Consider the
major landmarks, such as Rachel Carson´s ¨Silent Spring¨
book , Chernobyl or Bhopal and how these have brought
positive or negative public awareness.
“Silent Spring” is a book that concisely
explains the role of DDT on environmental impacts such as: poor management of
the pesticide use affects the food chain and contaminates underground water,
which directly affects human beings. This book has the intention to create
public awareness and as a result prevent the use of DDT (Carson, 1962). Al Gore
is a well-known environmentalist and was the Vice President of the United
States of America. He says that Rachel Carson has the most important influence
on his tendency on environment as a soft ecologist. He defends Carson when she
is accused of feeding false information, since her book is backed up with a lot
of sources and real life examples on earth, plus the revision of many
scientists (Gore). This book creates a positive public awareness since it is
world wide available and this warning that was published has brought MEDC to
ban the use of DDT. This desition was analized by experts and of course the
information on the book was credible. The book also talks about the use of
other pesticiedes. A counterclaim is presented:
“One
of the main counterarguments to Miss Carson's book expressed by the farmers,
scientists, and other supporters of the pesticide industry was that farm yields
would be drastically reduced without the assistance of chemical
pesticides. Scientists from the Department of Agriculture argued, that
the world would not be able to feed itself without pesticides (Darby
1962). George C. Decker, an entomologist at the Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station, explained that:
if
we in North America were to adopt a policy of let nature take its course, as
some individuals thoughtlessly advocate, it is possible that these would‑be experts would find the disposing of
the 200 million surplus human beings even more perplexing that the disposition
of American's current corn, cotton and wheat surpluses." (Time 1962).”
Chernobyl,
The accident
occurred on Chernobyl Ukraine was caused by a bad management on the plant
located at this city. This is a positive
effect for our ideology as soft ecologists because that clearly demonstrates that
a high level of technology use (in this case radioactive material) is bad
because with high amount of technology, terrible disasters happen.
It has been
negative for the world and the people in Chernobyl and the surroundings,
because the levels of diseases have increase as thyroid cancer or mutations
during generations.
For our ideology
of soft ecologists is positive because it brings awareness about how the use of
technology has to be moderate and we have to take care of the environment.
Chernobyl is the most clear example of how technology could destroy us.
Nevertheless we agree on a regulated use of technology, as we know that without
technology we could not live in the same conditions we live, but we certainly
believe that nature is a big part of us and we have to take care of the
environment. Chernobyl disaster would have never happen if humanity would be
more conscious of the environment and its importance.
The Bhopal on the other hand disaster was a gas leak incident in india. It
is considered the world's worst industrial disaster. it occured on 1984 at the
Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal. Over 500,000 people were
exposed to gas and other chemicals. The official immediate death toll was 2259.
Then 3787 deaths were confirmed related to the gas release. They also estimated
people died from the gas release on the following weeks. I 2006 the government
confirmed 3900 severely and permanent disabling injuries.
This created a positive public awareness because now
people are aware and realize how dangerous this energy sources can be to people
and how many disasters can be prevented by using other sources of energy.
Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1962.
Benjamin, Beth. “Rachel
Carson: Giving a Voice to the Silent Spring.”
Gore, Al. Introduction to Silent Spring.
very nicely done. YOu have quoted and provided information. Try to find graphs and tables to help support. Additionally, visual aids, help convince your points of view.
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