Book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

In the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, she drew a clear picture of nature and its relationship with the web of life that is destroyed by the excessive use of insecticides which has affected the livelihood of the living things on the surface of the earth. She further tells her readers to use different methods of pest control which is not harmful or less harmful as compared to the use of insecticides. The title she chooses for her book gives us a clue about a spring season that is silent with no birds singing as it is always in the case of normal spring which paints our atmosphere with the song of birds. This an indication of an abnormal spring which is caused by the use of insecticides. Carson opens up her book with a story of a town in the heart of America. She describes the town as beautiful and lively where the springtime is the most interesting time of the year. The beauty and livelihood of this town were soon ruined by the uncontrolled use of insecticides. Everything was destroyed, the town became silent(lifeless) as if it had never in existence.

The scenario depicts a clear picture of the present and the and future of other towns of the world. Some beautiful towns are already destroyed through this process while some are on the verge of being destroyed. We depend on the environment to get all the things that we need to survive, this brings to mind the relationship between man and the environment. To indicate that, it is the man who depends on the environment for his essential needs who is causing it destruction Carson states "they shouldn't be called ?insecticides', but ?biocides' since they are harmful to every living thing on the earth surface. Her problem is not about the using of insecticides but how wrongfully they are used. In the third chapter of the book Carson's explains in detail how every human being is exposed to dangerous chemicals from the moment they are conceived to the moment of their death. She made mention of chemicals such as DDT and arsenic has gain ground and how they cause death by spreading through the food chain of our ecosystem and giving a rise in dangerous ailment like cancer.

After identifying the effect of the chemicals in question, Carson further explained the effect of these chemicals into different categories, she examined the section of the natural world from the water to soil and from plants to birdlife through the food chain. She made her readers understand that chemicals are much deadlier than their manufactures may know. When these chemicals interact with nature, they create an effect that will difficult to see when looking at the bigger picture. The life of every living organism greatly depends on the ecology of the soil. Carson states "we must not only be concerned with what is happening to the soil; we must wonder to what extent insecticides are absorbed from contaminated soils and introduced into plant tissue." Insecticides absorbed from contaminated soil change the biogeochemical cycle as the soil will remain contaminated and will be transferred to any plant that will be planted in the contaminated soil. In chapter six Carson explains how plants connect all life. She focuses much on how humans tend to forget their dependence on plants for survival and act on them in a destructive manner which will affect them in the long run. She sees not the necessity of promoting the spraying of insecticides since it efficiently kills non- targeted plan and inefficiently kills pest and insects. She sees the need for humans to carry out a thorough research before promoting the spraying of insecticides.

'The early mornings that was once filled with silent where once they were filled with the beauty of bird song." The silence of these birds is linked to the excessive use of insecticides because birds depend on insects and worms for survival. Without these insects and worms for the birds to feed on, they will not be around to sing as in the case of normal spring. A silent spring is a sign of danger to the environment and all its inhabitants. Carson discusses how man used to live in the fear of diseases like smallpox, cholera, and plague in the previous years, and how we have introduced a different kind of health deteriorating problems in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe by polluting our environment. Carlson then made us understand what a cell is, and how the mitochondria which are found within the cell work in the production of energy. She then went a heard to explain to us how radiation and chemical poisoning affect the production of energy. The energy produced in the mitochondria is stored in the form of ATP (adenosine trisphosphate).

Through Carson's discussion, she made us understand that radiation and chemical poisoning will render the mitochondria incapable of producing ATP, which result in the loss of energy produced. The species of insects have become stronger after years and years of using a chemical spray. In order for us to be able to overcome how resistant they have become, there is a need for us to produce more powerful chemical. By doing so more money is wasted only to expose living organisms to more harm. For us to avoid this Carson suggested the use of natural control such use predators which are of no harm to the environment and less expensive. Ow Rachel Carson did not only draw our attention to how we are harming ourselves as well as our environment through our activities, but she has also formed environmental movements that help save our plants and earth. Without her, the condition of our earth would have been worse that is now. I have really learned a lot from this book. We must do as much as we can to keep our earth healthy.

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