Silent Spring in The Transition Movement

Aug 30, 2011 Riku Sayuj rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: r-r-rs, ecology, screened

A must read book for the concerned. Carson brings forth, without ever putting on alarmist garbs, all the horrors of the warfare that we have undertaken against ourselves.

The book is of course outdated and most of the bigger concerns have been, if not addressed, at least taken seriously. But the true value of the book is in understanding how long a time frame has to elapse before such matters of truly catastrophic nature follows the process of scientific suspicion, investigation, verification, t ...more

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Mar 09, 2017 Dave Schaafsma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nature

7/17/2020: Silent Spring, one of the most environmentally significant publications in history, was published on September 20, 1962. I update this review in the face of some mildly encouraging news on speaking to climate change from the Biden administration, which I hope is not as I fear, too little, too late.

7/29/25: Ah, but it was too good to be true, and was too little, too late, and 47 and his ignorant thugs have this to say about conservation and ecology and climate change today, in the face ...more

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Jun 20, 2017 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, science, flower-power-1960-s-books

I am pessimistic about the human race because it is too ingenious for its own good. Our approach to nature is to beat it into submission. We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated ourselves to this planet and viewed it appreciatively instead of skeptically and dictatorially. ~~E. B. White

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- I am pessimistic about the human race because it is too ingenious for its own good. Our approach to nature is to beat it into submission. We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated ourselves to this planet and viewed it appreciatively instead of skeptically and dictatorially. ~~E. B. White

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. ~~Rachel Carson

In 1962, Rachel Carson saw a huge environmental problem--the widespread use of toxic herbicides and pesticides--and had enough courage, intelligence, and persistence to compile an extensive recording of the repercussions of this use. While some of the science (especially when she delves into genetics and the mitochondria) is outdated today, for the most part the entire book is still, unfortunately, very much relevant. We no longer have DDT, but we have other pervasive chemicals. The oversight, accountability, and transparency of the chemicals being used around and in our environment is still very much lacking. This is true even when it comes to the food that we eat, and the chemicals marketed for use in our homes.

It is my opinion, as a citizen of the world, and as a registered nurse that *everyone* should read this book. We shouldn't just read the book, throw up our hands, and hope someone else takes care of things though. As Rachel said (in 1962! but still the case today), "There is still very limited awareness of the nature of the threat. This is an era of specialists, each of whom sees his own problem and is unaware of or intolerant of the larger frame into which it fits. It is also an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged. When the public protests, confronted with some obvious evidence of damaging results of pesticide applications, it is fed little tranquilizing pills of half truth. We urgently need an end to these false assurances, to the sugar coating of unpalatable facts. It is the public that is being asked to assume the risks that the insect controllers calculate. The public must decide whether it wishes to continue on the present road, and it can do so only when in full possession of the facts. In the words of Jean Rostand, "The obligation to endure gives us the right to know."

As a nurse, I am taught to look at the evidence and also at the expert advice/statements on issues. Position statements on anything having to do with the environment is frustratingly absent in the US, but there is a very good one from Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the entirety of which can be read at http://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/201.... In 2001, the WHO estimated that *200,000* people are killed each year, worldwide, as a direct result of pesticide poisoning, and another 3 million have non-fatal poisonings. Children are often the ones most affected (usually over 50% of cases occur in those under 10 years of age). Their detailed position statement, taking those figures into account, advocates for producer responsibility, banning use for cosmetic purposes, and working steadily at the government level (through funding and research) towards the abandonment of all synthetic pesticides.
As Rachel said, "The choice, after all, is ours to make. If, having endured much, we have at last asserted our "right to know", and if, knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals, we should look about and see what other course is open to us."
We are smart enough to figure out a better way. We, as citizens, must make our voices heard, be informed shoppers, and also speak with our money. Given 5 stars or a rating of "Perfect". Highly recommended! ...more

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