Environmental Destruction

For thousands of years the environment stayed close to its natural state, exerting its influence on living forms. But in the past century, things have changed drastically as human beings have altered the paradigm of the environment. Now they are the masters, putting their stamp on the earth through pollution and contamination and poison. There needs to be action to monitor such destruction, but consideration of both sides of the environmental issue should be taken into account to determine what form of action should be taken.

The person who almost singlehandedly brought this environmental destruction to the forefront of the public’s awareness was Rachel Carson. In a chapter of her book Silent Spring called “The Obligation to Endure” she talked about the various poisons that were afflicting Americans without their knowledge or consent (Carson 54). Many forms of contamination infiltrated waterways, air and earth. Pollution became rampant and difficult to reverse. Radiation, in the form of Strontium 90 was being unleashed. It permeated the atmosphere after governmentally approved nuclear explosions. Acid rain and fallout occurred. It got in the soil and the food supply and eventually into the bodies of human beings, staying there until death (Carson 50).

In addition, pesticides were being developed at an alarming rate, and were used indiscriminately, killing both good and bad insects. When the bad insects bounced back,

deadlier products were developed, causing an endless cycle in the chemical war (50-51). She asked the question, “Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons without making it unfit for all life?” Despite the destruction wreaked, she documented that ma...

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...eaving the lights on, failing to recycle, and using plastic grocery bags instead of paper. The new heresies include failure to compost, or failure to go organic” (3).

None of these statements are meant to belittle the environmental cause. It is real. It is worthy of our attention. And we must take action. The first way to take action is to be aware that there is a problem with the environment and it must be monitored through both governmental regulations and individual responsibility.

While there is a problem, we don’t have to go overboard, but we do need to take action ourselves. We can do so by doing our part to decrease our carbon footprint, whether by recycling, organic farming, or refusing to pollute. It is a noble thing to address the needs of the planet. But all things have to be done in moderation and we need to proceed accordingly.