Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the Beginning of the Environmental Movement in the United States

She needed to reach every person and spread knowledge of the serious dangers that pesticides could inflict on the environment. She simplified the specifics and scientific processes in order for simple people to understand what these harmful chemicals were doing to them and what they were doing to the places they lived. People understood that she was writing not to discredit the chemical pesticide industry but to look out for everyone else’s well being. The rhetorical triangle was a significant part of Silent Spring‘s argument. Rachel Carson wanted to persuade people of the serious danger of this chemical threat.

There are alternative, to this major problem but, we as the caretakers of earth must act fast. In the following paper I'm going to share with you what pesticides are. I'll tell you why they are not safe to use and some of the affects of pesticides. Last, I will talk about some new alternatives there are instead of using pesticides. Pesticides are toxic chemicals that poison the earth and its environment.

Book Review: Carson, R. (1963) Silent Spring, Hamilton, London. Carson’s book was a lot more than just another enthusiastic wilderness book. Silent Spring is widely regarded as one of the pioneering book’s focusing on the impacts of industry particular the chemical industry on the environment. Carson was one of the firsts academics to directly blame the effects of pesticides and chemicals for declining biodiversity in certain habitats. She also presented the view that the Chemical industry had been spreading disinformation; and further more blamed public officials for accepting such claims unquestioningly.

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.

The main point in this book is that through the care... ... middle of paper ... ...ple are concerned with. Conclusion: When it comes to pesticides in this book it is clear that they are harmful to the environment and humanity when not used properly. Carson describes the importance of this issue and pushed for the improvement of the system. She proposes multiple solutions in order to keep the people and animals safe while getting rid of the insects that have become an annoyance. As a writer and researcher Carson is passionate and determined to find out new ways of solving the problem at hand.

Rachel Carson was a zoologist, writer, and an ecologist. She recognized the issues which would prove to have deleterious long-term effects. On 27th September 1962, a book which changed the course of the 'environmental movement' was published. It was lauded by supporters who had witnessed the ill-effects of biocides and those who had amassed similar scientific proof. Both Rachel Carson and her publishers had expected a backlash of criticism which unsurprisingly came from chemical industries like Dupont and American Cyanamid.

Some of this legislation helped lead to rules and regulations against chemical companies and pollution. This is perhaps the biggest reason she was hated so much by chemical corporations. Her book not only hit them in the pocket book, but helped pass regulations against future use of chemicals cutting into chemical corps. Financial success in the future. They felt her book attacked them and they fought back.

According to Anne MacZulak, a environmentalist writer, Silent Spring fulfilled Theodore Roosevelt idea of natural conservation, which would help guide him to establish the the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This act would greatly help protect the endangered species that humans have made so scarce due to our processes including hunting, poaching, deforestation and other harmful acts. Another example of how this book changed our society, was described by Mark Stroll in his online visual exhibition, and it was dealing with the dangerous nuclear byproduct strontium 90. Carson brought enough awareness to this subject, that a “Baby Tooth Survey” was created to test strontium 90 levels in babies teeth. With substantial results, this lead President Kennedy to negotiate the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.

According to the World Health Organization, “The World Health Organization (WHO) defines them as an organism who’s DNA has been altered in a non-natural way. GM plants are usually changed to be insect resistant, virus resistant, or herbicide tolerant. With these changes come some potentially problematic environmental challenges.” (Emily Glass). It’s a good thing that it is virus resistance and insect resisentance but the impact it has is immensely large because, “toxicity is a huge issue surrounding chemical pesticides and herbicides, used commonly with GMOs, in addition to the toxicity inherent to these plants. GMOs may be toxic to non-target organisms, bees and butterflies being the most talked-about examples currently.

Henderson is leading by example and showing the world what it ... ... middle of paper ... ...son who is against. In this article you have the U.S Homeland Security for the stockpiles while most American citizens are against. “Official threat assessments also raise questions about the need for the old anthrax vaccine in national stockpiles.” (Rempfer, 2009) The article and book are both connected in a moral dilemma that keeps your brain and heart simultaneously thinking about what could happen if anthrax or smallpox fell into the wrong hands. Works Cited Bourzac, K. (2002). Smallpox: Historical review of a potential bioterrorist tool.