Dr Lafleur Summary

The following involves the second chapter of Carson’s book, Silent Spring that was written in 1962. In this chapter Carson argues persuasively the adverse impacts of pesticides upon the environment and the risks on human health and the environment associated with these “genetic invaders” (Carson, 1962). Many of the extremely diverse people from Carson’s audience targeted were under the impression that chemicals like DDT, at that time in history, were safe for their health. Carson reconciles and attempts to persuade the public to consider the idea that DDT, which in the 1950s and 60s was one of the many chemical pesticides being manufactured and sold to

”On those visits, I feel not only the spirit of the local people…and the seasonal change.”(345).Nowadays seasonal variation in industrial societies is minimized by importing many products that mature in specific seasons from different parts of the world. Technologies however, are impacting on our lives. “DDT would exert incredible selective pressure for mutations that would confer resistance” (347), it killed malaria-carrying mosquitoes but in few years large numbers of mosquitoes will return. It also has ecological damage the compound is ingested by many organisms, become concentrated up the food chain in a process called biomagnification. It causes heavy bird mortality.

Studies have repeatedly shown that as oxygen concentrations decrease, the abundance and diversity of fish decrease (Breitburg). Fish kills, in which large numbers of dead and dying fish float to the surface or wash onto shore, are probably the most dramatic and publicly visible manifestation of hypoxia and nutrient over-enrichment of coastal waters(Breitburg). In addition to mass mortalities that are easily observed, high mortality of fish lacking a swim bladder can occur leaving little or no visible evidence of fish at the surface or littering beaches (Breitburg). With no fish, shrimp, or crabs the Louisiana fishing market takes a huge hit that the economy feels in a major way. The gulf accounts for almost one-fifth of the countries fishing landings, which total to be three billion dollars (Petrolia). Fishing is not only a major part of Louisiana’s economy but also its culture. Without wildlife in our waters microorganism are given more opportunity to grow leading to bacteria infected waters. These bacteria infected waters could cause major health risks for those who come in contact with

Students at Amherst County High who say teachers lack personality have yet to meet Dr. McFaden. Dr. McFaden is the supervisor for equity assurance and online learning at Amherst County High. Dr. McFaden has a doctorate in Concentration and in MultiCultural Education. She earned her Master's degree from Lynchburg College, two bachelor's degrees from CVCC and her doctorate from UVA. Out of all the colleges she attended, which total twenty four years, Dr. McFaden only paid for one. She said her secret was earning the best grades possible and applying for many scholarships. In fact, Dr. McFaden said that throughout her time at college she only earned one B, and the rest of her grades were A’s.

To address the issue of unregulated fertilizer pollution in water supplies, Glennon quantitatively analyzes the amount of fertilizer that is used in the United States: “According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agricultural industry annually applies 110 billion pounds of fertilizer to one-eighth of the landmass of the continental United States” (69). With this statistic, Glennon creates opportunities in his piece to include new and compelling evidence that demonstrates the dangers of water pollution and its impacts on the nation. Along with this statistic concerning fertilizers, Glennon further expands his claim to describe the issue of runoff from other chemicals, such as perchlorate, in water supplies: “…the contamination plume from the Kerr-McGee plant contains 20 million pounds of perchlorate dissolved in more than 9 billion gallons of water” (69). By including the words “million” and “billion” in his data about chemical runoff, Glennon intimidates the reader into believing that these contamination issues affect populations on an enormous scale. He also frequently uses authoritative figures to strengthen his claim: “[A 2004 EPA report] alarmingly predicted that as many as 355,000 hazardous waste sites would require cleanup over the next thirty years, costing $250 billion” (75). Glennon attempts to alarm the reader and expose the detrimental costs of water pollution and its widespread consequences. However, while Glennon usually cites his evidence, he also includes information from unknown sources, which causes the reader to question the validity of some of his claims. In one argument concerning TCE, another industrial chemical, Glennon declares the dangers of the chemical without

Within this book, she tackled the issue of harmful pesticide usage, bringing to light an unknown issue. Carson's research forced the mass population to view pesticides as a harm to public health, thus, emphasizing the public's role within environmental frameworks. Ultimately, Carson made society rethink their relationship with the natural world.

This analysis of case studies from Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the case study to predict the effects of pesticides on aquatic systems and the waterfowl that uses them. Comparing the two processes of these case studies, along with analysis of the assessments. Describing the case study on the effects of pesticides in aquatic ecosystem, the risk assessment correlated to observed field studies and evaluate the importance of this type of correlation in general for all risk assessment efforts. Breaking down the ecological and social

Within the last ten years, the lack of awareness and false guidelines about the toxicity of pesticides has contributed to many tragic events. In 1988, Karen James, a Michigan postal worker, was walking past one of ChemLawn’s "fertilizer" trucks when a hose ruptured and she was drenched with chemicals. She was told by the ChemLawn employee not to worry because only fertilizers were in the spray and she would be fine. However, soon after she became seriously ill, with symptoms that include diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue. When her doctor called ChemLawn to find out what chemicals she was exposed to, he was told that they do not use chemicals. But later tests on Karen revealed high levels of Dursban, a toxic pesticide, which forced ChemLawn to admit that they had been lying (Dieglman, 1996).

Today, in areas of Louisiana along the Mississippi River known as “Cancer Alley”, petroleum and chemical manufacturing plans spew fumes and release carcinogenic chemicals near the water supplies of African Americans. There has long been controversy over this modern issue however no other ethnic or racial group has the desire to have these companies relocate factories near their living areas.

After the defeat with the sole use of the popular epidemiology technique, Lois Gibbs and the Homeowners Association decided to take a different approach when confronting the state. The Association elaborated that the toxic chemicals were “an attack on the nuclear family, as the toxic contamination threatened reproduction and homes” (Hay, “Everyone's Backyard: The Love Canal Chemical Disaster”). They showed that the chemicals were affecting the way the household should run, by hindering the reproduction process, and that the families who have not relocated should, in order to preserve the “[way of life]”. As the past attempts have failed, this effort too failed to get all community members relocated (Hay, “Everyone's Backyard: The Love Canal

Testimony and rhetorical questions are used to demonstrate the negative effect of mass pesticide dispersion on human life. In for Rachel Carson to craft

Often, toxic substances are being drained into the air, waterways, and undergrounds wells. According to the report by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 60 million pounds of deadly chemicals are produced by industries in Florida. Notably, Florida’s water has been suffering mercury contamination until the state’s department of migration issues a circular regularly for regulations of eating freshwater fish in the region (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). In fact, such metals emanate from coal combustion’s emissions which run into water bodies. Not to mention, pesticides and herbicides utilized by government and homeowners pollute the environment (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). Indeed, all chemicals released into the atmosphere find themselves in rivers.

In the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s main concern is the widespread use of synthetic pesticides and their impact on the environment. Carson concentrates on a commonly used pesticide in the 1950s called DDT. She opposes the indiscriminate spraying of DDT because it has profound consequences on the environment, humans and animals. Carson collected information about how the DDT can cause cancer in humans, harm animals such as birds and remained in the environment for long periods of time. Subsequently, the chemicals in the pesticides are extremely harmful so she tries to raise awareness and convince others that there are better alternatives.

This book was focused on the concern of pesticides that industries, along with us as individuals, have been dumping (both knowingly and unknowingly) into water. Carson was concerned that the chemicals which the farmers spread on their fields, and even the chemicals we use in our homes (among others), in the end, might come back around and harm us. The beginning of the book tells a story of a place, that was once so beautiful, turned dead and ugly due to a “strange blight that crept over the area” and destroyed everything. Later in the book, she goes on to explain that chemicals, particularly one known as DDT, are the major cause of environmental damage and the near extinction of

Fry and Toone (1986) found when they inject fertilised seabird eggs with DDT and its metabolites. The male chicks produced have varying degrees of intersexuality depending on dosage, reproductive system with both male and female structures. The female chicks had a partial to full developed right oviducts, instead of just left functional structures. In the area where the eggs were collected, there was multiple female-female pairing and low hatchability of eggs. Males exposed as embryos to estrogenic pesticides showed decreased to no sexual behaviour. (Fry and Toone, 1981) Louis Guillette noticed that male alligators from Lake Apopka in Florida have vestigial penis, follicle-like testis and elevated estrogens/testosterone ratios and the female hatching’s ovaries were producing multiple egg follicles and eggs with several nuclei (Luoma, 1995, Guillette et al., 1995) The females also had above normal estrogens levels. When he and his colleagues did a similar injection study with DDT and DDE, they produced results similar to those found in the field. The reduction in penis length and the abnormal gonads made the hatchlings reproductively incapable. Both the bird and alligator studies were prompted by the contamination of large water bodies by organochlorins and the low breeding success of the animals living and feeding in these areas.