Dystopian Environmental Issues

Less than 100 years ago pesticides began to be used commercially on large agricultural fields (Lah) since there was a small percentage of crop failure due to pests. Soon their use became widespread globally and their potency increased dramatically. Similarly, in the novel The Sheep Look Up there are many environmental issues that are caused by a dystopian society; one of the issues discussed led to a variety of problems, such as low crop yields and food shortages, was the overuse of pesticides (Brunner). This issue is also applicable in the real world today where the effects have caused major damage to biodiversity (Cressey) and humankind (Rupa). Furthermore, bans and strict limitations have been placed by many countries around the world in

The pesticides were used so vastly to the extent that the pests had become immune to any of the chemical pesticides used on the crops (Brunner). For example, “...this is what the buggers do to the plants… [he] pulled a coffee bush casually out of the ground. It offered no resistance. The stem was spongy with bore holes and the foliage limp and sickly.” (Brunner, 59) This quote illustrates the damage the crops suffered due to the pesticides applied to them. Since the crops were essentially dead and inedible, it caused a food shortage to the local village, which in turn led to health deficiencies, such as pellagra. (Brunner, 61) The food shortage was a result of the jigra infestation; after a variety of insecticides were utilized in efforts to remove the jigras, a type of invasive worm species, in response they became immune to, “just about every know insecticide, banned or legal.”(Brunner,

An example that this solution does improve human conditions is when the World Health Organization banned Class I organophosphorus, a type of insecticide, in Sri Lanka; shortly after the ban took place the country saw its suicide rates decrease by 50% (Eddleston). There have also been many new laws passed to ban certain harmful pesticides. For example, in October 2015 Montgomery County, Maryland banned neonicotinoid insecticides in certain areas such as child-care facilities and playgrounds after the EPA announced that neonicotinoids are considered harmful (Nagro). Many developed nations are able to handle pesticide problems with ease due to the fact that they do not rely on their own agriculture to feed their people. This means that bans and limitations of synthetic insecticides aren’t an issue that is strongly disputed. However, in developing nations they don’t have such a benefit. Most of the nations do rely on agriculture to feed its people, yet if a ban were to be placed it could cause many mixed consequences. The environment could benefit, yet farmers would fight back to continue utilizing pesticides since they must produce large quantities of crops to trade with other nations. This trend of relying on pesticides in order to yield more and more crops is what has led to the growth of this issue. Countries