Preview

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
298 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
It is incredible to look at all that is being threatened in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. To have synthetic pesticides like DDT enter the biosphere and disrupt the natural world in the manner she describes is bewildering. Despite being so effective the damage they caused was irreversible throughout ecosystems. It was so polarizing she effectively reinvented the environmental movement, and defined who was responsible (NYT nopage). Perhaps the largest contributor to the environmental problem is human activity. Whether that is through industry, overuse of fossil fuels or over consumption, humans have caused a considerable spike in noticeable carbon dioxide emissions and damage to the biosphere. Throughout Carson’s book she mentions various instances

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Silent Spring was the right science book published at the right time. It brought the concerns about environmental to the general public. It led to a nationwide ban on DDT and the creation of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. DDT’s insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist in 1939 ("DDT"). The widely use in agricultural started after the World War II. The Swiss chemist was even awarded the Nobel Prize since DDT was so efficiency to kill inserts. Nevertheless people did not notice that DDT was also a great threat to the environmental and wildlife especially birds. People like to talk about sustainable development in recent years; DDT is a great counter example of it. Although it is very efficiency to kill inserts, it…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rachel Louise Carson was born on May 27 ,1907 , along the Allegheny River. Her father , Robert Warden Carson , was an insurance salesman whereas her mother , Maria Frazier , was a stay at home mother. At a young age Carson developed the hobby of reading . She particularly liked to read the “St. Nicolas Magazine”. Ironically , she later in her life publish multiple stories in that magazine. After elementary school Carson attended Parnassus High School , located in Kensington , Philadelphia. Four years later, she graduates from that school and earns a scholarship to Pennsylvania College for Women. She aims to major English and become an English teacher. In college she is inspired by her biology professor named Mary Scott Skinker and she changes…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biol 101 Hw1

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Human activities threaten the biosphere by overpopulation and releasing chemicals into the air that interfere with natural processes and destroy other species' populations.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rachel Carsons central argument of this passage deals with focusing on the negative factors "Parathion" can produce. She uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, rhetorical questions, and visual imagery all to persuade the reader that Parathion is harmful. The first part of the passage uses ethos to appeal to authority. Carson states, "The Fish and Wildlife service haas found it necessary to express serious concern over this trend, pointing out that parathion treated areas constitute a potential hazard to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife".…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Goodall exemplifies,”they have been attacked by farmers, gardeners, and governments. Unfortunately the weapons of choice have been chemical pesticides-and this has led to horrific damage of all too many organisms”(62). This depicts that beetles will become extinct due to “chemical pesticides”. Chemical pesticides cause organisms mostly insects to perish if it damages certain things such as crops. Knowing how self-centered most humans are this product may be used extensively and damage more than what is needed. The ecosystem is being affected the more people try to get rid of organisms and especially when there is no background understanding of the role of these animals. Each living thing is a part of a puzzle. It is like a play but particular individuals are interfering with the…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" she calls attention to the dangers of pesticides. Through her use of imagery, rhetorical questions, and similes she has created a very passionate argument towards whether or not farmers should use these poisons that affect much more than they think.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rachel Louise Carson was born on May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. What made Rachel Carson famous was her legacy and contribution to society which was alerting the world about the environmental effect of fertilizers and pesticides through her writings and books. This discovery affected society because after one of her books, “Silent Spring” came out in 1962, it proved her thesis about the harmful effects on certain pesticides and fertilizers. Rachel Carson’s discovery ended up having the pesticide DDT banned which ultimately probably saved many lives. Also, Rachel Carson’s discovery helped shape the growing concern for environmental help.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Obligation to Endure is the second chapter from the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Carson presents the persuasive argument that pesticides such as DDT should be kept away from our homes, our place of business, and our children. In the 1950s and 60s DDT was a very popular pesticide that was commonly used. The hazardous effects were unknown. Carson expresses her founded concerns about the adverse risks and toxicity associated with these pesticides using logical, emotional, and ethical appeal. This is demonstrated in the quote, “ Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surfaces of the earth without making it unfit for life?”…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Day to day the land becomes further polluted by humans. The well-being of the environment is threatened by these pollutants. These pollutants include DDTs, PCBs, and organophosphate pesticides. DDT was once thought of as a very effective chemical. It was…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This entry focuses mainly on the chemical DDT, which is over consumed on various vegetation, however, the overall idea is regarding our environment and how human actions are abolishing it, although it may be unintentional. To be more specific, the central idea consists of the environmental actions that are backfiring on our population in a negative way. Furthermore, in my opinion, Rachel Carson desires to spread awareness about the harmful deeds that are destroying our environment and our society’s health.…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1950's to 1960's were characterized by and catalyzed the national environmental movement, which increased people's environmental awareness in the nation. Rachel Carson, a biologist, wrote a book discussing the destructive effects of pesticides to inform the public and urge them to act against the use of these damaging poisons. In the excerpt from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Carson states that the use of parathion is not worth the damage down to the natural world by describing its widespread damage to nature and placing guilt on farmers' for their ignorance to the harm done on society.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson is regarded as the most significant environmental novel as it was the start of the environmental movement. This book highlights the human poisoning of the biosphere through chemicals aimed at pests and disease control, particularly dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). DDT pesticides were particularly harmful because as they entered the biosphere, they not only killed the bugs but also entered the food chain. DDT accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals and humans which had potential to cause cancer and genetic damage. This also contaminated world food supply as DDT can enter any animal that we eat. Despite the immense effect of DDT some insects survived and passed on their resistance resulting in tougher descendants, so more toxic insecticides needed to be…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In "The Obligation to Endure," Rachel Carson explains how man is destroying earth because of the advancements in science, along with the continuous use of numerous chemicals. During her essay, she points out to the reader that humans continue to use chemicals to produce our products since they like having the ability to manage the growth of the plants. Carson argues that the use of chemicals is damaging "poisoning" nature along with destroying our environment…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Ch 4 of Silent Spring, Carson brings about the fact that the most essential natural resource in the world, water, is being contaminated. With every spray and use of the pesticides and human-made chemicals, persistent as they are, the resulting effects spread throughout ecosystems. Bioaccumulation occurs through the levels of the food chain(biological magnification), microorganisms and fish are exposed to the chemicals that render the water polluted, fish are eaten by birds and other aquatic life and become sick as they are further exposed to the toxicants. Seeping through the ground, the synthetic chemicals escaped detection through the methods used then. They often mixed together to form more toxic and poisons affecting life around and…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was the one of the first ever man-made insecticides that was used to regulate insect populations and increase crop yield. DDT was used by the military, government, cities, and even residents for gardens, suburb insect control, and to battle malaria. All its intentions seemed fantastic; no more bugs in a homeowner’s community, deadly diseases were beginning to become eradicated, and the production of crops was going to become exponentially higher. There was baggage attached to the use of DDT; it was extremely toxic to the Earth, animals, plants, and it was also effecting humans…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays