Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Environment & Energy
Related: About this forum50 Years After 'Silent Spring' We Have Ignored Rachel Carson’s Findings to Our Peril
http://www.alternet.org/environment/50-years-after-silent-spring-we-have-ignored-rachel-carsons-findings-our-perilFifty years ago, a Johns Hopkinseducated zoologist did something that few at the time thought was possible. With the publication of one book, she started a national debate about the universally accepted use of synthetic pesticides, the irresponsibility of science, and the limits of technological promise. She also challenged the metastatic growth of the synthetic chemicals industry that grew out of World War II.
Silent Spring was Rachel Carsons third book, following The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea . The Sea Around Us had won the 1952 National Book Award for nonfiction and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 21 months. Yet it is unlikely that Carson, who had spent most of her career as an editor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had any idea of what the publication of Silent Spring would engender.
Carson became interested in the harmful effects of pesticides, especially DDT, in the late 1950s. DDT was first commercially produced just prior to World War II, and was used to reduce the threats posed by insects to U.S. troops overseas. After the war, DDT was promoted as a great scientific advance and was widely and successfully used as an insect killer in the United States. The chemical was considered to be so benign that parents casually watched their children running in billowing white DDT clouds sprayed from trucks in residential neighborhoods.
Carsons research focused on organic pesticides like chlordane, heptachlor, and aldrin, as well as DDT. She documented the widespread death of birds that had been exposed to the chemicals, as well as reproductive, birth, and developmental abnormalities in mammals. All life, she wrote, is a chemical factory dependent upon oxygen to power the cell machinery. Citing the work of Nobel scientist Otto Warburg, she explained in clear terms why repeated small exposures to pesticides and nuclear radiation change the ability of the cell to carry out normal activities, resulting in malignancy or defective offspringthe reason there is no safe dose of a carcinogen. Many scientific experts shared her concerns.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 963 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (10)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
50 Years After 'Silent Spring' We Have Ignored Rachel Carson’s Findings to Our Peril (Original Post)
xchrom
Sep 2012
OP
newfie11
(8,159 posts)1. I read that book when It first came out
It was a gift from my brother. I read it so I wouldn't hurt his feelings as I really wasn't interested. It was an eye opener and changed my outlook on chemicals/pesticides. So many times over the years her warnings have jumped out to me as I saw/see what is happening in our environment. And still today her warnings are being ignored. DDT is still in use and is used in combination with other pesticides here in farm country.
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)2. This lady made a hell of a case in 1970