Silent Spring

The book I chose to read was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This book by Carlson had a huge impact on the environmental movement in the United States. Carlson opens her book by describing a beautiful American town that has been destroyed due chemicals. Carlson informs us that this is an imaginary place but in reality could be any city in the United States. The book Silent Spring exposes the devastating effects of insecticides, weed killers and other types of poison. Carlson claims that by introducing these substances our wild life, bodies of water, and even humans have been harmed. She believes that people and animals are poisoned over a long period of time. These poisons are passed from species to species through the food chain. This passing of poison results in all kinds of problems, such as liver disease, hepatitis, cancer and death. Rachel Carson believes that there is a balance in nature and the use of these chemicals upsets this balance, she says "Where spraying destroys not only the insects but also their principle enemy, the birds. When later there is resurgence in the insect population, as almost always happens, the birds are not there to keep their numbers in check." Carson examines the way chemicals have been used without sufficient research or regard for their potential harm. She helps to show that nature will take care of nature. Carlson explains to use that many times the best solution is the introduction of other plants or animals. An example that she shows in her book is the Japanese beetle. In the Midwest spraying to kill the beetle occurred on a large scale, this resulted in the death of large numbers of wildlife. Carson tells us that the Japanese beetle can be easily killed using a natural fungus. If those in the Midwest had spent more time researching safer alternatives, wildlife in the region could have been saved. This helps prove Carlson's main point that nature will take care of itself, and introducing chemicals only hurts it.

During the time the Carlson published this book there was a lot of opposition to the claims she made in her book. According in an article in Time magazine in 1999, "Carson was violently assailed by threats of lawsuits and derision, including suggestions that this meticulous scientist was a "hysterical woman" unqualified to write such a book. A huge counterattack was organized and led by Monsanto, Velsicol, American Cyanamid--indeed, the whole chemical industry--duly