The Impact of SIlent Spring

The Impact of Silent Spring on the Environmental Movement

The iconic Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is widely known as one of the most significant

pieces of work which influenced the environmental landscape for the better. Silent Spring offers a bold perspective on the anthropogenic tendencies of the chemical industry, bringing to light the human desire to control nature and imminent failure to do so, which in turn results in our own demise. As Carson stated, “it is a sobering fact, as we shall presently see, that the method of massive chemical control has had only limited success, and also threatens to worsen the very conditions it is intended to curb” (Carson 126). Carson was the first to shed light on the dangers of the chemical industry on both humans and animals alike, hidden in plain sight before the book’s publication. The book was one of the first publications that criticized the United States government for their disregard for human and animal life in order to uphold a moneymaking industry. Further, she proved that Americans can use their voices to successfully stand up against incompetence, inspiring a new generation of environmental activists. The government and chemical industry was forced to be held accountable, all due to the popularity of Silent Spring.

Carson began her career as a marine scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. During her time there, she started writing books encapsulating the complexity of the natural environment, starting with Under the Sea Wind (Lear). She wrote three more books about sea ecology, and each became widely popular, increasing public interest in the environment and “[raising] the consciousness of a generation” (Lear). After World War II, the commercial use of chemical pesticides and insecticides in the US became popularized, and the most toxic chemicals were commonly used in households and public spaces around the country. It was all too common for people to pick up insecticides containing DDT and Malathion at their local hardware stores to control pesky houseflies in their houses. The commercialization of these products made deadly chemicals readily available to the public, with little attention given to negative health consequences they may face. Carson recognized the catastrophic risks of continuing down this path and wrote Silent Spring to warn the American people of what they were unknowingly enduring. In the words of Carson, “Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?”

Silent Spring begins by discussing a town, once flourishing with all that nature has to offer, a desolate place deserted by any wildlife that wasn’t already dead. Carson states that although this particular town is fictional, there are countless areas in the US in which a similar tragedy has occurred. Carson defines DDT, sodium arsenic, heptachlor, and more familiar chemicals which are causing the loss of beloved ecosystems. She describes how chemicals not only affect the intended ‘pest’ species, but they are “universal killer[s]” (Carson 1532). This includes birds, mammals, livestock, and even humans.

The interconnectedness of humans and nature is stressed throughout the novel, as Carson describes the complexities of how pollutants are easily transferred to every part of the ecosystem. For example, chemicals from common pesticides have been found in traces in groundwater, as “it is not possible to add pesticides to water anywhere without threatening the purity of water everywhere” (Carson 502). In one case, the use of contaminated groundwater with for irrigation of crops led to “unexplained sickness among livestock,” “extensive crop damage” and “reports of human illness” in the area (Carson 519). Scientists learned that the groundwater had become contaminated by a nearby arsenal which discharged chemicals like arsenic, chlorides, fluorides, and more.

What’s even scarier about chemical killers is the effects unknown. In the above example, scientists discovered that the groundwater contained trace amounts of chemical 2,4-D which had not been manufactured at the nearby arsenal. This means that the 2,4-D, a substance toxic to wildlife, was “formed spontaneously” from the surrounding chemicals (Carson 528). Carson brings up a huge issue here, which is that chemical manufacturers have no idea what their products will do to the environment. They have created insecticides and pesticides to control the environment, but, ironically, their products are more out of control than the pests they are trying to subdue. Such little knowledge about the effects of toxic substances proves the immense danger of the creation and use of these chemicals, and just how out easily humans can lose control.

Further, the use of insecticides has a history of being ineffective, and even doing quite the opposite of intended. Insect resistance is a huge issue, not only for the eradication of pests but in a public health sense, as insects have been known to carry disease. In addition, killing off one species has a tendency to shift the balance of nature to ultimately bring new, more dangerous pests, as some species have been proved to “thrive on insecticides” (Carson 3060). With the use of chemical insecticides and pesticides, “we move from crisis to crisis, merely trading one problem for another,” (Carson 3149). Carson offers a number of alternatives to chemical use, which are not only safer for wildlife and human populations, but cheaper and actually effective. The use of sterilization on male insects by way of X-rays has proven effective, as well as using smell or sound to attract and capture pests. Each new technique presented is a “biological [solution], based on understanding of the living organisms they seek to control, and of the whole fabric of life to which these organisms belong” (Carson 3346). Listening to and understanding nature is the key, as is shown by the effective and low cost biological solutions offered.

The effects of the Silent Spring publication were monumental. Carson’s novel was received with vigor from the chemical industry, who, trying to save face, took harsh measures to discredit her, naming her a ‘hysteric treehugger’ and other derogatory names. Ironically, this only gave the book more publicity, which spread the message further across the country. Even before the publication, chemical companies who were threatened by her words tried to delay publication on the grounds that she misspoke about one of their products. Once published, the chemical industry spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to try and discredit both her and her book, but their efforts were unsuccessful (Berneise). The book made an impressive impact on both the public perception of the environment and the creation of new laws. She went as far as influencing President Kennedy to set up a panel of scientific advisors to study pesticides, who came to similar conclusions she did about the chemical industry (Berneise). Not only that, but the public became familiar with the word ecology, as well as environmental issues, which shaped a more conscious generation. In relation to law, many regulations were passed to regulate the use of pesticides and insecticides. Today, heptachlor, sodium arsenate, DDT, and more harmful chemicals have since been banned from use in the US (Buffington).

Silent Spring singly handedly shifted the power from high up institutions of money to the people. The themes of the novel are relevant today in many newer environmental problems we are facing in the twenty first century, brought on by climate change. Like the effects of chemicals, climate change is currently effecting the health and wellbeing of the public in ways we might not even realize, as they are almost hidden in plain sight, like the toxic chemicals discussed in the book. Silent Spring’s impact proves the importance of the individual effort to incite change, as it is clearly effective in shifting public opinion and subsequently holding the institutions of power accountable for their actions.

Works Cited

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Kindle Edition.

Carson, Rachel. (1962). Silent Spring. Narrated by Susan Berneise. Available at: http://www.audiobookstore.com/uk/ (Downloaded: 19 March 2013).

Buffington, E., & McDonald, S. (n.d.). Banned and Severely Restricted Pesticides. Retrieved from https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/cepep/FactSheets/141BannedPesticides.pdf

Griswold, E. (2012, September 21). How 'Silent Spring' Ignited the Environmental Movement. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/how- silent-spring-ignited-the-environmental-movement.html

Lear, L. (n.d.). Rachel Carson, The Life and Legacy. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://