Preview

The Use Of Pesticides In Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
465 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Use Of Pesticides In Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is an environmental novel that aimed to encourage action against the use of pesticides. Pesticides are insect repellents, which are chemicals meant to only kill insects that hurt plants but damage the environment. Carson’s book has been praised for raising public awareness on pesticides. In fact, it has since then made the government ban several of them, like DDT. While others say that pesticides should be kept to protect crops from harmful insects, many say that the pesticides are too damaging to the environment to use and they should be banned. One of the reasons why pesticides should be banned would be the environmental damage they cause. For example, it is known that pesticides have been one of the leading causes for pollinator population decline. This is crucial because pollinators, like bees and butterflies, pollinate an estimated one-third of the global foods that we eat. Without them, a lot of foods that regularly appear on our plates would disappear. Since bees and butterflies are insects, the repellents cannot distinguish between pest …show more content…
They say that the pesticides ward off insects and bugs that would otherwise harm crops in the agricultural industry. Farmers that use pesticides claim that the prices of produce and other food products have lowered. For instance, without pesticides, there would be more crops lost to pests, which results in smaller harvests, and farmers would have to raise the price of their produce to accommodate their losses. But, the benefits of pesticides do not outweigh the disadvantages. As stated before, pesticides pose a threat to the environment, to pollinators, and to all organisms that ingest it. According to flowpsychology.com, experts say that insects exposed to the repellents can build up resistance over time, which makes the pesticides ineffective. Even though others say that pesticides help us, it will aid us more to ban

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Agriculture was first started around the year 8,000 B.C.E. in Mesopotamia. There the plants grew along with food so humans could eat them. These first parts of farming faced many challenges with insects and pests eating away their crops. During the era of 1000 B.C.E. the Chinese began experimenting with elements such as mercury and other compounds to contain the insects. Other civilizations would use chemicals to contain pests. The usage of chemicals has occupied agriculture, and even more recently in the 1940’s inorganic substances composed of various elements were heavily used to contain the insects affecting the crops. The growth of many synthetic pesticides occurred during this time, the most common one was DDT. DDT was used the most…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • 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
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 2: The trend of humans harming their environment has grown upward for a time now. Carson claims in Chapter 2 that individuals have debased nature with hazardous and lethal chemicals. She goes into detail in this chapter that the amount of pesticides and chemicals being created and put into the atmosphere is dangerous and happening at a very rapid rate. At a point in the chapter, Carson calls pesticides “biocides” which goes to show that they do much more than just kill the intended insects they are meant for. Rather than that, pesticides kill all creatures including ourselves.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Glyphosate is the most common herbicide sprayed on GMO crops. It has a very low acute toxicity; with a median lethal dose of 10,000mg/kg, or over one and three quarters pounds of glyphosate for an average weight human. Furthermore, both independent and EU investigations showed no evidence of ill health effects in humans under normal conditions. Herbicide is designed to kill plants not people. If herbicide doesn't hurt people, do the crops that produce insecticides hurt people?…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 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
  • 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
  • Good Essays

    A pesticide called neonicotinoids is one example of how pesticides are harmful to bees. Lund University conducted a research study. They looked at 16 fields of oilseed rape, which is a major source of vegetable oil. Half the seeds were coated in a neonicotinoid, and a fungicide. They then placed bees near the neonictinoid…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wasabi

    • 4056 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Silent Spring is a book that explains the environmental and human dangers of uncritical use of pesticides, leading to new changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. It also looks at the effects of insecticides and pesticides on songbird populations throughout the United States, whose declining numbers generated the silence to which her title refers. I began this book on October 12th, and completed reading on November 30th. This book was by no means an easy read, as it was 400 pages, but was interesting as the author (Carson) posed many ideas about the effects of pesticides on bird populations and our environment in general.…

    • 4056 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    References: Anderson, M. (2011, June 7). Pesticide bans should be scientific and done by the Feds. The Vancouver…

    • 4309 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout time, American attitudes towards the importance of the environment have lessened. American farmers have begun to use poisons, such as parathion, which has begun killing animals and humans. Rachel Carson, a noted biologist, published her novel Silent Spring in 1962, in which she illustrates the need for American attitudes towards the environment needing to change, through understanding “plain folks”, an accusing tone, and descriptive imagery.…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Anti-GMO Movement

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Another harmful effect that GMOs have on the environment is that they increase herbicide use, which allows for more toxins to be present. For example, the company Monsanto produces a herbicide known as Roundup, and the company then sells Roundup Ready crops, which are designed to survive the implementation of Roundup (Smith). The overuse of Roundup, however, results in superweeds that are resistant to the herbicide, which causes farmers to use even more toxic herbicides every year (Smith). Genetically modified crops and herbicides have also been linked to the harming of insects, birds, marine ecosystems, amphibians, and soil organisms, by reducing biodiversity and polluting water resources (Smith). Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup has been shown to “cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic deaths and endocrine disruptions, and organ damage in animals even at very low doses,”…

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Silent Springs

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In America today, many people do not realize the impact they have on the environment. We come from a more educated generation, yes, but many people do not realize, that even just recycling can led to less deforestation, and ensuring that the environment of many animals is still there and safe. Much like how deforestation can negatively affect animals, it negatively affects us, less trees means less oxygen, and less oxygen, less to breathe, causing more. In Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, she attempts to enlighten the reader on how the use of pesticides has an overall negative effect on the environment, animals and humans. Carson draws this conclusion based on her belief that humanity is ignorant, and that we are under the false impression that we are in some way superior. Following this she also suggests that we, as humans, are victimizing nature, and attempting to cure it like a disease.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During her scientific research, Carson discovered that people were misusing pesticides to kill insects that caused much damage. She became aware of the harm that people were doing to earth and all the living things. Some scientists came up with powerful chemicals that would kill insects effectively. One of them was called DDT. "Their pesticides effectiveness in controlling insects was unchallenged, but many scientists and ecologists became increasingly concerned about the indiscriminate use of the chemicals, whose poisons affected not only pests but also many other life forms, including humans." (Carson "Elixirs," 8) People would spray those chemicals everywhere it was possible because they thought it was harmless to them but helpful to get rid of all the insects that were causing some damage, yet…

    • 956 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Outside elements such as weather, and climate are normal growth deterrents year round. A change in climate, and precipitation can also negatively impact crop growth, by increasing bacteria and mold growth. Bacteria or mold can also change the taste and appearance of produce, causing discoloration or even slimy areas. Another one of the larger risks to crops are Bugs and insects. They feed on plants, making them less desirable to consumers or even inedible. Take for instance an apple at the grocery store, considering the choice of an apple with insect holes, versus one without, most consumers would choose the apple without holes. There are insects that also eat the leaves off plants before they are able to produce, causing the plant to be barren and worthless as a crop. The expectation of bug free, good looking food has definitely increased the need for pesticides. Darkened bananas, or overly ripe fruit used to be sold at stores for pie or bread making, today these products would be considered unsellable and thrown out without a second thought. Produce as a whole makes up for much of human consumption each year, so the importance of successful growth is essential. As plants grow they encounter obstacles such as weeds, bugs, molds, and animals, controlling these obstacles is necessary for plant development. Combating just one of these will not protect the…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays