Introduction
Silent Spring provides a documentary of the destructive effects of indiscriminate application of pesticides in the environment. Rachel Carson noted that the use of pesticides to control the increased insect population in the United States after WWII have a damaging effect to the environment. She was concerned about the destructive effect of pesticides in the environment and the human health, that she was spurned to conduct her own research. She teamed up with other scientists to gather concrete evidences that provided evidence on the detrimental impact of DDT and other pesticides. The evidences were used to substantiate and support her main argument that the use of chemical pesticides are destructive to the environment. While chemical pesticides are helpful in combating the problem of the increased insect population, its damaging impact on the human body and the environment justified adequate attention in order to regulate its manufacture and use.
The Chemicals and its Impact on the Environment
Rachel Carson started off with the chapter 2 of her book describing the history of life on earth and how she saw it as a compatible interaction of the living things and the environment (Carson, 1962). During the earlier times, the primary setting was that the environment impacted the way of living of animals, including man. However, the development of technological advances and the increased needs of man resulted in the change cause by men to the environment. The change was so drastic that it has immensely contaminated the natural environment, especially the manufacture of dangerous chemicals. As Carson pointed out: “The most alarming of all man’s assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials” (Carson, 1962)
According to Carson, the use of pesticides such as DDT can be considered as a man’s war against nature, because the universal application of these poisonous substances resulted in the indiscriminate killing of both the bad and the good insects. Further, she compared the impact of the use dangerous chemicals such as DDT to that of the nuclear weapon that can readily wipe out the whole mankind. She argued that one of the central problems of the current times was the total contamination of the environment with substances that have a destructive impact on plants and animals. While Carson was not totally against the use of chemicals, she was against the irresponsible manufacture and use of these chemicals.
The Dangers of Chemicals in the Body
With the prevalent use of chemicals around us, almost every person on earth has dangerous chemicals in their body. This is because the widespread use of chemicals, at home, work and in the agricultural sector resulted in the accumulation of these substances at different pace in all likely places, plants, animals and objects. In the research conducted by Carson, she revealed that as of the time of her writing: “The production of synthetic pesticides in the United States soared from 124,259,000 pounds in 1947 to 637,666,000 pounds in 1960” (Carson, 1962). While the amount provided billion of dollar economic gain from the manufacturer and resulted to the tax benefit for the government, the dangers to the health and people’s well-being should also be taken into consideration. For example, despite the fact that a reported use of arsenics resulted to the poisoning of a whole population, little was done to regulate and control its use. Another report indicated how arsenic-contaminated environments caused the annihilation of different animal population, yet, arsenic sprays are still widely used. This is a complete disregard to the dangers that these chemicals can cause to the environment and humans. A more deadly chemical than the arsenic is the DDT, which is a synthetic insecticide that is also referred to as chlorinated hydrocarbons. Carson explained the dangerous aspect of these chemicals by pointing out that they are built of carbon atoms which is defined as having an infinite capability to join another atom. This resulted in the chemical reaction that caused changes to poisonous substances.
An alarming note about the use of DDT is that after its development sometime in 1874, it has been very effective that people embraced its prevalent use in controlling insect populations. People who were used to applying it, do not generally thought of its dangers because they did not get sick immediately, thus the notion that DDT was not at all harmful and can be used indiscriminately. However, according to Carson’s objective research, she found that the different groups of chemicals have their own strengths. She proceeded to discuss some of the different chemicals that were prevalently used such as the Dieldrin which was considered to be five times as poisonous as DDT. Other toxic chemicals discussed in Carson’s book were parathion, and malathion as well as herbicides that are used to get rid of weeds. Herbicides are intended for plants, but they can also be toxic to animals when ingested.
Carson provided some of the results of her four-year investigation on the impact of insecticides on health and the overall well-being. For example, the ingestion of DDT even in a small amount can result to liver damage, and as early as the 1950’s, the Food and Drug Administration declared the possible hazard to health. In chapter 12 of her book, she indicated how the major health concern of people today has drastically changed:
Now our major concern is no longer with the disease organisms that once
were omnipresent; sanitation, better living conditions, and new drugs
have given us a high degree of control over infectious disease. Today, we
are concerned with a different kind of hazard that lurks (Carson, 1962).
Today, people are worried about the possibility of turning the environment into an uninhabitable place. There is also the fear about too much contamination of the food that we take. We may not be aware, but there is a gradual destruction that is happening around us. While people may not experience the immediate impact, the accumulated chemicals and the minimal but continuous exposure can take a toll on our health.
The pesticides and other chemicals used for spraying has a detrimental impact to the environment and health. Consequently, Carson feared that the irresponsible and continued use of chemicals will result in worse future consequences. For one, the targeted pests will eventually develop immunity against the pesticides, and the manufacturers have to come up with a stronger formula to combat the pests. This realization motivated Carson to call for an alternative approach in controlling the pest. The author of Silent Spring did not directly advocate for the complete banning of DDT, but she allowed the reader to contemplate on whether “it is either wise or responsible to attack the problem by methods that are rapidly making it worse” (Carson, 1962).
Conclusion
The Silent Spring was written to expose how the use of chemicals in combating pests can have a damaging effect to the environment and to humans. Carson judiciously integrated her research and other studies to provide a substantive evidence on her arguments. Accordingly, her book gathered a large number of readership, though she has to face disapprovals from the chemical manufacturers. There were many people who argued that Carson’s book was a clamor for the closure and banning of chemical manufacturers. However, she pointed out that what she was encouraging was the careful and responsible management of these pesticides and the need to raise awareness for its detrimental impact to the environment and to health.
The Silent Spring was an effective instrument in informing people about the dangers of the extensive and irresponsible use of chemicals. While Carson and other environmental advocates were severely criticized for their cause, their acts, was in fact a heroic one. In reading through the book, one realizes how man has taken drastic moves that proved to be detrimental in the end. It’s been several decades since the first publication of Silent Spring, and chemicals remain to be manufactured in massive amounts. Water, air and land pollution have escalated than ever, and many of these environmental problems were caused by the different chemicals sprayed around. It is time to reconsider the alternative measures as provided by Carson, which is the use of biological controls that are environmentally friendly, cost effective and sustainable.
What I Learned From the Book
I think the book is an effective way of generating awareness on the use of pesticides and chemicals in different communities. The book was clearly outlined, so that it allows the reader to go with the flow of the narrative. It is also commendable because the author used in several studies that provided a substantial credibility to her claims. I like the book for its highly authoritative and influential stance; for one, the readings allowed me to ponder on things that were generally neglected by most people. Just like ordinary individuals, I have learned to accept that the use of chemicals at home and in agricultural areas was a usual part of our existence. While I have read other articles that discussed some of the detrimental effect of chemicals, I found that Silent Spring provided further enlightenment. It was by reading the book that I realized that we are waging war against ourselves by the indiscriminate use of these chemicals. It is, however, unfortunate that we cannot put a stop to the manufacture and use of these toxic substances, because most industries have come to depend on them.
References
Carson, R. (1962). Silent spring. Fawcett Publications.
