Wasabi

Book Title: Silent Spring
Author: Rachael Carson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company in 1962

Background Information:
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.

Journal Entries

Entry #1: October 12th, pages 1-38 (chapters 1-3) The book opens up explaining that there was a town in America where all living things existed in harmony. It explains how the town was always beautiful as it went through the seasons of spring, summer, winter, and fall. For example, prospering farms surrounded the town and every spring there were many fruits and flowers. Then all of the sudden, something happened to make everything start to die. No one could explain the strange kinds of symptoms people, birds, and animals started showing. Many creatures died. Questions that I asked myself while reading this were “What is going on? Where in America is this place? Why is this happening?” The people in the book wondered what had happened to the birds, as the birds that remained were often too sick to fly. The countryside that was once beautiful now looked dry and weakened. People noticed a white dust over leaves and in the gutters of their houses. It is then realized that the problem with the land has been caused by the humans living within the town themselves. They are to blame for the downfall of the life within the community, as they have contaminated the environment with dangerous and deadly chemicals. Chapters two and three include many facts about chemicals and how they affect the development of our environment. DDT, (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloror-ethane) was first created in 1874, but an insecticide until 1939. Today, it is used so much and carelessly, most people are starting to think its safe. One interesting fact that I learned in this chapter was that in the 1800s, soldiers and prisoners were dusted with DDT to kill their lice. They didn’t get sick immediately, so it was believed that they would never get sick and that DDT was harmless to people. However, Carson explained that DDT would be definitely toxic if dissolved in oil. I also found it interesting that our body stores DDT in its fat cells and in our organs. There are also problems against how weeds are killed brought about in these chapters. Herbicides are the chemicals that are used to kill weeds. Herbicides are toxic to plants and also affect animal tissue. One weed killer is arsenic. Arsenic has made water unfitting for swimming or fishing. Another kind of herbicide is a group of chemicals called dinitro compounds. They are some of the most dangerous in use in the U.S. They are a strong metabolic stimulant. It is explained that several people died from it. Another one is called Pentachlorophenol, and it is used as a weed killer. It has killed people who handle it. One of the more safe-sounding weed killers is called Aminotriazole or amitrol. It is used very widely, but has been shown to cause malignant tumors of the thyroid. It is further explained that some herbicides are classified as mutagens. They cause problems in the next generations of organisms that are exposed to them. There is a lot of information given in the opening chapters of the book, but I think the author does a good job informing the reader about what we humans are doing to harm our environment. I have already a lot learned about the many harmful chemicals/insecticides in our world.

Entry #2 October 19th, pages 39-63(chapters 4-6) Chapter 4 explains how water has become contaminated through the use of chemical pesticides. Carson states that water is the most important of our natural resources and even though it covers the earth, its use for people is limited. Most of it is salt water and, now, more and more it is being contaminated with pollution by pesticides. The pollution of water happens in many forms. It comes from radioactive wastes, from nuclear explosions, from domestic waste, and from chemical sprays. The problem with the chemicals is increased when they are combined. People don’t know all the bad effects of chemicals in the environment, yet they continue to use them in massive quantities. Poisoned water also affects the chains of life. Life moves from the smallest life up through larger organisms until it reaches human beings. The best example of this process is the case of Clear Lake, California. It is a lake that is used by people who love to fish and by other resort dwellers. There was one problem with the lake. There was a small gnat that lived there and bothered people by its sheer numbers. The authorities used chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides to kill the gnats. The particular chemical was called DDD, a relative of DDT. At first the gnats were brought under control, but soon their numbers increased. So the authorities increased the dosage of pesticides. The next winter, a favorite bird of the lake, the western grebe, began to die by the hundreds. Even so, the authorities put even more pesticides into the water to kill the gnats and predictably, more grebes died. Finally, someone examined the fatty tissue of the birds and found extraordinarily high levels of DDD, much higher than was ever put into the water. The reason for the increased level is that the birds eat the fish. Researchers realized that the chemical was picked up by the smallest life form, concentrated, and then passed on the next life form until its concentrations reached the phenomenal levels found in the birds. The case of Clear Lake taught scientists many valuable lessons about the spread of chemical pesticides.
Entry #3 October 26th, pages 64-103 (chapters 7-8)
Chapter 7 and 8 further describe the environment and what insecticides do to each of our environment’s features. The author describes the plants of the earth. Carson describes a world much more familiar to most people than the subjects of the previous chapters. Carson explains most of us know little about microscopic organisms of the earth or the structure of chemicals in the world, as most of us live our lives thinking of trees and shrubs as simply part of the world. The author focuses on how much people enjoy pants and animals, and how upset we would be if these beauties in nature were gone. Carson describes the pretty plants and trees being destroyed with unreasonable and ineffective methods, which not only destroy the landscape but also contaminate the world further. A thought that I had while reading this was “Wow, I really need to inform my parents about the dangers of chemical use (as we use them on our lawn).” In chapter 7, Carson talks about needless destruction of the environment by chemical insecticides. A case in the state of Michigan, where there was an attack on the Japanese beetle in the late 1950s is explained. Carson again emphasizes that following the advice of chemical companies results in widespread and needless destruction. She also mentions that the alternative course of using natural enemies of particular insects is a cheaper and longer lasting solution, which is also entirely safe to other forms of life, and that the mass destruction of life hurts the dignity of humanity. In this chapter, Rachel Carson shows another step in the line of attack of insecticides. She’s described their affect on the soil, the plant life, and other forms of life. Here, she describes insecticides’ destruction of wild birds. She describes the scientific methods used to determine the link between insecticide spraying and bird deaths. She also tells the reader of the value that wild birds in the world have, as they offer a sense of beauty in our lives.
Entry # 4 November 1st, pages 104-128 (chapter 9) Chapter 9 explains how for thousands of years, salmon have returned from the Atlantic each year and traveled up the rivers in which they were born to produce and continue their kind. It is said that in 1953 in the Miramichi River of New Brunswick, the salmon migration happened normally. However, by spring 1954, these tiny fish, along with their older relatives of the previous year's hatchings, were suddenly overwhelmed by the Canadian government's widespread spraying program, which was meant to fight the spruce budworm. Along with all the insects and most of the birds in the millions of sprayed acres, the entire 1954 hatch of salmon died, as five-sixths of the 1953 hatch died and one-third of the 1952 hatch died. The budworm populations, on the contrary, continued to thrive. Repeated sprayings took place, despite evidence that spraying does not effectively fight budworm. There is much ignorance in regards to chemical poisoning of waterways. It’s unknown how many chemicals are poisoning bodies of water and waterways or what their combinations will produce. Carson explains that we don’t know what kinds of changes these chemicals undergo in their long journey from the land to the ground water to the waterways to the oceans. As I red this chapter, I realized that the fish of the fresh and salt water are irreplaceable resources. We should use some of the money from the development of ever more toxic compounds to the study of the effects of these chemicals and to the study of natural and non-toxic solutions to the problems we face. This book has continued to impress me, as I have begun to realize what we humans have done to affect the development of our environment.
Entry # 5 November 7th, pages 129-153 (chapter 10) In chapter 10, I read about how the use of airplanes to spray insecticides has increased noticeably. While this has been in effect, the average citizen’s attitude toward poison has also changed. Instead of seeing it as extremely dangerous, something to be kept in a careful place and used in limited ways for specific purposes, most people are now comfortable handling poisons as if they were relatively safe. People have started to have misunderstandings about the problems with airplane spraying. Carson explains that there are two big aerial campaigns that are largely responsible for this change of attitude. The first is the campaign against the gypsy moth in the northeastern states and the second is the campaign against the fire ant in the southern states. Both insects were unintentionally imported into the United States. Before the campaigns of the late 1950s, no one saw either insect as a major threat. When the campaigns were halted after widespread destruction, no dent was made in the populations of the targeted insects. Carson concentrates on two major air-spraying campaigns as a way of illustrating the effects of insecticide spraying. She explains the insecticide campaign against the gypsy moth in the northeast and that against the fire ant in the southern states, which opens open a lot of thought in my mind. I am beginning to ask myself “What can I do in my own life to help reduce the amount of insecticides used in our world?” The only answer I have is to start raising awareness by making a club in school to talk about these major environmental issues. Carson has helped me to see the details of what she has been explaining throughout the book, that insecticide campaigns are unproductive and extremely and internationally harmful.
Entry #6 November 10th, pages 154-172 (chapter 11) In chapter 11, I learned that mass spraying is not the only source of chemical contamination in our world. Undeniably, most people's chemical exposure comes little by little, rather than all at once as a result of mass spraying. Carson states that most people have no idea what dangerous chemicals they are encountering in their daily lives. The insecticide aisle at the store is presented as harmlessly as the rows of pickles and laundry detergents, and many poisons are even sold in glass containers, which, if dropped, could expose people to highly toxic levels of deadly chemicals. Warnings are printed in small font and are usually ignored by consumers. Furthermore, household poisons include products such as insect sprays, insect repelling body lotions, insect killing floor wax, bug killing clothing applications, and electronic devices that release odorless poisons into the air. After reading this chapter, I became rather uneasy, as I know the many chemical household-cleaning products we have in my house. I began to think about whether or not these products are safe, and thought about how unaware I am of the danger of these chemicals. Rachael Carson has continued to increase my knowledge of chemicals and their negative influence on our environment, which is important, as these are major problems in our world.
Entry #7 November 15th, pages 173-186 (chapter 12) In chapter 12, Carson notes that an extreme change has occurred in the area of public health problems. In past decades, people worried about smallpox, cholera, and such communicable diseases, and now they have to worry about the hazards of chemical poisoning. There are now a variety of environmental health problems, which I have somewhat been aware about before reading this book. Carson thinks that people today fear environmental diseases caused by the pollution of the air they breathe and the food they eat. The major problem most people face isn’t a single large exposure to a chemical poison, but a collective effect of multiple and small exposures. People are usually more afraid of sudden and dramatic diseases, but they should be looking to the kinds of health problems that can happen to them over a period of years. There is ecology in the environment in which one poisoned creature upsets the whole system. There is also ecology in the human body in which "minute causes produce mighty effects." It is very difficult to trace the causes of problems that occur in the human body. This book has really made me look into the dangers of chemicals we use in our everyday life, and has begun to frighten me about the numerous diseases and health problems that have come about due to careless chemical use. Entry #8 November 17th, pages 187-198 (chapter 13) Chapter 13 is my least favorite chapter of the book so far. It was very hard to understand as it talked a lot about the many small cells in our body. Carson stated that it is important to look at the cells of the body in order to see the effects of chemical poisons. In the 1960s, medical science had only just begun studying cells and cellular oxidation. Carson notified me that energy is produced by cells, not by organs. Cells then transform matter into energy. The changes are made in an orderly process and a specific enzyme controls each step. When energy is produced, waste is given off. Most of the work of oxidation is performed in an even smaller arena than the cell. Tiny granules within cells called Mitochondria do it. Mitochondria are tiny packets of enzymes, the enzymes necessary for the oxidation process. I did not enjoy this chapter as it was too scientific, with its many references to the cells within our body. A question that I asked myself is “Why is this chapter in the book? -people need to know about the dangers of chemical overusing, not about the mitochondria in our body.” I struggled to get through this chapter as it reminded me of a biology textbook.
Entry #9 November 20th, pages 199-218 (chapter 14) Chapter 14 was titled, “One in Every Four,” making the reference that one in every four people will get cancer. I almost closed the book after reading this, as I became worried about Carson’s predation that 25 % of people get cancer. It was explained that cancer has existed for so long that we do not know when it was first recognized. There are naturally occurring substances that cause cancer, such as radiation and arsenic. Life adapted to these threats, but human beings alone among the planet's creatures have the ability to create carcinogens, which cause cancer. Soot is one carcinogen mentioned in the chapter. The industrial era has brought many more. Because life, including human life, adapts to environmental changes extremely slowly, the carcinogens that man has created relatively recently in the span of history can have drastic effects on humans, as well as other creatures. Only since 1775 has the connection between external agents and the existence of cancer been recognized, and it was not until the latter part of the nineteenth century that various cancers were traced to exposure to certain chemicals. When I read this portion of the book, I became uneasy about how easy cancer can come about in our own bodies. I want to be more aware of the things that cause cancer, but I also don’t want to think too much about it as it can be scary.
Entry #10 November 24th, pages 219-244 (chapter 15) Chapter 15 was rather boring, but again stressed how people have spent great amounts of energy and resources so that they can be happy with their lives. It also mentioned how insects are adapting to insecticides to the extent that they have often become resistant to the poisons we put upon them. Carson states that no one knows enough about insects. Personally, when I read this, I thought in my head “ wow, are you serious…of course no one knows enough about insects, as why should anybody care!?” On a more serious note, the study of insects is important. Insects are undergoing a process of natural selection so that they are becoming resistant to insecticides. Furthermore, the use of chemical poisons weakens the natural enemies of insects. At the end of decades of chemical controls of problem insects, people are finding the return of the same insects that they thought were gone for good. Insects that had once been regarded as only minor threats are becoming strong enough in number to become serious pests. Chemical controls are by nature self-defeating. They don’t take into account the complex biological structure of their targeted insects. They are tested against the insects, but do not realize how they are affecting our environment. Many issues are brought about in this chapter, but have been continually stressed throughout the whole book.
Entry # 11 November 27th pages 245-276 (chapter 16) In chapter 16, Carson talks about Darwin and how he would be impressed today with the fact that insect populations perfectly reflect his theory of “survival of the fittest.” Insects have worked under the stress of repeated chemical sprayings to weed out the weaker members of species and reinforce the strongest. People have been worried since the start of the century that insects will become resistant to sprays. The answer is obvious today, as there’s no doubt that they do. Before DDT was introduced, chemical control experts had begun to recognize the habit of insects to come back after spraying. With the introduction of DDT, insects have become able to resist these many chemicals. People hadn’t become alarmed by this fact until recently. Only the people who worked with disease-carrying insects realized the severe danger of resistant insects. This chapter poses yet another threat to our environment, this time mentioning the issue with resistant insects. This chapter was very informative, as I have continued to further my knowledge about what will become of our world, if we do not make changes.
Entry #12 November 30th pages 277-354 (chapter 17) The final chapter of the book was very influential. It offered a good conclusion and left me feeling confident in my ability to help make changes in the amount of chemicals I put into the environment. Carson says that we have two answers to the problem of insect control. The first answer, chemical poisons, has already been shown to be expensive, unproductive, and tremendously dangerous. Biological controls, the second answer, are proven to be cheap, effective, and safe for humans, animals and insects. The use of biological controls works with the rules of nature instead of against them. It leaves the natural predators of the targeted insect unharmed and doesn’t damage the rest of the environment of the targeted insect. Carson tells us that there are many alternatives to chemical control. Some have already proven successful and others could be a success in the future. In reading this chapter, I learned more about what biological control is, and how it is the right answer to the issue in the book. When chemical insecticides went viral, everyone wanted to try them out and they turned their backs on the successful biological controls of the past. Their thoughtless and immediate goal was to make an insect-free world, not realizing how much nature relies on insects. Finally, it has become obvious that insecticides are dangerous in numerous ways, and they don’t work in the long term. This book was very interesting and gave me a ton of information about this growing problem of chemical use and insect resistance in our world.

Summary and Conclusion of Silent Spring
Silent Spring, by Rachael Carson, was a very informative book about irresponsible and short-sighted use of pesticides and chemicals, that lead to the destruction of our ever so precious environment. Many people today are still unaware of the effects that over-use of chemicals have on our world, and even when the effects became known, people still continue to use the chemicals. Scientists and environmentalists began seeing the damage from overuse of pesticides in the 1950s, but they didn’t express their voice on the major issue. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring is a very educational novel that effectively explains the hazards of these chemicals, giving people an opportunity to be aware of how dangerous this may be. In the story, one of the first effects people noticed after the increase in chemical use was that birds were dying all over the world. Because the birds ate insects, the pesticides sprayed on the insects caused failure in the birds’ bloodstreams. As the book ends, Carson informs us readers on the positive answer to the problem of pest insects. While the majority of the book was spent showing the harmful effects of insecticides and pesticides, at the end she shows the hopeful research and its successful results in using biological methods to control insects. I thought that this book was well worth my time, and I would recommend this book to anybody. I think that it is very important for all of us humans to be aware of environmental issues like this, as it is our job to respect and take care of the world we live in. The part of this book that affected me most was in chapter 14, where Carson made the statement, “One in every four will get cancer.” This alarmed me, as due to the chemicals we are carelessly putting into our environment, our chances for cancer are being increased. This book perfectly relates to AP Environmental science as it is a major issue in our world, and raises awareness in the form of literature and research. After reading and studying this book, I plan to make changes in the way I look at the environment around me. I don’t want to take the fresh air we have been given to live with for granted, as harmful chemicals mentioned in this book can lead to the decrement of fresh/clean air available. I want to limit my use of household cleaning products that contain harmful chemicals, as I know that doesn’t help the world around me. In conclusion, Silent Spring was a very informative book, in which I have learned many lessons that I will carry into my everyday life.