Rachel Carson Silent Spring Summary

Environmentalism is the belief in which one advocates for environmental preservation. In Rachel Carson’s narrative Silent Spring, she gives her activist insight on toxic chemicals for the benefit of humanity by exposing the detrimental effects these toxins bring. In comparison to Carson, I perceive myself to have developed my perception of nature through books however, as a hispanic woman my expected role in my culture did not allow me to have a one on one interaction with nature. Carson fails to comprehend how traditional values potentially promote an anthropocentric ideology that attributes to the unfavorable way humans treat the natural world. The author’s modes of argumentation mirror my own perception of nature only to a certain extent

As a result of the gender expectations in my culture, my childhood consisted of me being home playing with dolls while my brothers played outside in the yard and interacted with nature. Relatable to Rachel Carson, she grew up in an era where women were viewed as subjects rather than an intellectual contribution to society. Carson incorporated a biologist, George Wald, who argues that “only when we bring our focus to bear, first on the individual cells of the body, then on the minute structures within the cells, and finally on the ultimate reactions of molecules within these structures… we can comprehend the most serious and far reaching effects” of these synthetic chemicals ,” (Carson 200). I can relate to the author’s argument as a woman because my gender role as a Latina kept me from expanding my perception of nature. As a child my upbringing caused me to undermine the pollution in the air. In regards to my parents lack of environmental knowledge they littered, used pesticides and worked in facilities that release toxins into the air and thought nothing of it. Being surrounded by this made me develop an apathetic inclination towards nature because my values did not promote environmentalism. We viewed the environment as just a place people called home, nothing more, nothing

The author mentions how after the spraying of DDT “ within two days dead and lying fish, including many young salmon, were found along the banks of the stream,” (131). The people spraying these pesticides are people who live in urban areas and are not necessarily directly harmed by these toxins that are carried in river streams. Carson concludes that many fish died but does not mention which culture is primarily affected. Her perspective is generally more lenient towards civilians of urban cities as she excludes marginalized communities. Carson holds a perspective that is very condensed primarily looking at how synthetic chemicals have harmed the general human race rather than looking through the perspective of certain under represented communities. For instance, when looking at nature through a Native American perspective their agricultural beliefs have degraded soils in the Delaware Valley. Native Americans identify with nature cognitively, where they become one with nature. Their cultural beliefs have caused them to overharvest and use certain ecosystems as religious sanctuaries. If the author would have included cultural aspects she could have made a larger impact in lower income communities where environmental impacts are larger. Carson’s one sided argument weakens the connection with a diverse