Environmental Paper

8/3/2019 Environmental Paper

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Arka Das

10/30/11

Rachel Carsons Silent Spring and Wendell Berrys long legged

house established the message of environmental conservation in the

20th century. Berry was a supporter of nature while Carson made

people aware of the damage that is being done to the food we eat

every day. These authors ideas were both revolutionary and their

solutions to the environmental problems plaguing the nations were

very different. These ideas started a sociopolitical movement of

protecting Mother Nature in the 1960s and 1970s.

Berry and Carson both agreed that the threat of big business and

industry threatened the natural usage of land for farming and

conservation. Berry believed that humans and the land were

dependent on one another for survival. He and Carson both believed

industrialization and urbanization was killing off the natural beauty of

the country and living in a rural society which depended on traditional

farming was the best way to cure it. Carson argued that the usage of

insecticides and pesticides would affect the food chain and kills crops

and animals and over time would cycle down to humans because we

are higher up in the food chain and make us really sick. Berry believed


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that certain places were suited for certain types of plants and animals

and that the modern world did not care about these ecological

boundaries and did what they thought could make a quick profit.

Carson mentions that herbicides are killing all the wildflowers and

plants on the sides of highways. The problem here is that corporations

and the government have control over most of the land in the U.S and

they are doing whatever they want to make a quick profit.

Strip mining runs West Virginias economy so the company has so

much power and can displace people from their homes in small towns

which are absurd. The state or federal government does not enforce

the rule of clean H20 which gets Berry really angry. (67) The

development and testing of nuclear weapons went directly against

what Carson and Berry were arguing for. This experiment polluted the

environment by releasing toxic gas into the atmosphere. A concept

that both Berry and Carson supported or definitely would have was a

green space because it is land that cannot be altered in any way and

protected by law. This concept is used to put more green areas into

places like cities and other-heavy traffic areas.

The Long Legged house tells a story about a professor going back

home to his roots. Why? Kentucky is his natural home and his fate is

tied with the land. The area has its own true uniqueness and familiarity


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for him. As Berry alluded to earlier, certain places are natural habitats

for plants and animals. His childhood was spent here so it holds key

memories for him. Berrys resentment toward government is really

apparent because he mentions their greed and he refers to how

ineffective they were. Berry mentions I am having a difficult time

believing that the state or nation will tend to its responsibilities in East

Kentucky (29). Rachel Carson was pro-government when she worked

for the Fish and Wildlife Service but her viewpoint rapidly changed

when she blamed the government for not acting on the harmful effects

of insecticides and pesticides. Carsons book Silent Spring had political

ramifications that painted the government in a negative light. Carson

and Berry are both staunchly against big government even though the

Environmental Protection Agency has made some progress like

banning DDT and lowering the damage done by invasive species like

the Japanese beetle. Carsons political background helped her

understand how the government deals with these issues. Berry

mentions that the government is pro-big business. The Kentucky state

government does not care about an individuals lifestyle. Carson

reiterates in her book that coal miner s repeatedly suffer from black

lungs due to all the smoke they breathe in. However, miners are

replaceable so health is irrelevant. Profits only matter so steady


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revenue is needed. The laws passed here do not have an enormous

impact on the individual because no one really takes the laws seriously.

Carson says the local government and chemical companies deserve

the most blame because they waste taxpayer funds and quarrel within

themselves about whats right. Carson and Berry both advocate more

public knowledge about the harmful effects of pollution in society and

both mention that public awareness of the issue will help the common

person be informed. The hierarchy has no right to withhold information

from the public. Safety is very important when dealing with these

chemicals yet when DDT was first administered, the local government

did not mention all the various side effects.

Berry talks about how the river near the Camp is always brought

harmed. Fishermen harm it without realizing it and then there are the

partygoers and people who pass by that dump trash in the river or on

the shore. The writer feels his native place is being destroyed. It is not

from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are (51). The river

is not maintained and it is a shell of its former self. One can live in the

environment in two ways which is the life of a frontiersman and

dominate your immediate settings or live like Thoreau. One can be in

harmony with the environment and learn from it which is what the


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writer preferred. Carson was very similar because she was a scientist

and that requires careful observation of plants and animals in their

natural habitat. Carson also went through the government bureaucracy

with the US Dept. of Agriculture so she knows how food is processed

and checked for healthiness. D.C taught Carson how important our

food was on the governments priority list and she concluded by saying

it wasnt that high (67). Carsons background makes her opinions

extremely valid. She goes into saying that insecticides on trees are

worsening the problem in many areas and causing earthworms as a

result. Like Berry, her solution to the problem is natural and chemical-

free. If cities cleared away the diseased trees as soon as possible, then

it would save them money. If different types of trees were planted,

then specialization would prevent this tress from getting sick. DDTs

constant usage has harmed the bid population because they cannot

reproduce. Carson and Berry have one prevailing thought and that is

Nature must be respected, but not out of fear but responsibility.

Humans share a symbiotic relationship with the Earth. Berry comments

on the power and volume of the river and how it looks weak after he

returns from New York compared to how he left it before. (99) Berry

says that something must be simplified in order to fully grasp it.

Carson alludes to the fact that corporate/federal interests are the same


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as state interests which is if it makes a profit, and then its fine

regardless of the environmental and food damage that occurs. Carson

was so rogue in fact that the book made many headlines when it was

going to get published. The chemical companies found out about the

content of the book and threatened Oxford Press, which dropped the

book. Carsons scientific background trumps any discrediting

information against her especially sexuality.

Carson refers to the Love Canal incident where toxic waste was

dumped in a semi-completed canal and the atmosphere became toxic

around the town. The chemical seeped into the public water system

and into peoples houses. This resulted in several cases of leukemia

directly connected with the toxins in the water.

Carson also attacks companies for handing out pamphlets and

ads that say insecticides and pesticides will have no effect on their

health. Berry also refers to negative change around Currans camp

when he goes back after a couple of years. The forest and the river

have shrunk considerably. Berry uses imagery to paint us a picture of

what happened. Berry mentions repeatedly that the place resonates

with him since childhood and he could not forget it. Berry reiterates

several times that there must be a message sent throughout the

country or rather a movement that tells people how important this


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world is to us. People must do their part to help the environment or at

least not damage it further. Berry mentions We belong to the world, it

will survive us but it is our obligation (146). Future generations will

pay the price for how we have treated the planet. Futility living for the

future (168). You have to experience nature for yourself and then you

can grasp the writers message. Berry reiterates that our abundance is

abusing the Earths resources. Americans live expensive lives so we

cannot begin to realize how the other half lives in the world. People

should stand up and demand what they want. Berry and Carson both

agree that expressing your interests by protesting against the affluent

corporate society is helpful. The example of Occupy Pittsburgh is a

great way to do it and it spreads the message throughout the country

with regional movements.

Rachel Carson had innovative plans to stop politicians from

selling people a bill of goods that was not true. Carsons viewpoints are

intriguing because she has been on both sides of the argument so she

knows why things arent getting done. The bureaucracy is friends with

big business. Carsons objective is safety for the general population

from chemical-infested crops. Carson had a bone to pick with

politicians because they were using the same biased propaganda the

industry was using and were probably getting paid for it. This is


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reiterated when she says For the 1st time in history, every human

being is subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the

moment of conception until death (78). The solutions that have been

tried are useless and have wasted the taxpayers money. Carson

proposed several solutions to the problem such as control over grants

for research that would be released by the FDA and the USDA.

Carson illuminates the dangers of chemical infested crops saying

it goes up the food chain and increases its dosage through each

animal. This is called bio magnification. Pesticides also contain atomic

radiation that affects crops for an extended period of time. Berrys

approach toward nature is that it will take care of itself. Nature will fix

itself over time. If the world improves, then that will aid humans. The

relationship between man and nature is a fragile one that should be

respected at all times. Berry was a spiritual man who was very

religious and believed that there was a movement of consciousness

through knowledge. Berry also said that the human population that led

to wars such as Vietnam led to the moral decay of society. Berry

mentions Nothing I value can withstand them (200). Carson went

into detail about how the groundwater was being polluted by the toxins

being put in the water during spraying. The concentration is higher

where freshwater meets the oceans.


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This runoff also affects the soil content of farmlands and seeps into

those as well. Carson notes that public officials are overconfident and

do not want to admit that they have made mistakes dealing with the

issue of contaminated groundwater that does not contain the essential

nutrients needed in water. Failure to notify the public about these

cancer-causing substances is harmful to their health and is illegal. The

side effect of widespread DDT spraying is that it has reduced the eagle

population to virtually extinct. It has also because the bug population

to develop antibodies and resistance against them just like humans do

to certain diseases and bacteria.

Carsons proposed solutions include natural pest control without

chemicals like nets and traps. Nature does take care of its own

problems after a certain period of time so you can just let nature run

its course. An interesting solution would be to use chemicals released

from the insects themselves. One can also use bacterial insecticides

which could react quickly as a killer for these insects. A natural

predator of bugs introduced into the environment is by far the best

option because it aids the ecosystem and is a natural fit in the food

chain.

Wendell Berry and Rachel Carson were both the top minds of


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their field. However, the way they went about on their approach is very

different because Berrys approach is much more spiritual and being

one with nature while Carsons approach is much more scientific. They

both tried to get the government to care less about profits and more

about the relationship between nature and humans. Their common

goal was to reduce pollution and to maintain natures wonders.

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