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13. Through a Narrow Window

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Chapter 13 by Jessica Sottlar

                Energy production in the body of living organisms is inherently complicated. It is a process done within each and every living cell and, to break it down even further, within the mitochondria of each cell. This produces ATP- the universal energy currency of cells. For ATP to transfer energy it must pass one of its three phosphate groups to the area in need. Afterward it becomes ADP which can then be turned back into ATP with the addition of a phosphate group. This is the energy cycle of the cell. This cycle is very delicate and critical for all life. Should this cycle be negatively affected organisms could cease to exist. Insecticides such as DDT are now known to directly affect the flow of energy.

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9. Rivers of Death

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 9 by Alex Kellam

     Many places were affected by the spraying of insecticides. Forest areas sprayed almost always had negative effects on the fish population most notably: Maine, Yellowstone and British Columbia. These insecticides caused poisoning and starvation. This is because when the insects die off and there is nothing left to eat, the fish rely on fat storage and DDT is stored in fat. Like Carson states many times over, there are much safer ways to deal with overpopulation of insects. The introducing parasites and microorganisms that will attack certain species is one such example. New organic pesticides almost guarantee fish death due to their sensitivity to chlorinated hydrocarbons. The mass die offs of fish due to agricultural spray is seen virtually everywhere. Poisons such as Dieldrin, Heptachlor and Toxaphene are especially deadly to fish. The run off of these chemicals into the water killed millions of fish. Farmers over used these insecticides and caused them to build up in water. Planes continued to spray even when going over bodies of water, sealing the fate of organisms in the area.

     The death of fish doesn't just hurt wild habitats. Fish are a key food source and all over the world countries have seen a decrease in the fish supply due to DDT poisoning. No method has been found to purify these waters to reestablish healthy fish populations. In places like Austin, Texas there were dead fish found 200 miles span of river. It was later discovered that chemical plants had been dumping insecticides into the water, changing the pattern of the fish populations. These toxins were also diverted to the Gulf of Mexico. How these chemicals affect ocean environments is still unknown. Carson argues that more funding is needed to understand these toxic chemicals before continuing use. 

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8. And No Birds Sing

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 8 by Alex Kellam

     All over the United States birds have been vanishing. There has been a shocking decline in bird populations where once they flourished. In 1930 the American elm was attacked by Dutch elm disease. It was being spread by elm bark beetles. The solution was intensive spraying of insecticides. Later it was found that there was a direct link between robin deaths and the insecticide spraying. Every spring elm trees were sprayed with insecticide, and each spring the returning robins died in astounding numbers. The robins were being poisoned by consuming the contaminated earthworms. This contamination caused not only robins, but other birds and small mammals to be poisoned. The larger predators then ate these animals, also ingesting the DDT. As DDT moves up the food chain it becomes more and more concentrated.

     Birds have a significant role in tree health. They eat insects and keep their populations in check. However, once the birds are wiped out the insects grow in numbers and begin eating away trees. The birds are natural, safe pest controllers. Incidents like these caused great outrage with the public, who were alarmed by the deaths of beloved wildlife and the destruction of habitats. Spraying insecticides to save the elms was a very ineffective method. In some cases it killed more elms. This was due to the killing of the natural predators of elm disease. Cutting down dead and diseased trees or limbs is much more effective. This kept the disease from spreading while leaving the wildlife unharmed. It is also cheaper.

     Another bird that was on the verge of extinction due to spraying was the American eagle. Eagles on the Florida coast were studied in 1947 and it was found that their population was declining. Many eagle nests had no eggs and those that did saw the eaglets die soon after hatching. By 1958 only one eaglet was found in a 100 mile span. It was hypothesized from other bird species that DDT was causing the eagles to become sterile. Insecticides have effects on bird species all over the world.

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7. Needless Havoc

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 7 by Alex Kellam

      Humans have wanted to conquer the earth for a long time. Animals have been abused and taken advantage of, often leading to endangerment or extinction. Now all forms of life are starting to be killed on a massive scale with insecticides. Many innocent creatures get killed by insecticides, but agencies claim these deaths are negligible and that only insects get the full effect of the chemicals. Those in charge of decision making are looking to individuals who are too specialized in their fields, leading to uninformed decisions and inaccurate conclusions on the ecology of organisms and the effects chemicals might have on them.To top it off the insect controllers are the people with the greatest power and they choose to keep letting these chemicals negatively affect the environment.

      Major attempts at controlling insects often leads the destruction of the things people love in nature, this in turn deprives people of their pleasure. This can have permanent results as well. To keep insects at bay, spraying is repeated, adding to animal and plant populations having no chance of re-establishment. In Michigan  27,000 acres were sprayed with the highly inexpensive, but toxic and dangerous Aldrin to get rid the Japanese beetle. It caused a mass death of animals and birds, both local and migratory. Unfortunately, this included citizens with symptoms of vomiting, dizziness and chest pains.  When biologists studied the area after the spraying the amount of death was massive. Grub eating birds were annihilated, having eaten the infested bugs, other birds were killed from bathing in the water and mammals who were found had obvious signs of death by poison. Domestic animals were affected too, house cats were wiped out and livestock were either killed or left disorientated from the poisoning.

    With the lack of funding correlating with the minor amount of resources for studying insecticides being non-existent, control agencies continued to use more Aldrin, which is found to be 100 to 300 times more toxic than DDT. This was done without evidence that the Japanese beetle was bringing any harm to these areas, they were only growing increasingly in population. It is proven that parasitic insects and bacteria can be used to kill and stabilize the Japanese beetle population. The truth is insecticides have to be used repeatedly and the cost to the environment and human health is much more expensive than importing some organisms. Carson ends this chapter debating on whether civilization can wage a war on life without killing itself and losing its humanity in the process.

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6. Earth's Green Mantle

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 6 by Alex Kellam

            The most under-appreciated fact is that plants support the survival of all animals on earth. Vegetation that brings no benefit to humans or gets in its way usually get destroyed. There is no respect for the great balance of the plant world so toxic chemicals are made to destroy the weeds that effect our crops. Carson gives an example of this with sage, literally the basis of a whole ecosystem. Sadly sagebrush lands are destroyed in favor of grasslands for farmers to feed cattle, even though sage has evolved to work perfectly in its harsh environment. Chemical sprays have been used as a weapon to get rid of the sage and once the sage is eradicated, its whole ecosystem may go along with it. One of the biggest issues though being that many other plants were killed by the chemical intended to kill solely sage. The destruction of this chemical spray caused a chain reaction throughout the whole area, virtually killing a whole ecosystem.

            When plants are destroyed by herbicides the effect this has on the soil isn't really thought about. Soil and living things within it, like weeds, are interdependent and give each other mutual benefits. For example certain weeds can help keep in check the populations of pests in the soil, like marigolds and soil nematodes. As the use of herbicides grow there could be a vegetation shift. Like some grasses themselves have now become “weeds”. Ragweed is a grass that thrives after herbicide spraying, and crabgrass grows in unhealthy soil, likely a result of herbicides killing off the plants to give the soil the benefits it needs.

            Herbicides can be very dangerous, even household ones, they can contain mercury, arsenic and chlordane. There are safer, cheaper and more effective ways to treat the issues of weeds, like selective spraying, or even more natural ways in many cases insects have been imported to help eradicate weeds and they have been extremely effective. Carson ends this chapter urging people to pay more attention to more natural ways of dealing with the issues in nature, because in the end this will be the better way to save ourselves. 

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15. Nature Fights Back

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 15 by Benjamin Zink

      Armed with a powerful mind, man has altered nature in ways to benefit himself. An example of this comes with insecticides killing insects on produce plants. Insects make up 70-80% of the species on the plant, with at least 700,000 being named. The use of insecticides went without thought of disruption of the processes naturally occurring with the insects. Due to this, the various ways of adaptation were over looked and nature “fought back.”

      Insects gained resistance to chemicals, becoming stronger and more likely to survive what once would be certain death. The power of the biological framework that man himself is restrained by was largely underestimated. Examples of the disruption of nature also include higher animals such as the coyote and field mouse. Ranchers who exterminated coyotes killing their livestock would often times find themselves overrun with field mice as a result because the coyote once kept the mouse population in check.

     Man has gained arrogance towards nature, believing he is in control, leading to a separation of nature and man. If this energy was instead funneled towards studying it, the vast wonders of nature could be appreciated and studied in ways of mutual benefit to man, nature, and other organisms. 

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14. One In Every Four

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 14 by Benjamin Zink

     Before life on Earth, and since its emergence, the environment has been ever changing. The environment did not change for life, life changed for the environment. Due to this, along with the process of evolution, life must constantly adapt in order to survive. Naturally, this is a slow process and when sped up can have dramatic effects. Diseases, better known as cancers, have developed as a result. Since it naturally is a slow process, man has hurt himself by his own actions. Rachel Carson states, “The history of cancer is long, but our recognition of the agents that produce it has been slow to mature.”

     During the pre-industrial era, there was little to nothing known about cancer, until Sir Percivall connected disease to chimney workers being exposed to soot. Mining, smelting, and other metallurgy jobs were also later connected to cancer. With the increase of chemicals, to the point of them being taken from industry and put into everyday life, artificial alterations leading to approximately 45 million new cancer developments and affecting 2/3’s of families.

     Furthermore, cancer may be initiated by chemicals such as in the food supply with their affects not known for generations. This could be especially dangerous in the fast-paced American society because what is safe today may be dangerous tomorrow. In order to get a grasp on the dramatic outbreak of cancer in the last century, the root source of chemicals must be reevaluated and restructured. 

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11. Beyond The Dreams of the Borgias

A brief summary of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Chapter 11 by Jessica Stottlar 

          We as humans are exposed to small doses of dangerous chemicals on a daily basis and most people are unaware. Toxic chemicals such as DDT, DDD, chlordane, dieldrin, and lindane are in common house hold products that are used on a daily basis. Such products do very little to warn of their harmful nature. Warning labels are placed in obscure places in such fine print that few people take the time to read or follow them. One survey done, found that only 15% of people using insecticide aerosols were even aware of warning labels on the container.

      Although the existence of pesticide residues on food is denied, the majority of DDT accumulation in the body is through the consumption of contaminated products. To get a DDT free diet is nearly impossible and one would have to live in isolation from the rest of the world, self-production of all aspects of living being required you to even come close. In prisons the level of contamination is alarming, the dried fruit was found to have 69.9 parts per million of DDT and bread was found to contain 100.9 parts per million. There are high levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons found in animal products such as milk due to fat solubility since these chemicals are stored in fat. There are many cases of poisoning being caused by weight loss because the toxins are being metabolized all at once. Until changes on a large-scale occur, this will be an exponentially persistent issue.