Module 1.1 - A Turning Point Event for Environmental Science: Silent Spring

 POINT OF VIEW

 

Rachel Carson’s point of view in the Silent Spring, was the Earth. How it was, and still is suffering. One of the voices was through nature, and how we are destroying it before our very eyes. Finally, the last point of view would have to be through the chemists and other scientists. They are the ones believing they can control nature, not that we are the ones affecting it. Carson warned us several times what would happen if things continued the way they were back then. 

 

PURPOSE

 

The entire purpose of Carson’s fight was to bring attention to our world’s climate change. She made an entire point to say that we, humans, are the ones destroying the very world we are living in, and we must come together to change and fix it… while we still have time. She fought when DDT was being used as a pesticide but was dismissed regularly. 

 

 

QUESTIONS AT ISSUE

 

The largest question at issue is to why no one believed that climate change was brought on because of humanity. We mostly believed that scientists had it under control, and that global warming would cease to exist within our own lifetime(s). Things especially became worst when DDT was later introduced into the environment, which seemed helpful at first but was later found to be poisonous to humans.

 

INFORMATION

 

During the 2nd world war, things began to escalate dramatically. Carson began to advocate that the war was against the earth and our climate. During this time, she was feeling restless, working for fish and wildlife services. She craved a wide audience and believed this warranted wide-spread public attention. Even though she was rejected from different news sources, she fought hard to get her word out into the public.

 

INTERPRETATION AND INFERENCE

 

Carson fought long and hard for our environment and what she, as a single woman, could do to change and improve our ecosystems. Even when no one was listening she still fought, and rightfully so, especially when DDT was introduced by the military. DDT sat in a lab since the 18th century for decades, until they eventually realized that it was potent against insects but not ‘obviously’ potent to humans. They sprayed it on people to prevent insect spread diseases such as Malaria. It basically eradicated the epidemic, but little did scientists know that DDT was actually very toxic to humans; it was just not notable immediately.

 

CONCEPTS

 

An axiom I would point out from Rachel Carson video would be from the government/army stating that DDT was a safe pesticide treatment to put on farmers crops and use on humans to deter diseases from other countries. The fact that DDT was allowed to be sprayed onto our own crops, without proper warning, and then consumed was such an alarming factor, Carson fought hard to change it. Though, unfortunately, no one listened to her and a few decades later we began to see the changes DDT was doing to our natural environment. 

 

ASSUMPTIONS

 

When it came to DDT, no one really thought much of it. It was killing insects rapidly, causing cases of malaria and other insect caused diseases to vanish. Spray stations were being set up throughout different countries where they doused said people in DDT. It was used as a deterrent for several different diseases, and harmful effects were not seen right away. This caused belief that DDT was completely unharmful, using it on children, the elderly, etc.

 

CONSEQUENCES

 

Even though DDT seemed to stop the insect induced epidemics in its tracks, no one knew the long-term effects DDT had on the human body. Rachel Carson fought against the use of it so freely, stating that “it looks great…. But let’s be careful what it’s doing to the environment.” Rightfully so, because in 1972 DDT was cancelled because of the adverse reactions it was having toward our environment. It was harming not only wildlife, but finally, there was evidence that it was causing potential human health risks. After research really began with the effects of DDT on the environment, we learned that it is very insoluble in water and persists in the natural environment. This makes DDT an extremely high pollution hazard in our world. 




Rachel Carson: Mother of Environmental Movements

(https://www.aa.com.tr/en/environment/rachel-carson-mother-of-environmental-movements/1595552)




Lear, Linda. “Rachel Carson, the Life and Legacy.” Rachel Carson, the Life and Legacy, www.rachelcarson.org. Accessed 24 Jan. 2023.


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