Conclusion
Rachel Carson died at age 56 from breast cancer in her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her book The Sense of Wonder was published posthumously in 1956.
"Her efforts and wisdom and courage are in the air you breathe and the water you drink."
-Jenny Price, UCLA Center for the Study of Women
"Her efforts and wisdom and courage are in the air you breathe and the water you drink."
-Jenny Price, UCLA Center for the Study of Women
Although Rachel never called for the complete banning of DDT or other pesticides, she saw the dangers of continuous use of these chemicals. She felt that the country, and to some extent, the world, needed an environmental awakening.
Environmental Awareness |
Environmental Progression |
Rachel Carson invoked the public to open their eyes to ever-growing environmental problems.
"Rachel Carson ushered in the 20th century environmental movement by making sure we still had an environment left to protect!"
- Mark Madison, Chief Historian, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Ultimately, the publication of Silent Spring led to several important laws and legal actions regarding the environment, such as:
|
Substitutes
Current pesticides that are being used for agriculture today include: Glyphosate, Atrazine, Chlorpyrifos, Metolachlor, and Metam sodium.
"Not only is it almost impossible to completely avoid eating non-organic foods, but pesticides and herbicides are so widely used that they’re now found in the air and water—and in virtually every human on earth."
-Jill Ettinger, Organic Authority |
To substitute for DDT in the agricultural industry, Genetically Modified Organisms and other mild pesticides are used.
"On average, GM technology has increased crop yields by 21%. These yield increases are not due to higher genetic yield potential, but to more effective pest control and thus lower crop damage. At the same time, GM crops have reduced pesticide quantity by 37%." - Study by Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Goettingen |
On the other hand, there is still research to be done in order to ensure safety of pesticide substitutes.
"[Carson] would be aghast at Genetically Modified Organisms and the new pesticide resistant crops we have created that are killing off monarch butterflies."
- Mark Madison, Chief Historian, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Mark Madison, Chief Historian, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Current Use of DDT
“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”
-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring