Rachel Carson Realms Of The Soil Analysis

This argumentative analysis examines the article “Realms of the Soil” written by Rachel Carson, which is a chapter from Silent Spring. The article argues about the destruction of the delicate balance of nature by wholesale use of insecticides. She describes the balance nature of the soil, of the earth’s water, and of the organisms of the earth, and how offsetting this balance can “kill” life. To put across her viewpoint, the author raised 3 important questions, which form the basis of her argument. First, what happens to these incredibly numerous and vitally necessary inhabitants of the soil when poisonous chemicals are carried down into their world through the use of insecticides? Second, is it possible to apply broad spectrum insecticides to avoid killing the good

Rachel assumes that new insecticides which are environmentally user-friendly may not be found in the future, and that the only alternative to this problem is to ban these dangerous chemicals. Such an assumption is unwarranted because many trends in the past have reversed direction entirely or eventually ceased through research and innovations. Today, many organic and degradeable insecticides have been developed.
Currently various institutions and regulations have been established to evaluate the use of dangerous insecticides. This key assumption is in line with on one of the sayings of Albert Schweitzer that “ man has lost the capacity to foresee and foretell. He will end up by destroying the earth”. Research and innovations have and would continue to prevent that from happening. Scientists, meanwhile, have developed alternative insecticides that attack selectively instead of indiscriminately, and that break down into non- toxic substances in the environment. Today, organic insecticides are now on the