The Detremental Effects of DDT Exposed in Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson

Carson was an environmentalist who studied the world intensely. Her book, Silent Spring established the significant discovery on the harmful effects of pesticides. Silent Spring stirred up much controversy and even became a best seller since it was the first work on pesticides. The book recognized how individuals felt about the earth and showed what was to come if they would not change their lifestyle. Her book expressed sincere concern for the environment, and even people’s lives. The concern claimed that both nature and individuals would be in danger if people continued to use pesticides. Reaction to her writing was immediate and led to monumental ideas and

In fact, Carson outlines her evidence and claims for the global environment and the whole of humanity. In addition to this, it is worthy to mention that, Carson was directing her message to policymakers because they had the power to ban the manufacture of the pesticides and insecticides. Furthermore, Carson’s messages were directed at certain companies and the manufacturers of pesticides such as DDT. The catalyst of this message stemmed from the widespread use of insecticides both at home and in offices. As it seemed, there was a widespread rate of ignorance and misinformation across the public on the harmful effects of these pesticides.

Rachel Carson is a noted biologist who studies biology, a branch of science addressing living organisms, yet she has written a book called Silent Spring to speak about the harmful effects of pesticides on nature. Carson doesn’t write about birds’ genetic and physical makeup, the role of them in the animal food chain, or even how to identify their unbelievable bird songs, yet strongly attests the fight for a well developed environment containing birds, humans, and insects is just and necessary. To Carson, the war for a natural environment is instantly essential for holding on to her true love for the study of biology. Thus Carson claims that whether it be a direct hit towards birds or an indirect hit towards humans and wildlife, farmers need to understand the effects and abandon the usage of pesticides in order to save the environment by appealing to officials, farmers, and Americans in her 1962 book, Silent Spring. She positions her defense by using rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questioning to establish logos, juxtaposing ideas, and using connotative and denotative diction.

Rachel Carson is considered one of America's finest science and nature writers. She is best known for her 1962 book, Silent Spring, which is often credited with beginning the environmental movement in the United States. The book focussed on the uncontrolled and often indiscriminate use of pesticides, especially dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (commonly known as DDT), and the irreparable environmental damage caused by these chemicals. The public outcry Carson generated by the book motivated the U.S. Senate to form a committee to

In the mid-20th century, farmers used a toxic insecticide named parathion in an attempt to control pests detrimental to their crops. Rachel Carson was a biologist who wrote pamphlets (Lear) on conservation and natural resources designed to inform people on the beauty of the living world. In an excerpt from her 1962 work Silent Spring, Carson calls upon the public to take action against the use of parathion by highlighting its catastrophic nature and vilifying the agricultural community for their negligence.

Testimony and rhetorical questions are used to demonstrate the negative effect of mass pesticide dispersion on human life. In for Rachel Carson to craft

In “The Obligation to Endure” by Rachel Carson, the author attacks the use of pesticides by farmers in the environment. Carson presents her side by stating that the effects of man-made chemicals have greatly altered

Pollution is a term that recently in the last sixty years became widely known in the United States. The idea was first introduced in the United States by Rachel Carson’s book, titled Silent Spring. Rachel Carson developed a clear thesis inside Silent Spring where every claim made in the book is supported with enormous substantial factual evidence. The overall theme of the book is calling for awareness and addressing issues with excessive usage of man-made and natural chemicals implemented into daily human life. Although Rachel Carson focuses predominately on concerns surrounding the topic of DDT, the author also gives her perspectives on other chemicals that are harmful to the environment. The research Rachel Carson has done to make the world well-informed on pollution was a great start to placing the topic on people’s mind. Nonetheless, in today’s world, humans must continue to enrich themselves on current pollution issues by understanding which chemicals contribute to pollution and how large in concentration. Human error must also be taken into account because chemicals humans thought could not be harmful can at times. An example of chemicals people thought could not be harmful was asbestos.

Throughout Carsons essay, she presents many views on pesticides but always makes sure to connect a scientific fact to support those views. This way of persuasion is shown in her beginning argument where she starts off using facts about how pesticides have chemicals that pollute the environment and its living creatures. According to Carson, "This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but living tissues is, for the most part, irreversible" (329). Basically, Carson

Carson’s other books, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us (which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 86 weeks), and The Edge of The Sea all focus on nature’s strength and the inter-connectedness of nature and all living things. But DDT exposed the vulnerability of nature and I think this influenced the writing of Silent Spring. DDT was the most powerful pesticide in the world at the time of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Unlike most pesticides, whose effectiveness is limited to destroying one or two types of insects, DDT was capable of killing hundreds of different kinds at once. Developed in 1939, it first distinguished itself during World War II, clearing South Pacific islands of malaria-causing insects for U.S. troops, while in Europe being used as an effective de-lousing powder. Its inventor was awarded the Nobel Prize.

By using these chemical pesticides on the plants, it causes dissolved oxygen depletion in the water, phytotoxicity to the plants, and poisons the animals (Environmental Effects of Pesticides). From the greediness of crop cultivation, millions of species of fish will disappear. These pesticides do not only get into the ocean by spraying it, they get into the ocean when small particles fly over from the drift of the wind. This is especially common at beaches where people spray chemicals on the grasses nearby to prevent other people from being bitten by insects. Not only do pesticides affect the oceans, but the plants as well. These pesticides cause phytotoxicity refers to plant injury. By using these chemical pesticides, it damages the plants, especially those genetically similar to weeds. They can progressively result in mutations little by little until eventually there will be a period of time where the plants now will be very different. Even though this is what is happening now, Hawthorne, an author from 200 years ago, also thought that scientists were being evil. In “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” when it states “Dost thou deem it misery to be endowed with marvellous gifts, which no power nor strength could avail an enemy?...Wouldst thou, then, have preferred the

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, is arguably a seminal text of the environmental movement and continues to impact on critical ecological discourse fifty years on. The late 1950’s were a period of relative economic prosperity in the United States with a parallel baby boom following World War 2. However, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union manifested economic and political rivalries during the same time. It was in this era, that Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring which invoked the public into an ‘environmental consciousness’ (Griswold 2012). Inherent in Carson’s text, that fundamentally sought to inform the wider public about the biological dangers inherent in pesticides, was her ability to utilise a variety of literary

Pollution becomes invisible unless there is a dead large animal or fish and even spraying sites far from groundwater have been found to b polluted. Also she noted that chemicals from plants and farms will not remain just on the plants but will rather travel into our water bodies such as rivers and the ocean. An observation from a chemical plant in Colorado shows that farm wells that where far away was found that a weed killer 2, 4-D was found in the wells but had never been used at the plant eight years later and these harmful chemicals formed a mixture of other chemicals released. The trend of poisoning in water bodies builds up concentrates and magnifies in food chain. Diseases such as Addison’s disease and cancer in humans have been linked to the use of DDD and other pesticides used in the Clear Lake. Carson then cautions the public to be aware that insecticides used in reservoirs are becoming

In biologist Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring (1962), she suggests that Americans should stop using parathion and other harmful chemical agents. Carson uses cause and effect, a metaphor, and connotative diction to assert her point. She writes to a general audience in a passionate tone. Carson describes the unnecessary cruelty of American farmers to innocent animals and people in order to change Americans’ attitude toward the environment.

This book was focused on the concern of pesticides that industries, along with us as individuals, have been dumping (both knowingly and unknowingly) into water. Carson was concerned that the chemicals which the farmers spread on their fields, and even the chemicals we use in our homes (among others), in the end, might come back around and harm us. The beginning of the book tells a story of a place, that was once so beautiful, turned dead and ugly due to a “strange blight that crept over the area” and destroyed everything. Later in the book, she goes on to explain that chemicals, particularly one known as DDT, are the major cause of environmental damage and the near extinction of