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Silent Spring
An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780618249060 can be found here
Silent Spring is an environmental science book. The book documents the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly.
The book appeared in September 1962 and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson’s book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement.
Silent Spring is an environmental science book. The book documents the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly.
The book appeared in September 1962 and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson’s book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement.
378 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 1962
About the author
Rachel Carson
59 books1,991 followersRachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose book Silent Spring and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement.
Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us won her a U.S. National Book Award, recognition as a gifted writer, and financial security. Her next book, The Edge of the Sea, and the reissued version of her first book, Under the Sea Wind, were also bestsellers. This sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths.
Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides, and it inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
A variety of groups ranging from government institutions to environmental and conservation organizations to scholarly societies have celebrated Carson's life and work since her death. Perhaps most significantly, on June 9, 1980, Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. A 17¢ Great Americans series postage stamp was issued in her honor the following year; several other countries have since issued Carson postage as well.
Carson's birthplace and childhood home in Springdale, Pennsylvania — now known as the Rachel Carson Homestead—became a National Register of Historic Places site, and the nonprofit Rachel Carson Homestead Association was created in 1975 to manage it. Her home in Colesville, Maryland where she wrote Silent Spring was named a National Historic Landmark in 1991. Near Pittsburgh, a 35.7 miles (57 km) hiking trail, maintained by the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy, was dedicated to Carson in 1975. A Pittsburgh bridge was also renamed in Carson's honor as the Rachel Carson Bridge. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection State Office Building in Harrisburg is named in her honor. Elementary schools in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland, Sammamish, Washington and San Jose, California were named in her honor, as were middle schools in Beaverton, Oregon and Herndon, Virginia (Rachel Carson Middle School), and a high school in Brooklyn, New York.
Between 1964 and 1990, 650 acres (3 km2) near Brookeville in Montgomery County, Maryland were acquired and set aside as the Rachel Carson Conservation Park, administered by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. In 1969, the Coastal Maine National Wildlife Refuge became the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge; expansions will bring the size of the refuge to about 9,125 acres (37 km2). In 1985, North Carolina renamed one of its estuarine reserves in honor of Carson, in Beaufort.
Carson is also a frequent namesake for prizes awarded by philanthropic, educational and scholarly institutions. The Rachel Carson Prize, founded in Stavanger, Norway in 1991, is awarded to women who have made a contribution in the field of environmental protection. The American Society for Environmental History has awarded the Rachel Carson Prize for Best Dissertation since 1993. Since 1998, the Society for Social Studies of Science has awarded an annual Rachel Carson Book Prize for "a book length work of social or political relevance in the area of science and technology studies."
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_C...
Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us won her a U.S. National Book Award, recognition as a gifted writer, and financial security. Her next book, The Edge of the Sea, and the reissued version of her first book, Under the Sea Wind, were also bestsellers. This sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths.
Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides, and it inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
A variety of groups ranging from government institutions to environmental and conservation organizations to scholarly societies have celebrated Carson's life and work since her death. Perhaps most significantly, on June 9, 1980, Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. A 17¢ Great Americans series postage stamp was issued in her honor the following year; several other countries have since issued Carson postage as well.
Carson's birthplace and childhood home in Springdale, Pennsylvania — now known as the Rachel Carson Homestead—became a National Register of Historic Places site, and the nonprofit Rachel Carson Homestead Association was created in 1975 to manage it. Her home in Colesville, Maryland where she wrote Silent Spring was named a National Historic Landmark in 1991. Near Pittsburgh, a 35.7 miles (57 km) hiking trail, maintained by the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy, was dedicated to Carson in 1975. A Pittsburgh bridge was also renamed in Carson's honor as the Rachel Carson Bridge. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection State Office Building in Harrisburg is named in her honor. Elementary schools in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland, Sammamish, Washington and San Jose, California were named in her honor, as were middle schools in Beaverton, Oregon and Herndon, Virginia (Rachel Carson Middle School), and a high school in Brooklyn, New York.
Between 1964 and 1990, 650 acres (3 km2) near Brookeville in Montgomery County, Maryland were acquired and set aside as the Rachel Carson Conservation Park, administered by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. In 1969, the Coastal Maine National Wildlife Refuge became the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge; expansions will bring the size of the refuge to about 9,125 acres (37 km2). In 1985, North Carolina renamed one of its estuarine reserves in honor of Carson, in Beaufort.
Carson is also a frequent namesake for prizes awarded by philanthropic, educational and scholarly institutions. The Rachel Carson Prize, founded in Stavanger, Norway in 1991, is awarded to women who have made a contribution in the field of environmental protection. The American Society for Environmental History has awarded the Rachel Carson Prize for Best Dissertation since 1993. Since 1998, the Society for Social Studies of Science has awarded an annual Rachel Carson Book Prize for "a book length work of social or political relevance in the area of science and technology studies."
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_C...
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May 19, 2020
Dejvid Atenboro, koji je pre koju nedelju napunio 94. rođendan, rekao je da je ovo, nakon Darvinovog „Postanka vrsta” najuticajnija naučna knjiga ikada napisana. Stari znalac nije ovo rekao slučajno. „Tiho proleće” je bez preterivanja preobrazilo način na koji šira javnost doživljava ekologiju i dovelo do značajnih političkih promena koje su doslovno spasile milione života. Rejčel Karson bila je po struci morski biolog i pre „Tihog proleća” napisala je niz naučnopopularnih knjiga iz svoje oblasti, među kojima je kod nas prevedeno „More oko nas”. Knjige su imale odličan prijem kod čitalaca jer su bile pisane negovanim stilom; Karson je imala pravu meru između pristupačnosti i naučne utemeljenosti. Stekavši reputaciju uglednog stručnjaka, decenijama prikupljajući materijal, Rejčel Karson svoje poslednje delo posvećuje ekologiji, pre svega štetnom dejstvu različitih hemikalija na životnu sredinu, među kojima prednjače pesticidi, insekticidi i biocidi. Industrija pesticida koju danas znamo čedo je Drugog svetskog rata – pre njega korišćeni su mateijali koji već mogu da se nađu u prirodi, među kojima su čak i isušeni cvetovi hrizantema. I zapanjajuće zvuči podatak iz knjige da se u SAD godišnje upotrebi 500 novih hemikalija na koje telo treba da se navikne, a do četrdesetih godina u bilo je ukupno nešto više od 200 hemikalija koje su služike za suzbijanje korova, insekata i štetočina. Razlog zašto se dogodio ovakav nagli skok proističe, na primer, iz prirode insekata – oni brzo postaju imuni na supstance koje su im namenjene. Tako svaka nova generacija zahteva novo sredstvo za suzbijanje, a otrovi ostaju ne samo u životnoj sredini, već u telu. Američko masovno prskanje šuma, polja, kao i upotreba različitih nedovoljno ispitanih sredstava u domaćinstvima, dovelo je do toga da se temeljno ugrozi već ionako krhka i stalno promenljiva ravnoteža u prirodi. Podmuklost pesticida i ostalih hemikalija ogleda se u njihovom odloženom dejstvu. Efekti se najpre ne vide, ali vreme pokazuje kako kruženje materije funkcioniše. Možda je dobar primer vezan za brestove, koji su jedno vreme sađeni kao drvoredi u mnogim američkim gradovima. Kako su sađeni izuzetno zbijeno, to nije odgovaralo njihovom održavanju, te su bili podložni različitim bolestima koje su se lako širile. A ljudi, ne želeći gole ulice, prskali su to rveće – paraziti bi bili ubijani, a listovi, puni štetnih materija, padali na tlo, gde bi trulili, zatim bi zemlja upijala otrov, otrov bi pojeo crv, crva crvendać koji bi se otrovao i tako dobijamo tiho proleće. Da, tiho proleće nije samo metafora, ono je posvedočeno u nekim američkim gradovima, štetne supstance su bile izazvale pomor ptica koji su ljudi tek naknadno primetili. Lanac se nastavlja – i ne samo što supstance dospevaju u oblake, one, što je još više zabrinjavajuće, dospevaju i u duboke, podzemne vode. A kad tu dođu, kako Karson tvrdi, spasa nema. Podzemne vode su nam spas, jemac života i poslednje pribežište.
Od štetnih supstanci, osim kancerogenog arsenika, koji se, nažalost, i dalje koristi, među posebno štetnim materijama prednjačio je DDT (dihlor-difenil-trihloretan) koji je upravo zaslugom Rejčel Karson zabranjen 70-ih godina. Ali iako zabranjen, i dalje je tu – kada jednom materija uđe u telo, ona se smešta u organe bogate mastima i veoma mala količina je dovoljna da utiče na enzime vezane za rad srca, jetre. Kontaminacija ide do toga da je supstanca pronađena i u majčinom mleku. Jedan od izuzetno štetnih materija je i aldrin, koji izaziva promene u bubrezima i jetri, a koji je zabranjen tek 90-ih godina. A čak i da su spomenute materije benigne, javlja se drugi problem o kome malo ko razmišlja, i koji namerno prećutkuju mnoga istraživanja sponzorisana od strane krupnog kapitala – hemikalije nikada nisu izolovane. Ukoliko stavimo neku inače bezazlenu supstancu u takođe bezazlenu sredinu, rezultat uopšte ne mora da bude bezazlen. Prvi zakon ekologije jeste da je sve sa svime povezano i da ništa nije izolovano. S tim u vezi SAD nisu imale samo dežurne društvene neprijatelje – komuniste (sama Rejčel Karson bila je, između ostalog, tako nazvana), već i dežurne neprijatelje iz prirode, koji kvare ekonomsku dobit. Među njima mnoge vrste uvezene iz drugih krajeva sveta, gde su, za razliku od SAD, bile usklađene sa sredinom u kojom su živele, jer su njihovi ekosistemi drukčiji. Dovođenje organizama iz drugih krajeva sveta samo po sebi dovodi neravnotežu (kantarion, japanska buba), a zanimljivo je da je sama američka vlada stala (The Agricultural Department) sponzorisala propagandni film o tobožnjoj neverovatnoj šteti koju izazivaju crveni mravi (fire ant), ne bi li se stvorilo javno mnjenje u kome je korišćenje DDT-a opravdano. Rejčel Karson je na početku bila žestoko kritikovana, vređana je kao neko ko preuveličava, ko je histeričan (baš me zanima da li bi za muškarca rekli da je histeričan) i ko obmanjuje javnost. Međutim, knjiga je, sasvim suprotno, odmerena, proračunata, uravnotežena, čak i stišana, u skladu sa samim naslovom. Polemike su postepeno jačale, Rejčel Karson nije, nažalost mogla da učestvuje u njima zbog zdravstvenih problema, a o uticaju ove knjige govori i da je sam predsednik Kenedi sazvao odbor o pitanjima vezanim za knjigu.
Rejčel Karson je dve godine nakon objavljivanja „Tihog proleća” otišla tiho. Umrla je od raka dojke, bolesti o čijim je uzrocima dosta pisala baš u svom poslednjem delu. I to treba da nas prene. Nažalost, i kod nas je njena tiha revolucija doživljena još tiše, jer ova knjiga i dalje nije prevedena na srpski. (Koliko mi je poznato, ne postoji ni hrvatski prevod, ali slovenački postoji.)
I samo da napomenem da, suprotno onome što mnogi kažu o ovoj knjizi, „Tiho proleće” nije nikakvo umetničko delo. Ono je napisano dobrim stilom, ali bez ikakvih upliva lirskog i meditativnog. Međutim, to što „Tiho proleće”, i povrh divnog naslova, nije književno delo, ne znači da je ono zbog toga manje vredno. Naprotiv, Karson je učinila nešto izuzetno – dala je šah-mat pesticidima i promenila svet.
Na kraju – pesma Massive Attack – Silent Spring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n8Xg...
I pošto je Rejčel Karson bila biolog mora, šaljem vam nešto za šta sam siguran da bi se i njoj dopalo. Ako imate volje i vremena obavezno pogledajte, iskustvo je izuzetno:
https://neal.fun/deep-sea/?fbclid=IwA...
P. S. Da i naše proleće ne bi bilo tiho, skinite na mobilni besplatnu aplikaciju „Ptice na dlanu” Društva za zaštitu i proučavanje ptica Srbije. Tu je zbirka svih ptica Srbije, sa osnovnim informacijama, zvukovima cvrkuta i slikama.
Od štetnih supstanci, osim kancerogenog arsenika, koji se, nažalost, i dalje koristi, među posebno štetnim materijama prednjačio je DDT (dihlor-difenil-trihloretan) koji je upravo zaslugom Rejčel Karson zabranjen 70-ih godina. Ali iako zabranjen, i dalje je tu – kada jednom materija uđe u telo, ona se smešta u organe bogate mastima i veoma mala količina je dovoljna da utiče na enzime vezane za rad srca, jetre. Kontaminacija ide do toga da je supstanca pronađena i u majčinom mleku. Jedan od izuzetno štetnih materija je i aldrin, koji izaziva promene u bubrezima i jetri, a koji je zabranjen tek 90-ih godina. A čak i da su spomenute materije benigne, javlja se drugi problem o kome malo ko razmišlja, i koji namerno prećutkuju mnoga istraživanja sponzorisana od strane krupnog kapitala – hemikalije nikada nisu izolovane. Ukoliko stavimo neku inače bezazlenu supstancu u takođe bezazlenu sredinu, rezultat uopšte ne mora da bude bezazlen. Prvi zakon ekologije jeste da je sve sa svime povezano i da ništa nije izolovano. S tim u vezi SAD nisu imale samo dežurne društvene neprijatelje – komuniste (sama Rejčel Karson bila je, između ostalog, tako nazvana), već i dežurne neprijatelje iz prirode, koji kvare ekonomsku dobit. Među njima mnoge vrste uvezene iz drugih krajeva sveta, gde su, za razliku od SAD, bile usklađene sa sredinom u kojom su živele, jer su njihovi ekosistemi drukčiji. Dovođenje organizama iz drugih krajeva sveta samo po sebi dovodi neravnotežu (kantarion, japanska buba), a zanimljivo je da je sama američka vlada stala (The Agricultural Department) sponzorisala propagandni film o tobožnjoj neverovatnoj šteti koju izazivaju crveni mravi (fire ant), ne bi li se stvorilo javno mnjenje u kome je korišćenje DDT-a opravdano. Rejčel Karson je na početku bila žestoko kritikovana, vređana je kao neko ko preuveličava, ko je histeričan (baš me zanima da li bi za muškarca rekli da je histeričan) i ko obmanjuje javnost. Međutim, knjiga je, sasvim suprotno, odmerena, proračunata, uravnotežena, čak i stišana, u skladu sa samim naslovom. Polemike su postepeno jačale, Rejčel Karson nije, nažalost mogla da učestvuje u njima zbog zdravstvenih problema, a o uticaju ove knjige govori i da je sam predsednik Kenedi sazvao odbor o pitanjima vezanim za knjigu.
Rejčel Karson je dve godine nakon objavljivanja „Tihog proleća” otišla tiho. Umrla je od raka dojke, bolesti o čijim je uzrocima dosta pisala baš u svom poslednjem delu. I to treba da nas prene. Nažalost, i kod nas je njena tiha revolucija doživljena još tiše, jer ova knjiga i dalje nije prevedena na srpski. (Koliko mi je poznato, ne postoji ni hrvatski prevod, ali slovenački postoji.)
I samo da napomenem da, suprotno onome što mnogi kažu o ovoj knjizi, „Tiho proleće” nije nikakvo umetničko delo. Ono je napisano dobrim stilom, ali bez ikakvih upliva lirskog i meditativnog. Međutim, to što „Tiho proleće”, i povrh divnog naslova, nije književno delo, ne znači da je ono zbog toga manje vredno. Naprotiv, Karson je učinila nešto izuzetno – dala je šah-mat pesticidima i promenila svet.
Na kraju – pesma Massive Attack – Silent Spring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n8Xg...
I pošto je Rejčel Karson bila biolog mora, šaljem vam nešto za šta sam siguran da bi se i njoj dopalo. Ako imate volje i vremena obavezno pogledajte, iskustvo je izuzetno:
https://neal.fun/deep-sea/?fbclid=IwA...
P. S. Da i naše proleće ne bi bilo tiho, skinite na mobilni besplatnu aplikaciju „Ptice na dlanu” Društva za zaštitu i proučavanje ptica Srbije. Tu je zbirka svih ptica Srbije, sa osnovnim informacijama, zvukovima cvrkuta i slikama.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review