Environmental Issues In Silent Spring
analytical Essay
2441 words
Birds dying, leaves covered with deadly powder, chemicals floating through the air. These were all issues faced globally in the 1950’s and 60’s due to the use of dangerous pesticides such as DDT, chlordane, and heptachlor. Though several scientists conducted studies that proved the issues with pesticides, the first person to make a lasting impression on America was Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring. Her writing not only discussed the environmental issues that Americans faced in the 1960’s, but also served as the catalyst for the environmental movement as we know it today.
Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania during the height of the Industrial Age (Griswold 8). Her mother, Maria Carson, was an avid bird-watcher and
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rachel carson, author of silent spring, made a lasting impression on america in the 1950s and 60s due to the use of dangerous pesticides.
- Explains that rachel carson was born in 1907 in springdale, pennsylvania during the height of the industrial age. her mother, maria, was an avid bird-watcher and encouraged her to study nature from a young age.
- Describes how rachel carson's career in environmentalism began when she became a science editor for the u.s. fish and wildlife service.
- Explains that american scientists discovered ddt, a chemical that proved to be lethal to insects. it was used to protect crops and stop insect-borne diseases such as malaria and typhus.
- Explains the effects of ddt on the environment, including cancer, infertility, miscarriages, developmental delay, and nervous system and liver damage.
- Explains that ddt's effects were uncontrollable in the 1960s, despite research and testing, not many people knew of the consequences of spraying it.
- Analyzes how rachel carson's silent spring, published in the new yorker in 1962, revealed the harmful effects of ddt on the ecosystem.
- Analyzes carson's message in silent spring, that humans should not try to overpower nature, and that technological advancements could easily destroy the natural world.
- Analyzes how carson used the era's hysteria about radiation to snap readers to attention, drawing a parallel between nuclear fallout and an invisible chemical threat of pesticides throughout silent spring.
- Explains that silent spring's foreboding message was not met without opposition, and many people deemed her research as mere overreactions. chemical producing companies had gained great prestige from their involvement in world war ii.
- Analyzes how silent spring brought out the reactions from readers that rachel carson had hoped for. though the scientific community knew of the effects of ddt, carson was the first person to offer this knowledge to the general public.
- Opines that silent spring's legacy was the new awareness that nature was extremely threatened by human intervention. rachel impacted the environmental movement as no other scientist had.
- Explains that the environmental movement grew more popular after silent spring and the banning of ddt. in the mid to late 1960's, americans needed to understand the importance of taking care of the earth.
- Explains that environmentalists are the most popular social movement in the united states, with over five million american families donating regularly to environmental organizations.
- Explains how rachel carson's book, silent spring, showed people around the world that the actions of humans could negatively impact the natural world.
“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 …show more content…
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
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- Environmentalism And Criticism In Silent Spring By Rachel Carsonanalytical essayTo take a trip back to the 1940s, when most of America was so deeply engulfed in financial turmoil from the depression, while also bolstering up for a second World War, we would meet a young, but brave women named Rachel Carson. She was focused on a different type of disaster taking place; the implementation of a new pesticide called DDT. With this new chemical being sprayed throughout the US and other countries, Carson took notice to the environmental issues that were arising along with it. This pesticide brought implications and topics for her to question including the ‘separation ' of humans from the environment, biodiversity loss, nature being truly defined, conservationism and creating future environmentalism. According to the EPA, DDT,
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how rachel carson was focused on the implementation of a new pesticide called ddt, which brought implications and topics for her to question.
- Analyzes carson's bold decision to write a controversial book about the catastrophe at hand, called "silent spring", which helped people identify the possible harmful effects on the environment and understand their role and connection with nature.
- Explains that carson knew the long-term effects of ddt were not yet recognized, but she was able to predict these implications to the biodiversity before anyone even noticed.
- Analyzes how cafaro's early works, under the sea-wind (1941), the sea around us (1951), and the edge of the sea (1955), gave readers a unique perspective on what nature truly was.
- Analyzes how silent spring fulfilled theodore roosevelt's idea of natural conservation and helped establish the endangered species act of 1973.
- Opines that carson's treaties, acts, and bans aren't named after her, but her message was for humans to rethink their place in nature and to think about conserving the resources for the future.
- Opines that rachel carson's novel silent spring will be a lesson point for future generations to observe and learn from. without her presence, humans could have easily continued to pump the land with ddt and other chemicals.
1090 wordsRead More - Rachel Carson Silent Spring Summaryanalytical essayRachel 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how 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.
- Analyzes how carson establishes credibility by bringing in facts and real events that make it known that she knows what she's talking about.
- Analyzes how carson appeals to the audience's emotions by writing with countless words relating to death such as: deadly, lethal, poisonous, and killing.
- Analyzes how carson weaves rhetorical questions throughout her writing because she wants the audience to feel specific emotions and see that there is only one real answer to the questions.
- Analyzes how carson writes a convincing argument while appealing to the audience's sense of logic and emotions as well as causing them to think. her rhetoric strategies work flawlessly to convince people that pesticides are not the way that problems with nature need to be solved.
521 wordsRead More - The Harmful effect of Pesticides and Insecticides in Silent Spring by Rachel Louise Carsonanalytical essaySilent Spring has, over the years, caused scientists all over the globe to realize the effects of insecticides and pesticides on the wonderfully natural environment. This book is known for launching the environmental movement, causing everyone, including the common citizen, to become keenly aware of the damage and harm that humans are creating for nature. The environmental movement reduced the uses of harmful chemicals against so-called pests and taught hu...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that rachel louise carson was born in springdale, pennsylvania in 1907. she was a scientist, ecologist, and writer.
- Opines that it is important that the environment is preserved and protected to the best of our abilities. the killing of ‘pests’ using pesticides is a popular and easy method, but humans are creating the most damage out of all creatures.
- Explains that silent spring has caused scientists to realize the effects of pesticides on the wonderfully natural environment. the environmental movement reduced the use of harmful chemicals against so-called pests and taught humans their place in society.
- Analyzes how silent spring's events have been memorable to science and readers. the situation above shows how careless and irresponsible people are at times, contaminating the most important necessities that they need to survive.
- Explains that exposures to dangerous chemicals have entered the environment of everyone, even of children as yet unborn. it is hardly surprising that we are now aware of an alarming increase in malignant disease.
- Explains that humans are creating chemicals that cause deadly diseases in all parts of the life chain, most of which cannot be adapted to until centuries to come.
- Explains that insecticide is used for the simple reason that it is a deadly poison. it poisons all life with which it comes in contact.
- Analyzes how the event described above shows how evil man can be, whether the actions are deliberate or unintentional. the heights to which people go to create a so-called ‘more perfect’ society have soared to levels higher than imaginable, and if not hindered soon, will lead to the obliteration of all living things on earth.
- Opines that silent spring has persuaded them that the environment needs protection from the extensive harm that we humans are bringing to it.
805 wordsRead More - Rachel Carson And The Cold War Essayanalytical essayIn 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rachel carson's 1962 publication of silent spring captivated the american public. she wrote about the harmful effects of chemical pesticides in the environment.
- Analyzes how rachel carson's silent spring played a large role in beginning modern environmental movements in america.
- Analyzes how carson's use of tone and content emphasizes the reality of the dangers caused by the war.
- Analyzes how rachel carson's silent spring is the driving force behind many environmental preservation movements in america.
756 wordsRead More - Rachel Carsonanalytical essayCarson worked for years at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, eventually becoming the chief editor of that agency's publications. Carson achieved financial independence in the 1950s with the publication of her popular celebrations of marine ecosystems, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea. Rereading Silent Spring reminds one that the book's effectiveness was due mainly to Carson's passionate, poetic language describing the alleged horrors that modern synthetic chemicals visit upon defenseless nature and hapless humanity. Carson was moved to write Silent Spring by her increasing concern about the effects of pesticides on wildlife. Her chief villain was the pesticide DDT.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the modern environmentalist movement was launched at the beginning of june 1962, when excerpts from rachel carson's anti-chemical landmark silent spring were published in the new yorker.
- Narrates how a panel of distinguished americans had selected silent spring as the most influential book of the previous 50 years.
- Explains that carson worked for years at the u.s. fish and wildlife service, eventually becoming the chief editor of that agency's publications. she achieved financial independence in the 1950s with the publication of her popular celebrations of marine ecosystems.
- Explains that the 1950s saw the advent of synthetic pesticides that were hailed as modern miracles in the war against pests and weeds.
- Explains that american consumers and farmers quickly adopted the wonder insecticide, replacing old-fashioned arsenic-based pesticides. testing by the u.s. public health service and the food and drug administration's division of pharmacology found no serious human toxicity problems with ddt.
- Explains that ddt was widely deployed by public health officials, who banished malaria from the southern united states with its help.
- Analyzes the tone of a scientific american article by francis joseph weiss celebrating the advent of "chemical agriculture."
- Explains that in 1952 insects, weeds, and disease cost farmers $13 billion in crops annually. preventing this damage by using pesticides would boost food and fiber production by 42 percent.
- Analyzes how carson, the passionate defender of wildlife, was determined to spotlight these harms by painting a scenario in which birds had all been poisoned by insecticides.
- Explains that the scientific controversy over the effects of ddt on wildlife, especially birds, still vexes researchers.
- Explains that the epa banned ddt 30 years ago, despite evidence of its safety offered in seven months of agency hearings. environmental activists celebrate the ban as their first great victory.
- Explains that carson argued that ddt and other pesticides were harming wildlife and killing people too. the delaney clause, which forbade the addition of any amount of chemicals suspected of causing cancer to food, focused carson's attention on that disease.
- Explains that wilhelm hueper, chief of environmental cancer research at the national cancer institute, dismissed the notion that smoking cigarettes caused cancer. the assertion that pesticides were dangerous human carcinogens was a stroke of public relations genius.
- Explains that in 1955, the american cancer society predicted that cancer would strike one in every four americans. the acs noted that the incidence of lung cancer was increasing rapidly.
- Argues that carson improperly cited cases of acute exposures to the chemical as proof of its cancer-causing ability.
- Analyzes how carson popularized the idea that children were especially vulnerable to the carcinogenic effects of synthetic chemicals.
- Analyzes how carson's statistic is meaningless unless given some context. the percentage of children dying of cancer was rising because other causes of death, such as infectious diseases, were drastically declining.
- Explains that cancer rates in children have not increased, as they would have if carson had been right that children were particularly susceptible to the alleged health effects of modern chemicals.
- Argues that modern chemicals can't be a big factor in cancer, but carson's heirs in the environmental movement base their careers on pursuing phantom risks.
- Opines that carson's great cancer scare should have been put to rest by a 1996 report from the national academy of sciences.
- Analyzes how carson's disciples persuaded poor countries to stop using ddt against mosquitoes, leading to an increase in the number of people dying of malaria each year. anti-ddt activists have stepped back from their ideological campaign.
- Argues that the legacy of rachel carson is troubling, given the state of the science at the time she wrote.
1974 wordsRead More - The author describes each chapter with a surreal narration. It begins with “A Fable for Tomorrow”, which starkly declares a bleak future of every U.S village if they erred to use pesticides. “The Obligation to Endure” describes the lack of public awareness and how it would become grievous. She justly reasons that if the public might suffer from long-term misfortunes due to insecticides usage, they have a right to know the facts. Felicitous “Elixirs of Death” describes the nature of insecticides in three apt words. Chemical structures of common biocides are explained in an uncomplicated fashion. A series of three successive chapters is dedicated to Earth and its components. These chapters include the closely inter-connected ecological cycles, existing in the water, mantle and soil horizons. Pesticide dispersal in soil followed by its access into the ground water table and the waterways is an inconceivable process. The book promulgates the escape of biocides from their place of application, and their integration into natural bodies. All her chapters thereafter revolve around the various short-term and long-term effects of biocides on the biosphere. Rachel Carson had stated countless dire cases wherein complete ecosystems faced annihilation. The influx of detrimental chemicals extended their reach over animals and plants, and were causing human mortalities as well. Humans are a part of
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the advent of industrialization and mankind's insatiable quest to devour nature has resulted in a potentially catastrophic chaos.
- Analyzes how rachel carson's silent spring was a testament to the blatant destruction of species and their environments due to indiscriminate use of artificial biocides.
- Explains that rachel carson suffered from breast cancer through the process of writing and publishing the book. she was born in springdale, pennsylvania, and breathed her last in silver spring, maryland.
- Analyzes how the apt name of the book enveloped the foreboding of a dying spring, which was welcomed with silence in many regions.
- Analyzes how silent spring covers critical issues embodied in the pesticide dilemma. rachel carson had stated dire cases wherein complete ecosystems faced annihilation.
- Analyzes how rachel carson has lent an engaging narration without compromising on scientific proof. silent spring was a new york times bestseller despite containing detailed information of pesticides and their chemistry.
- Analyzes how sanctifies nature and accentuates the pressing need of ecosystem preservation. her progressive line of thoughts was appreciated when the book was published and is still regarded as a hallmark of literary environmental activism.
- Explains that pesticides like ddt, dieldrin, aldrin and heptachlor were recklessly used, leaving a trail of ecological destruction in its wake. biodiversity bears the brunt of the devastation.
- Analyzes how rachel carson shares alternatives to chemical pest control. biological and plant-derived pesticides were used by indigenous communities over centuries.
- Explains that pesticide usage in india exponentially grew only after the advent of the green revolution.
1358 wordsRead More - Silent Spring: The Future or the Past?analytical essayWhat would happen if pesticides had never been invented? Would the world be a prettier place? Could the world function without pesticides? Rachel Carson does her best to show how pesticides have destroyed the world in her novel, Silent Spring.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rachel carson shows how pesticides have destroyed the world in her novel, silent spring.
- Analyzes how carson displays the ups and downs of pesticide use, but her side is very clear. she does not like any type of pesticide, whether it is organic or non-organic.
- Analyzes how carson's entire novel expresses her hatred for ddt because it is harmful to the environment and kills birds, fish, and insects.
- Analyzes how the title "the other road" is exactly what she talks about. she starts out with a great description using robert frost to show perspective.
- Analyzes carson's point that pesticides, especially ddt, are the wrong way to handle any type of infestation.
- Opines that carson was not right in stating that all pesticides are bad. ddt has prevented human deaths caused by the disease malaria.
- Analyzes how carson risked lawsuits by writing silent spring book summary. she wanted to inform people about what happened when pesticides were used.
- Opines that is a good writer but she hurt the agricultural industry. she had the facts but stated them so they helped her side.
- Opines that they would not recommend this book to just anyone because it takes a different mindset to read it. once they got into the book, they were more informed and came out with better knowledge of pesticides.
591 wordsRead More - The Dangers Of Threats In Rachel Carson's Silent Springanalytical essayRachel Carson’s seminal 1962 book, Silent Spring, told the real-life story of how bird populations across the country were suffering as a result of the widespread application of the synthetic pesticide DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), which was being used widely to control mosquitoes and others insects. Carson reported that birds ingesting DDT tended to lay thin-shelled eggs which would in turn break prematurely in the nest, resulting in marked population declines. The problem drove bald eagles, our national symbol, not to mention peregrine falcons and other bird populations, to the brink of extinction, with populations plummeting more than 80 percent (Mildred, 2012).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that rachel carson's 1962 environmental science book, silent spring, documented the harmful effects on the environment—particularly on birds—of the indiscriminate use of pesticides.
- Analyzes how the book triggered the modern environmental movement. its warning about the dangers of pesticides touched a direct nerve in many, but it also reflected wider concerns about modern technologies, combined with rampant consumerism,
- Describes how carson turned her attention to conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides, into silent spring, which brought environmental concerns to the american public.
- Explains that carson became concerned about the use of synthetic pesticides, which had been developed through the military fundong of science since world war ii.
- Analyzes how silent spring is a book about insecticides, not about smog, recycling, roadside litter, global warming, sustainable living, overpopulation, alternative energy, veganism or the potential of hemp.
- Explains that rachel carson wrote silent spring as a warning to the public about the detrimental effects of indiscriminately using ddt.
- Explains that carson's "silent spring" was originally suggested as a title for the chapter on birds, but was later approved by the editor paul brooks at houghton mifflin.
- Analyzes how the world today is awash in chemicals never before seen in nature. the chemicals are produced, sold, and used on an unsuspecting public by the same interconnected complex of profit-driven companies and government authorities.
- Explains that silent spring succeeded beyond anyone's imagining. it took its place on lists of the best nonfiction books of 20th century.
998 wordsRead More - The Environmental Protection Movement originated during the Industrial Revolution as a response to the increase of air pollution in the atmosphere. However, Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, is what sparked the contemporaneous movement. Carson discussed the threats DDT and other chemicals have on the environment. DDT led to the poisoning and deaths of wildlife, including the national symbol: bald eagle. Americans became cognizant and outraged of the effects chemicals may have not only on
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the 1960s were known for their social and political movements, including the environmental and consumer protection movement, which led to the establishment of the epa, the national traffic and motor vehicle safety act, and the clean air act.
- Explains that the environmental protection movement originated during the industrial revolution as a response to the increase of air pollution in the atmosphere. rachel carson's book, silent spring, sparked the contemporaneous movement.
- Explains that rachel carson contributed to the environmental protection movement, but ralph nader was credited for his involvement in the consumer movement.
- Explains that the environmental and consumer protection movement made an extraordinary comeback in the 1960s and ‘70s. the movement had a bigger impact on the united states than before.
456 wordsRead More - The Moral Structure In Rachel Carson's Silent Springanalytical essayIf Rachel Carson’s silent Spring were to be described in a single word, meticulous might be the best choice. She leaves very few stones unturned. Her research is painstakingly thorough. Silent Spring does not, however, read like a manual of potential chemical interactions. No, despite Carson’s exhaustive explanations of chemical pesticides and their effects on every imaginable part of the ecosystem, Silent Spring reads like novel, if perhaps, a cautionary one. This is readability is due, at least in part, to her deft and precise use of structure.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rachel carson's silent spring is meticulous and thorough, but it doesn't read like a manual of potential chemical interactions. this is readability due to her deft and precise use of structure.
- Analyzes how carson develops a bulls-eye structure in silent spring. the human race is in the center of catastrophes that move closer.
- Analyzes how carson's bullseye structure works by not telling directly how humans are impacted directly.
- Analyzes how carson's structure helps to achieve her goal of illustrating the doom impact to the species should we continue on our current path.
515 wordsRead More