerful understatements and hyperboles to contrast with one another show the reader that the practice is both needless and selfish. These rhetorical techniques have a powerful impact on the reader, whose ignorance prior to reading the excerpt can no longer suffices to excuse the lack of action. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is a deeply persuasive book that not only advocates for an end to pesticides but also speaks to the obligation humans hold to protect their
Every underground gas tank eventually leaks, and the gasoline is soaked up by the surrounding ground. MTBE is not soluble in water; therefore, when the gasoline leaks out of the tank, the MTBE pollutes the ground water (well water), and eventually the surface water also. In addition, though MTBE reduces the amount of most pollutants released from automobiles, it also produces a harmful pollutant, formaldehyde, when combusted [CECA]. Even worse, a study performed by a medical researcher from the University of Pennsylvania, shows that MTBE may be the cause of a seventeen percent increase in asthma among kindergarten students since it has been utilized in gasoline. The study also shows that MTBE has failed to improve smog levels in the years it has been in use [Jones].
Cunningham, William P. Cunningham, Mary Ann and Saigo, Barbara. Environmental Science, A Global Concern. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. 2005.
The history of life on earth could be thought of as a record of living things interacting with their surroundings; for most of history, this has meant that life molds over time by the environment it inhabits; however, very recently, humans have become capable of altering the environment in significant ways (Carson 49). Marine Biologist, Rachel Carson, in her environmental sciences book, The Silent Spring, documents the detrimental effects on the environment by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson argues vigilantly in an attempt to persuade her extremely diverse and expansive global audience, under the impression that chemicals, such as DDT, were safe for their health, that pesticides are in fact detrimental for their health. Through
EPA. (2009, December 29). Retrieved January 15, 2011, from Toxicity and Exposure Assessment for Children's Health: http://www.epa.gov/teach/
Toxic substances and Areas of concern: includes pollution prevention, clean up of the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes. Although many so...
What would take its place were a global economy and a fragmented understanding. This new era was characterized by big cities, fruits being readily available during obscure times of the year, and, consumer goods being flown into any part of the world. Now the days of small villages and locality were growing scarce. As humans continually lose track of the story behind the beginning and the consequences of the lack thereof; the population remains in a state of conflict with the life that supports them. In 1962, “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson’s acted as the catalyst to Suzuki and many others understanding of what the environmental movement would come to be. The definition would take on several different faces throughout the world, ranging from logging to, chemical pesticides, and CFCs. The pesticide DDT and the effect it had within the food chain resulted in the increasing number of deaths of birds. The chemicals that make up CFCs, found in deodorant, ended in the ongoing depletion of the ozone layer. From these cases, a new realization of what consequences ignorance brings and raises the new question of how to predict and stop
On September 27, 1962 Rachel Carson released her sixth book, Silent Spring. On publication day, the advance sales of Silent Spring totaled 40,000 copies and another 150 copies were sent to the Book of the Month Club (Frontline: Fooling With Nature, 1998). Silent Spring remained on the bestseller list for almost a year. The world was beginning to take notice. Countless experts and organizations have proclaimed Rachel Carsonâs book the starting point of the environmental movement. Carson described numerous case studies where the use of hazardous pesticides, insecticides, and other chemicals led to environmental problems all over the world. Whether directly or indirectly, everything in the environment is connected and affected by each other. Silent Spring describes, in depth, the harmful effects that chemical control has placed on all components of the environment. They include: air, water, land, wildlife, plant life, and humans. I will discuss each of these categories as examined in Silent Spring along with my personal analysis.
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.
fairly large scale for it to have an impact, I think at such a size,
According to World WildLife Fund, many ecosystems around the world are being destroyed, eliminating many plant and animal species that inhabit them (“Pollution”).
Hazardous materials are in almost every community placing everyone at some level of contact with various chemicals almost daily as they exist throughout the community and in our households. Chemicals are used for a variety of purposes such as in the water purification process, by farmers to produce a higher crop yield and are used in households and almost every business. Not all chemicals are hazardous but most pose some level of risk to people...
"1 Matthiessen goes on to write that "one shudders to imagine how much more impoverished our habitat would be had Silent Spring not sounded the alarm. " 2 This is indeed a worthy claim by Mr. Matthiessen, but he correctly uncovers a bigger and more alarming truth when he says, "the damage being done by poison chemicals today is far worse than it was when she wrote the book. 3 In fact, since 1962, pesticide use in the US has doubled. As an environmentalist (or a "radical" environmentalist, as I am often labeled by members of the mainstream environmental movement), I feel it is my duty as a protector of the Earth's well-being to write this editorial as a means of bringing into the American consciousness a variety of frightening environmental issues.
Wildavsky, A. (1995). But is it true? A citizen’s guide to environmental health and safety issues. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.