★★★★★ 5
An amazing book
Format: Paperback
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is one book that has opened our minds to how much has gone wrong in the world. It is an immensely powerful scientific book for general readers packed full of verifiable research and data. Rachel Carson wrote the book about the widespread use of chemical pesticides that have wreaked havoc upon the water, the atmosphere, the soil, and the earth since the experiments conducted during World War II. Carson begins the book with a short chapter containing an imaginary scenario of a quiet American countryside in spring devoid of birds and other wildlife. Carson then asks a question which the book attempts to answer: "What has already silenced the voices of spring in many towns in America?" (Carson 1962) The other sixteen chapters fully detail how the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides impacts the environment and silences living species when people do not pay attention. In chapter two she makes the point that humans can alter nature. "The most alarming of all man's assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea" (Carson 1962). The author demonstrates that people try to get a quick fix for their small problems but are often unaware of the consequences of their quick fix solutions. "We use the chemicals to kill weeds, insects, and pests…… They should not call insecticides but biocides" (Carson 1962).
In the next chapter, "Elixirs of Death," she introduces chemicals which can harm health such as chlorinated hydrocarbons (e.g., DDT), organic phosphates, and other hydrocarbons that are more toxic than DDT such as dieldrin, Aldrin, and endrin. She tells the story of a child and family dog that was suddenly killed by the use on an endrin cockroach spray. When the chemicals are combined with one another, it leads to an unpredictable and harmful result in the atmosphere and living creatures. Carson continues in chapter 4 and five by describing the effect of pesticides in water and soil. Even though low concentrations of insecticide in the water is not detrimental, a habit of putting poison in water builds up and ends up passing into fishes, animals, and humans. DDD and DDE, the toxaphenes used in clear lakes destroy the human adrenal cortex (Carson 1962). Even though the chemicals had been deposited years ago, it was carried on in living species from generation to generation. Similarly, soil can be destroyed if it contains too many pesticides and these chemicals may remain in the ground for an extended period. The following chapter of the book mentioned that there are ways to avoid using insecticides to kill insects such as introducing different species of plants or by introducing plant-eating insects.
Carson continues her analysis of the life-threatening consequences of pesticides on the surroundings in chapters 7, 8 and 9. She mentions that the entire population of living creatures, including birds and fish, was killed in sprayed areas. "Aldrin, one of the deadliest of all chemicals, was chosen to kill the Japanese beetles... After a few reports came in of dead birds everywhere…. Dogs and cats sickened" (Carson 1962). The author also provides excerpts of letters from people who lived in the areas saying that these pesticides changed the landscape of the areas in which they lived. One woman reported that the spraying of these chemicals had wiped out robins, chickadees, and cardinals. Other women from Alabama said the result of fire-ant spraying made the birds disappear overnight. Other people in Mississippi saw no land birds for miles after spraying. The author ends the chapter with the question, "Isn't it possible to help the balance of nature without destroying it? Who has the right to decide about the use of chemicals?"
Chapter 10 details the death of wildlife when aerial spraying is conducted. She comments on the lack of precaution and foresight being used by the pesticide industry. "No research was done before the launch of million acres aerial campaign" (Carson 1962). It shows the lack of caution and general unawareness of the consequences of their actions. The following chapter examines the evidence that the widespread use of poisonous substances can cause the slow, prolonged destruction of human health. For example, she mentions, "DDT has been found everywhere in processed food and cooked restaurant meals" (Carson 1962). The cumulative effect of using different chemicals is that it is incorporated into our food. It is unpredictable how much it can cause harm. A huge amount of poison is everywhere; people exist in their day-to-day lives without knowing that it is even there. Carson calls it "the age of poison" (Carson 1962).
Chapters 12, 13 and 14, Carson directs examines the chemicals harmful to human tissues and organs. Back in the days, we lived in fear of infectious diseases such as smallpox and cholera. Now, we are living with and facing new diseases that Carson calls "the environmental disease." The author gives many examples of the sources of the chemicals and how it reacts and is incorporated into the body. "Dieldrin can have long-term effects such as loss of memory, insomnia, nightmares, and mania" (Carson 1962). At the end of chapter 14, she mentions the statistic that one in every four Americans is developing cancer. The possible explanation is that the sale of chemicals in the market is an accepted part of our lives. She describes how she was slowly dying of cancer as she finished this book.
In the next three chapters, Carson describes how insects have developed the ability to reproduce and resist the effects of the sprays. In other words, like the title of Chapter 15 states, "nature fights back." Finally, the final chapter, "The Other Road" presents alternatives to chemical control of pests. Chemical "solutions" should be stopped. Instead, an alternative way is biological solutions based on knowledge of living organisms. She gives examples such as insect sterilization, insect venom as a poison, insect killing microorganisms, and ultrasonic sound to kill mosquito larvae. "The choice, after all, is ours to make" (Carlson 1962).
Overall, Silent Spring is all about how the world has changed because of our misguided actions of using harmful chemical pesticides in nature. The book opens our eyes and minds to the fact that these synthetic pesticides have poisoned all living species, destroyed the environment, and contaminated the world. I would recommend this book to all people that are interested in how much the earth is contaminated by humans and want to find a way to help keep the balance of nature without destroying it.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
