Silent Spring, By Rachel Carson

In the article,” Why Bother” written by Michael Pollen, he explains how the environment has gotten very bad over time. He talks about sustainability, global warming, and the cheap-energy mind in his article. He tells us that we need to act now before the phenomenon gets worse. Have you paid attention to the environment lately? Have you noticed the rising temperature around the world? Have you noticed the melting of the ice caps? If you haven’t you are about to be in for a surprise. The world has gotten very bad and we need to act now. There are a lot of causes to the environmental problems. The main cause are from farmers all around the world. Farmers are a lot more technologically advanced then what they were 50 years ago compared to now. The problem with the farmers are the overuse of energy, erosion of the soil, and pollution. The answer to all of these problems is sustainable agriculture because it is more efficient and better for the environment.

The earth is slowly dying do to the spread of harmful contaminants such as pesticides, garbage, and non biodegradable objects. They are present in the air, ocean, and ecosystem causing harm to both humans and animals. While most of the general population recognizes that pollution is an issue, no measures have/ are being taken to prevent it. Waste is continuously being poured into water sources and the ocean even though it kills animals and continues to poison humans. It is also being spread throughout the environment by ways of ignorance and laziness from humans. Because animals inhabit more of the world than humans do, they are the most impacted by pollution. Many animals have had to relocate, been killed, or have gone extinct due to the contagion

1. Spring by Mary Oliver is one of joy and happiness. The poem creates a refreshing and joyous environment and mood. The poem itself is a definition and description of the wonderful season of spring. I broke this poem into three parts to define its meaning and musical interpretation.

The subject of this investigation is “How did the 2007 Broadway production of Spring Awakening convey the structure of an authoritarian society and its detrimental effects on the youth of the musical?” Adapted from the German play The Awakening of Spring A Tragedy of Childhood, written by playwright Frank Wedekind, the musical Spring Awakening “[explores] the tortured inner lives of a handful of adolescents [living] in 19th-century Germany” and their struggles to deal with problems such as: sexual frustration, failure, and abuse; all made worse by the overbearing adults who wield their power over the vulnerable young characters through indoctrination and fear tactics (Isherwood). Under the direction of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, all the elements that went into making this musical reflect the central message of the play—a warning of the dangers of an authoritarian society and how, if too powerful, can create horrific situations for the younger generation, depicted in the musical through tragedies such as suicide and teenage pregnancy.

Gaylord Nelson, a Wisconsin Senator, and an environmentalist who was the one who developed Earth day. He was inspired by the anti war protests, so in 1969, he announced that the whole nation should join Earth day. Cities around the country were participating in the event, over 200 million were involved with Earth day. The government needed to know that the planet was in danger and things need to change. “The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy,” Senator Nelson said, “and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the national political agenda.” Due to this event, Acts were passed, “During the 1970s, a number of important pieces of environmental legislation were passed, among them the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.” (history.com). “Since 1970, Earth Day celebrations have grown. In 1990, Earth Day went global, with 200 million people in over 140 nations participating, according to the Earth Day Network (EDN), a nonprofit organization that coordinates Earth Day activities. In 2000, Earth Day focused on clean energy and involved hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries and 5,000 environmental groups, according to EDN.”(

The problems arising from factory farms are only getting bigger and more disastrous to the environment. These farms raise hundreds or thousands of animals in close confinement; otherwise know as concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs. “Large CAFOs are controlled under federal and state pollution regulations because they produce massive quantities of animal waste that can pose environmental and heath hazards if mishandled” (Weeks, 3). So why would farmers be farming this way it is so dangerous? The answer is simple; these farms can produce large quantities of food cheaply. If a farm can produce more hogs or calves, its profit is larger. In order for farmers to stay on their land, they are forced into poorly paid off-farm employment (Food). “Livestock farmers are told that they must adopt the new industrial technologies that make CAFO’s feasible, if they expect to have a future in farming” (Kallen, 64). The byproducts of such farms are producing harmful odors. The runoff from these farms “pollutes streams and groundwater with antibiotics, insecticides, pathogens and emits poisonous gases that are hazardous and create offensive odors” (Weeks, 2). The question now becomes, is factory farming the only way out? Is an industrial approach to agriculture needed to feed the poor and hungry of the world? The answer

We are still learning about environmental issues in our own communities. According to the text, “The History of Earth Day”

Environmentalist view animal agriculture as a major threat to the Earth and the population that fills it. Animal agriculture has caused mass extinction of species, the melting of Arctic sea, and the collapse of the world fisheries. According to many environmentalist, the earth is currently facing the greatest mass extinction of all in history roughly a thousand times greater than ever before. For example, the Earth has lost more plant and animal species in today's time compared to the period of the dinosaur extinction. Due to the constant increase of animal agriculture causing desertification and deforestation is leading to the increase of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and predominantly the unnatural change in the climate. In the

Population has surpassed seven billion people, and it is unlikely that the rate of increase will slow down any time soon. The constantly growing population undoubtedly puts a large strain on the environment. First of all, with the ever increasing amount of mouths to feed, there needs to be an ever increasing supply to feed those mouths. Because of this, the agricultural sector has significantly grown. Increased animal farming has caused a high release of methane, and as R. L. M. Schils, a global change biologist states, “[greenhouse gas] emissions… are the highest in regions with high animal densities, like the Netherlands and Belgium” (382). This connection between methane and animal population additionally suggests an indirect relationship between human population and

Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. As human population grows, so does food consumption and the problem is obvious. How do we feed the world without destroying it? There are many solutions such as; drip irrigation, precision agriculture, greywater recycling, and so much more. The problem is that for these to make any sort of impact on our current situation we would need an immediate change and complete participation. By getting rid of animal agriculture we would see improvements in water conservation, world hunger, and climate change. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, water pollution, and habitat destruction and that is why smarter diets would be not only be the best solution for our problem, but also the most effective

This movie documents why animal agriculture is the #1 contributor to greenhouse gases, the #1 environmental problem , the leading cause of rain forest destruction and habitat loss, creating massive amounts of untreated waste and using far more of our precious aquifers than if we all simply ate a plant-based diet.

Because human activities and the environment are inter-related, any activity that man does in it’s environment can affect man or the environment in a positive or negative way. Most negative effects on the environment arise from economic or domestic activities, like building homes, businesses, and farms. Traditional farming methods usually give back to the earth what is taken from it. For example, nutrients are placed back into the soil in the form of fertilizers. On most small scale farms, this is what is still practiced. The issue is that industrial agriculture has brought upon methods of farming that are not sustainable. Industrial farming is a way of producing

With the 1960s came a need for change, as an immense amount of smog and toxic chemicals used in agriculture and industry caused, the blue to fade away from the sky and water in America. Rachel Carson provided the catalyst for this change with her book Silent Spring published in 1962, which revealed the harmful impacts of pesticides on almost all wildlife and human beings. People reading a book wouldn’t be enough, though, for twenty million Americans came together on April 22, 1970, to celebrate the beauty of Earth and raise awareness about increasing concerns for the environment and declining quality of life. (maybe add a sentence about structure and diversity of the movement) Without these key events leading to the Environmental Movement’s diversity and unique structure through the 1970s, American values in politics and way of life would not have been able to change.

In the last 100 years, the world has changed in many ways and this includes the exploration and exploitation of the marine environment, to further satisfy the needs of humans. The reliance on the marine environment and its potential resources it could provide humans has been amplified; due to the dwindling oil supplies and global warming as a result of climate change. This has meant the destruction of many marine habitats, which has created unimaginable loss for many marine flora and fauna as well as the potential ecosystem services that could have been provided. In the last 50 years, there have been changes in human attitudes towards the environment and a marker for this is the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This marked the beginning of the birthplace of environmental law that shapes the marine law of today. Carlson’s book changed the way people thought about the environment and their impacts on the environment. This is further highlighted by the 1972 Stockholm Conference, the first international conference of its kind on the environment. From this point most environmental laws stemmed from it, however their policy has been “prevention and protection” is the best method for legal frameworks regarding the protection of the marine environment.

Many scientists and researchers have become worried about the health of our Earth. With increasing climate temperatures that can be noticed world-wide, scientists have been searching for a cause. It is widely believed that greenhouse gases are responsible.These gases: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane, to name few, become trapped in the atmosphere and work to absorb and emit radiation, resulting in a rise in temperature. The most suspected causes: agriculture and livestock. It has been said that agriculture is the biggest contributing factor of methane emissions within the United States. Many people believe that the reduction of/ riddance of meat from the population's diet will supply the change needed to save the Earth, however, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Humans should continue to produce animal products, but become more mindful of the changes that are continually made to the Earth and the impact it has on other species.