SILENT SPRING RACHEL LOUISE CARSON

the author (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Began writing stories (often involving animals) at age eight, and had her first story published at age the age of ten. Began her career as an aquatic biologist in the US Bureau of Fisheries and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was the book Silent Spring, which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Silent Spring, Carson’s most well-known book, was published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September The book described the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment, and is widely credited with helping launch the environmental environment. Carson became ill with a respiratory virus in January 1964 after being weakened by breast cancer. Her condition worsened, and was diagnosed with severe anaemia and then liver cancer. She died of a heart attack in April 1964 at her home in Silver Spring, Maryland.

CHAPTER 1- 5 We live in an interactive environment, where nature and animals constantly affect each other in what they do. Almost 500 Synthetic chemicals are produced each year and since they are not naturally part of the environment, nature struggles to balance it out and it can take millions of years for this to happen Some chemicals like DDT and Chlordane can with high exposure kill humans. It has been researched that these chemicals are fatty soluble and thus when in the human body in small amounts it increases and spoils health slowly. Rachel Carson establishes the interconnected nature of the environment, by expanding on the impossibility of treating water ‘selectively’. A farming district in Colorado was contaminated by chemicals that had seeped into underground water from a pesticide factory several miles away. Years later the chemicals were found in wells in Colorado along with a synthetic chemical called 2,4-D, spontaneously formed without human intervention. She touches on the topic of nitrogen-fixation, elaborating on the role of earthworms, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, fungi, and algae in this process as well as decay.

CHAPTER 6-10 The implication of the use of chemical pesticides on the land, is the fact that plants that were not intended to be killed will die. Corporations treat roadsides with herbicides to kill brush and this has caused the loss of roadside plants like azaleas, mountain laurel, blueberries, huckleberries and other beautiful plants Selectively spraying will achieve the intended purpose while preserving the growth of other plants. The most common forms of herbicides that are considered safe, have been known to cause severe neuritis and even paralysis. Using of insecticides lead to sterility or death of the robins, eagle and many other species of birds, small mammals and predatory insects instead of killing only the enemy insect. The spraying of the forests and streams with DDT does not protect the forest or streams as intended. It kills our fishes (which is our source of food). It destroys the water bodies and soon our rivers will become Rivers of Death.

CHAPTER The Agricultural department failed to conduct good investigations about the harmful effects of the use of these poisons and these spraying cost America a lot while achieving nothing. The government is limited in the protection of consumers to the insecticides because they only have jurisdiction over food shipped into the country and they do not have enough inspectors to check these problems. Public education on toxics and more inspectors are the recommended solutions. The biological effects of chemicals are cumulative over long periods of time, and the hazards to the individual may depend on the sum of the exposures received throughout his lifetime. “Confusion, delusion, loss of memory, mania-a heavy price to pay for the temporary destruction of a few insects, but a price that will continue to be exacted as long as we insist upon using chemicals that strike directly at the nervous system” Without ATP, sperm cells cannot swim to fertilise egg cells. This implies a reduction in reproduction among animals.

CHAPTER16 &17 Chapter 15 talks about the desecration of nature through man’s selfish activities. Rachel Carson states that humans have done all that they could to try and model their environment to suit their taste and comfort. The belief by humans that using chemicals would be a better way of creating some form of balance in the natural system has rather been ineffective due to their rather little effect on a few species. Insects have become more resistant, stronger and their population kept multiplying itself which made the situation worse and it was not expected that way. The agricultural sector was more vulnerable because those insects were destroying crops and people were losing so much. A new approach was thought of; to destroy these insects through biological knowledge. One method that is very fascinating and successful is by turning an insects strength against itself; such as male sterilisation this is to make the male insect unable to fertilise female eggs. However, there is a challenge with this method, that it requires some very powerful chemicals and it is a difficult procedure.

MAIN MESSAGE The world has intricate connections but these connections are disrupted by human activity. Carson, throughout the book, shines light on the various ways these balances are being disrupted by human activity and how this is detrimental to the human race.

Contribution towards the Good Society Debate Community: Every toxic chemical mentioned in the book was either banned or severely restricted in the US by 1975 The inspiration of Carson’s book lead to the launch of the modern global environmental movement. It stirred an interest in environmental protection amongst people. The Chemistry department of America developed and implemented chemical products and processes which reduced environmental and human hazards.

Critiques Positive: Her claims that DDT causes cancer was revolutionary. She suggested natural ways of controlling pests like using parasites and predators instead of toxic substances. She created an awareness of the possible effects of misuse of toxic substances. Negative: She placed much focus on community at the expense of efficiency.

Implications For Contemporary Leaders Decision makers should regulate the use of harmful substances in the environment. Leaders should advocate for the use of natural ways of controlling pests.

IMPACT ON THE GROUP’S LEADERSHIP THINKING AND DEVELOPMENT As a group we used to focus more on the social and economic roles of leaders but we see now from this book that leaders must also place a high level of importance on the environment. We also believe that as leaders we must think through all the decisions we make and how they affect every aspect of our society and environment.