Rachel Carson was a
biologist in the 1950s-60s who was compelled to share her concern about
pesticides, even at the risk of her professional reputation. Rachel Carson’s
concern, actions, and the book Silent Spring had a broad effect on society. Carson’s
book was very controversial at the time, and her professional and personal
integrity were questioned. Silent Spring,
however, became so popular that Rachel Carson and the publication of her book
are now identified as the beginning of the modern environmental movement.
Read “A Fable for
Tomorrow,” the four-page first chapter of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring here: http://wilderness.nps.gov/idea61.cfm.
1. Why do you think Carson
titles it “A Fable for Tomorrow?” Think about the choice of words in the
title. (.5 point)
I think that “A Fable
Tomorrow?” was a perfect title. Because the word fable means 3 different
things. With all 3 they would all work. i.e. A short tale to teach a moral
less; to tell or write; and to describe as if actually so. All 3 would work
with for tomorrow, especially considering the article is referring to tomorrow
as if it were today and it does teach us a great morality lesson.
2.
What did you know about pesticides before watching
the Earth Days segment or reading part of Silent Spring? (1 point)
Before watching the Earth
Days segment I didn’t know very much about pesticides other than they aren’t
very good for you. I also know that they are
DDT
(dichloro diphenyl trichlo) is a synthetic pesticide. Synthetics are
artificially-crafted, meaning that they are produced by humans and not found in
nature. A pesticide is a chemical used to kill pests, such as insects. At
first, DDT was widely used to eliminate mosquitoes that carry the harmful
disease, malaria, but later it was used on farms and in industrial processes to
control agricultural pests, such as various potato beetles, coddling moth, corn
earworm, cotton bollworm, and tobacco budworms. Its purpose was to
increase the amount of food produced on farms by killing the pests that were
destroying crops. Yet, as Rachel Carson demonstrates in her book, Silent Spring, there were dangerous and adverse effects
to DDT.
DDT
is insoluble in water. This means it cannot be dissolved in water, so it is
difficult to remove from the environment or the tissues of living organisms.
One group of animals most vulnerable to DDT is aquatic invertebrates. These
include small insects and other creatures without backbones that live in water,
such as clams and worms, which constitute a substantial portion of the food
chain.
While
DDT is insoluble in water, it is readily dissolvable in fats, including the fat
tissues found in animals (and people). Because of DDT’s fat solubility, fats in
animals can become storehouses for DDT accumulation. Therefore, DDT cannot be
removed from water but is soaked up by fat. Its solubility and insolubility
make DDT a persistent pollutant: a toxin that just won’t go away!
“One
of the reasons why we worry about DDT is because it doesn't break down in the
environment or in organisms.” - University of San Diego, Creators of Cruising
Chemistry
How
much DDT is bad for you? The answer to this depends on the amount of DDT that
you are exposed to, how much DDT you carry in your body, and your weight.
Nevertheless, even a small amount as low as six to ten milligrams of DDT per
kilogram, can cause nausea, diarrhea, irritation, and excitability. One of the
more severe symptoms is losing control of your muscles, either through erratic
movements or paralysis. DDT also affects other animals. For example, it
can disturb the reproductive processes of certain birds, such as the thinning
of eggshells, or lead to imbalance of ions in cells that affects the nervous
systems in some fish.
DDT
started being more widely used on farms for pest control in the 1940s. From
1947 to 1960, the use of pesticides went from 1.24 to 6.37 million pounds,
growing fivefold over a 13-year span. The dangerous effects of pesticides
were not well known until Rachel Carson’s book Silent
Spring, in which “A Fable for Tomorrow” illustrated DDT’s adverse
effects. While DDT helped farmers to reduce crop damage and loss, Rachel Carson
is known for conducting research and bringing attention to the damage it causes
to other living systems.
The
book shocked and concerned so many Americans that then U.S. President John F.
Kennedy ordered a scientific investigation on DDT. Later, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided that a process to remove its use
in agriculture should begin immediately and a ban took place in the U.S. in
1972. Consequently, a worldwide ban was instituted in 2004 under the Stockholm
Convention. The Convention, however, was limited and still allowed for
developing countries to use DDT to counteract malaria; a full ban is now being
sought, as well as the broader implementation of safer alternatives.
3. Name four places pesticides
exist. (1 point)
We use pesticides in our
houses to kill mice and other annoying critters. We use them to repel fleas or
we will bomb the house with pesticides to get rid of them. They’re also found
in bug spray that we use to avoid mosquitos. The scary part is that they’re
found on farms and in turn put into the livestock and of course in our bodies.
There’s also residue of pesticides that end up in the soil and water.
4.
Why
was Carson focusing on the negative aspects of pesticide use? (1 point)
The reason she focused on
the negative aspects is the fact that we’re using them everywhere. DDT used to
be found in every meal given at restaurants. Not to mention, once you’re well
versed in the harms these pesticides can do to you, you’ll want to be worried
about what your children are putting in their mouth.
5. What are two of the effects
of DDT on birds and mammals? (1 point)
One effect that DDT can
have on birds are thinning of egg shells. DDT can cause headaches, nausea,
vomiting, and it can increase woman’s chance of breast cancer. Due to DDT bird
population also is declining.
6.
“Our aim should be to guide natural processes
as cautiously as possible in the desired direction rather than to use brute
force...Life is a miracle beyond our comprehension, and we should reverence it
even when we have to struggle against it...Humbleness is in order; there is no
excuse for scientific conceit here.” – Rachel
Carson in Silent Spring.
What is humbleness? Find a suitable definition, not
just from your own head. How can we exhibit
humbleness toward nature? (1 point)
Humbleness means to be
modest or to not be proud or arrogant. We can learn to not be stubborn in our
ways and learn to live with nature rather than thinking we know better. Nature
has survived for millions of years, we survive for maybe a few centuries thus
far. Who will win?
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