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Silent Spring

Rachel Carson

Start date: April 1, 2018

Finish date: April 28, 2018

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: April Bonus Read- Earth Day

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
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Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

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What Members Thought

Jul 26, 2020 Phelia rated it really liked it

Shelves: environment

For science subject, some people see classic and historical books as irrelevant. Science transform very fast, especially in last two decades, thanks to the advance of internet technology. However, this fact does not reduce the value of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson which was originally published in 1962. Although some of the substances stated in this book have been restricted, but environmentalists still refer to this book as great success in educating world society for the danger of toxic chem ...more

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Oct 11, 2022 Jeanne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2022, read-women, conservation-ecology

Even before I read Silent Spring, it influenced me.

Rarely can we truly say that a book has changed the world. I am too young to have experienced the pre-Silent Spring era, but even 10-15 years later, when I first became aware, I remember worrying about DDT and its impact on birds and us, about run-off from farms into streams. She is one part of the reason that I am a tree hugger today.

Rachel Carson argued that "the heedless and unrestrained use of chemicals is a greater menace to ourselves than Even before I read Silent Spring, it influenced me.

Rarely can we truly say that a book has changed the world. I am too young to have experienced the pre-Silent Spring era, but even 10-15 years later, when I first became aware, I remember worrying about DDT and its impact on birds and us, about run-off from farms into streams. She is one part of the reason that I am a tree hugger today.

Rachel Carson argued that "the heedless and unrestrained use of chemicals is a greater menace to ourselves than to the targets" (Kindle 3715). Killing undesirable insects might also kill desirable insects, birds, and fish, even the mammals that come in contact with it. Spraying for fire ants, also killed beneficial insects that kept the sugarcane borer in check. Spraying DDT against bollworms increased their numbers and decreased the size of the cotton crops. Spraying pesticides increased illness rates and cancers, particularly cases of leukemia. (It is poignant that Carson was writing while being treated for breast cancer, from which she died 18 months later,) And, spraying is a short-term benefit, as insects develop resistances, requiring different pesticides and, ultimately, new resistances. Carson argued that we would be better off relying on biological strategies like beneficial insects, viruses, and mammals, which are both cheaper and less likely to create resistances.

Silent Spring is, of course, outdated. Although many of its concerns have been taken seriously, these changes have been glacial: when I first heard about Silent Spring, the nature and size of the crisis were still being reckoned with. Even 60 years later, although the scope of the problem is now recognized as much larger (not just pesticides), change is fragile: people continue to deny climate change and fail to recognize the ways that our behaviors impact other species and the environment. The last US president scrapped climate regulations, rolled back clean water rules, and loosened pollution standards; protections for public land and threatened species shrank, while oil pipelines and coal mining were encouraged (Guardian, 2020).

As Carson wrote, "It is human nature to shrug off what may seem to us a vague threat of future disaster" (Kindle 2559). ...more

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