ipl-logo

Pesticide Suicide: Silent Spring By Rachel Carson

765 Words4 Pages

Pesticide Suicide
After reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson my perception on the use of pesticides has changed. I was aware of the possible effects that could occur if pesticides were applied incorrectly, such as contaminating the water supply. However, I didn’t realize the severity of such effects and their coupling consequences caused by unregulated sprayings only fifty-six years ago. As Carson illustrated, the pesticidal contaminants, including DDT, PCBs, Dieldrin, Heptachlor, phenols, and countless others, not only affected targeted pests, but also unintentionally affected surrounding organismal populations. These included salmon in the streams, robins in the trees, cattle in the pasture, and eagles in their nests, to list a few.
Fire ant removal in the Southern states caused public uproar. The insect wasn't bothersome to most, yet the government continued their mission to eradicate it. Dieldrin and heptachlor, chemicals far more toxic than DDT, were applied to lands. These chemicals caused a nervous system disease, and in a few weeks, numerous animals domestic and wild died off (Carson 168). Southerners then questioned food quality, worrying drinking milk and eating meat of the contaminated animals would harm them as well (169). Not to mention, once the program came to an end, it was believed there were more fire ants than when they …show more content…

I live surrounded by dairy farms and farmland, and if concerns arise regarding their operations I will report it to the appropriate authorities. As for individually spraying for weeds and insects on lawns or in trees, I will try and avoid it, but if it’s unavoidable I will take necessary precautions. This includes simple measures, such as only spot spraying where it’s needed, moving pets out of harm's way, and wearing appropriate attire to prevent skin contact and

Show More
Related

Nt1310 Unit 2 Term Paper

442 Words | 2 Pages

2.21 PESTICIDES Manahan (19..) discusses pesticides as water pollutants. DDT was introduced after World War II which accelerated pesticide use. Manahan (19..) states that by the mid-1990s agricultural use of pesticides was over 300 million kg per year and millions more kg of pesticides were used in non-agricultural applications. Manahan: Insecticides such as diazinon, carbaryl and chlorpyifos are most commonly found in water.

Read More

Summary Of Living Downstream By Sandra Steingraber

480 Words | 2 Pages

In the first chapter of “Living Downstream” by Sandra Steingraber discussed about personal experiences living in Illinois and discovering how much the landscape has changed over the years. In addition to the changing landscape, cancer, especially breast cancer, has increased in the prairies of Illinois and pesticides usage may cause. Much of the discussion first begin with the change of landscape as the prairies of Illinois has become a place for farming and pesticides. As farming became an important aspect of Illinois, pesticides were created to remove any bugs or insects from the product that is being farmed. A few pesticides formulas that came to be are atrazine, dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Read More

Compare And Contrast Ruckleshaus Vs Monsanto

443 Words | 2 Pages

There is always opposition to pesticides because of the harm that it can cause on the environment and the animals alike. Pesticides though have saved a lot of hard work for farmers over the past couple of decades because it does all the dirty work, for example, the killing of weeds and other pests. Pesticides have also saved a lot of money for farmers by preventing pests from damaging crops or taking the nutrients and water supply away from crops. (Whitford, 7) In the future we need to start to find less toxic ways to prevent pests from attacking the crops and vegetation. This would prevent a lot of the other costs associated with pesticides for example, health costs for farmers that are exposed to the toxic chemicals or the killing of the habitats in the surrounding areas.

Read More

What Is The Ethical Appeal In Letter From Birmingham Jail

748 Words | 3 Pages

Carson appeals to the arousal of the basic emotions, such as the arousal of fear in the public. Carson also appeals to pathos, or the emotions, by questioning the “highly intelligent” creators of these pesticides. Carson believes irrational bad decisions based on faulty evidence threaten the future existence of mankind. “Along with the possibility of the extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm-substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends.” However, the statement supports Carson’s intention to present a persuasive, and logical point of view without confusing the reader; suggesting she ment to go against a patient audience rather than an impatient one.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Silent Spring By Rachel Carson

711 Words | 3 Pages

Her diction is undoubtedly her main “weapon” that she utilizes to address the issue of pesticides. With words such as “direct target,” “poisons,” “killing,” “death,” and “lethal” in her arsenal of care and peace, she roots an alarming sense into her audience by showing pesticide as a relentless beast that causes nothing but harm. In a way, Carson amplifies the word pesticide into much more sinister concept: death. She personifies it with her dire word choice, considering it a “universal killer” (28) and a “wave of death” (50) that was perpetuated by farmers and the authoritarian. She compares the farmers who use pesticide to “judge and jury” who have “doomed” innocent creatures that they are either ignorant of or for whom they care little for (31-32).

Read More

Birt Naled Research Paper

443 Words | 2 Pages

The most affected creature are the bees that are coming into contact with the insecticide. The aerial spraying in North Carolina resulted in the death of millions of honeybees. The product used, Trump, which contains the pesticide Naled, is labeled to be highly toxic to bees. Many beekeepers were not warned about the aerial spraying which resulted in the loss of their colonies. Juanita Stanley stated: “Now, I 'm going to have to destroy my hives, the honey, all

Read More

AP Environmental Science: Silent Spring By Rachel Carson

1155 Words | 5 Pages

The problems she targeted in the past have only expanded into modern times as they have accurately influenced more and more ecosystems worldwide. Pesticides and other man-made chemical compounds are the main source of these environmental issues, and Carson would have continued to campaign for the halt of the use of chemicals. Although pesticides and chemicals are continuing to harm the environment, Rachel's book was a monumental wake up call to humans, as it revealed how much damage we are causing every day to ourselves and our surroundings. Arguably thanks to Rachel Carson’s hard work and dedication to advocating against man-made chemicals, DDT was finally banned in the United States in 1972. Rachel’s legacy still carries on today, and her work, specifically within “Silent Spring,” continues to bring awareness to the present major environmental issues— marking it as one of the most influential books of the twentieth

Read More

Dennis Nilsen As A Serial Killer

171 Words | 1 Pages

To some, death comes naturally; To others, it is taken away from them through the hands of another. Dennis Nilsen, for example, took the lives of 15 men. Sure this man is considered a serial killer, a mentally insane man who had strangled his victims, but what is really going in his head? New Science on the brains of Serial Killers had enabled forensic scientists and detectives to look inside the brain of a killer to determine how he or she thinks, and acts. The Environment and behavior of a serial killer play a key role in determining the activity in their brain.

Read More

The Most Important Legislative Successes Of The Civil Rights Movement

1831 Words | 8 Pages

Rachel Carson, an environmentalist wrote about the negative effects of pesticides and DDT in her book, “Silent Spring”. The book became very popular during the war and showcased how DDT was decimating the wildlife population, especially birds. Illustrated through the book, DDT was causing birds’ eggshells to thin which almost led to species such as robin bird and American Bald Eagle almost becoming extinct. Also, the chemical CFC, which was used in refrigerants, hair sprays, etc. was being overused which led to a hole in the ozone layer that protects Earth from harmful radiation caused by the Sun. Another environmental problem occurring during this time was the disregard for what could be dumped into our waterways.

Read More

Undocumented Community: Unocumented Community Analysis

1506 Words | 7 Pages

In 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Springs, where she noted that pesticides have a connection to human health issues, and found that farm laborers had higher rates of health risk. Due to her strong activism, she had the power to put some restrictions on the amount of DDT being used. Carson cautioned all of society to reconsider the conditions of farm laborers, most of which are undocumented today. In fact, over 75% of California farmworkers are undocumented; 83% in Santa Cruz county (Speaker Dr. Ann Lopez.) After being exposed to pesticide poisoning, they face headaches, nausea, and seizures. Much of these cases head on to cancer, infertility problems, neurological disorders, and respiratory conditions.

Read More

Summary Of The Obligation To Endure By Rachel Carson

324 Words | 2 Pages

In today’s world, there are many people creating new chemical substances that has negative effect to our world. Rachel Carson, in her article "The Obligation to Endure" argues that the pesticides and other chemicals we use are harmful to more than just the environment. I agree with Carson in her article, in that we should reduce most of the harmful chemical use and instead use technological inventions. Carson is a person who seems very passionate about the environment and is very concerned of its inhabitants. It is hard to believe that intelligent human beings would use bad chemicals substances that would affect the environment and themselves negatively.

Read More

Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets Analysis

792 Words | 4 Pages

Not only were pesticides killing the intended targets, but they also killed other forms of life as well. Similar to the main idea of “Thinking Like a Mountain,” people missed the larger consequences of their actions. By focusing on only human desires in regards to the environment, the needs of all other life on Earth is neglected. Even when humans are taken into account first, some of these decisions can actually cause more harm than good. Destroying the Earth is simultaneously destroying humans, because they depend on the environment for survival.

Read More

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

1175 Words | 5 Pages

Using these literary devices, Carson uncovers a usually unseen perspective surrounding pesticides and other chemical controllers we use, and how they oppress nature’s innate systems and operations. Rachel Carson uses scientific diction to a great extent in Silent Spring, with intent to reveal her intellectual studies and earnest efforts to expand her message about man’s attempts to control nature. Carson uses an effort to include technical terminology in her book, and we see this throughout the passage. For example, Carson displays her extensive knowledge of biology when she says “by their very nature chemical controls are self-defeating, for they have been devised and applied without taking into account the complex biological systems against which they have been blindly hurled” (ll. 22-24). It is assumed then, that Carson has done research to come to this conclusion.

Read More

A Fable For Tomorrow Analysis

757 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine having so much pesticides in use that people and animals were actually dying from it. In the 1950’s the overuse of pesticides was a serious problem. Rachel Carson was an activist who was against the use and overuse for these pesticides. She wanted to address this problem to the government and the public and warn about the harmful effects pesticides have on the environment and the people. In “A Fable For Tomorrow”, Rachel Carson utilizes ethos, logos and pathos in order to bring awareness to the overuse of pesticides.

Read More

Essay On Pesticides

1817 Words | 8 Pages

Pesticides and How it Works Abstract: A pest is "a plant or creature unfavorable to people or human concerns". Pesticide is Chemical or natural substance intended to slaughter or retard the development of pests that harm or meddle with the development of products, bushes, trees, timber and other vegetation coveted by people. Keywords: Antimicrobials, Antimicrobials, Herbicides Introduction:

Read More

More about Pesticide Suicide: Silent Spring By Rachel Carson

Related Topics

Open Document