Silent Springs Summary

Silent Springs by Rachel Carson was a futuristic books that describe how our world will be under the influence of chemicals while describing the damaging effects of these chemicals during her time. As Albert Schweitzer stated “Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation” which it very truthful then as it is truthful today. Everyday a new discovery is achieved by the scientist worldwide, some with the best intentions and others with dubious purposes but all considered an advance in technology which prove the great capacity of humanity to overcome, manipulate, conquered and in many cases to bypass nature in order to demonstrate our superiority as a specie. Without realizing that we are creating our own extinction. Rachel Carson

The author utilized the example of radiation which occur naturally in the soil and the atmosphere since the creation of the planet, it has been harness with the creation of the atomic bomb which released Strontium 90 during detonation. This radiation is now part of our environment and our bodies and it will remain there after our dead. Furthermore, she used the process of bio-magnification to illustrate the effects of over 500 synthetic chemicals in existence that are used as pesticides , insecticides and herbicides which are designed to eliminated they such called “Pest” and which our bodies does not have the time to adjust to their presence. She stated that it should not be called with those names but it should be called “biocides”. This term refers to the capacity of these chemicals to eliminate all types of organisms in other words these chemicals are considered nonselective pesticides which overtime are able to create resistance and are able to “flareback”. This action has a direct repercussions to all organism which are caught and exposed to different chemicals in order to achieve the desire results. A very interesting point of this chapter is that the primary reason for the use of these chemicals to controls the called “pest” are due to the

The author also explain the transition from the production of pesticides from naturally occurring minerals and plants to the production of pesticides using synthetic chemicals. These naturally occurring minerals were cooper, arsenic, manganese, lead zinc and others and plants such as nicotine sulphate from tobacco plants, rotenone from leguminous plants pyrethrum from the chrysanthemums. She states that what set apart the synthetic pesticides from the naturally occurring one is the power to alter and disrupt the biological process in the organism that are necessary to the proper function of the different organs. The chapter explain the process of cross-contamination from one area to the other due to the effects of weather patterns and how different organisms are at risk from the application of the pesticides in a specific area. Furthermore, the author explain the two types of synthetic pesticides use in the era which were chlorinated hydrocarbons such as DDT and organic phosphorus insecticides such as malathion and parathion. She also explain the importance of carbon in the production of these pesticides, because carbon possess the ability to interact or unity with many other substances and which is the base of all life in our planet. She also present the reader