1. Point of View
The video enacts a sort of doom on the viewer. It shows the gut wrenching feeling that was created by this book as it brought light to the damages that were being caused to the natural environment and the dangers of what would happen should we continue on this path. The narrator gave a sense of what was to come and gave facts and opinions that were created by Rachel Carson's book.
2. Purpose
The purpose of the video is to give a glimpse of how people reacted and how the knowledge of us damaging the environment was taken once Carson published her book Silent Spring. It gave us a history of when these damages to the natural environment came to light and how people like Rachel reacted and took steps toward stopping the damage and spearing the word of it.
3. Questions at Issue
One problem that Rachel described as ‘Environmental contamination’ was brought forth in her book. She states that in order to stop it “we must begin to count the hidden cost of what we are doing”(American Experience, PBS, 2017) This book brought forth questions that many had never thought of and some they never wanted to ask. Another problem was the implications and damages that DDT had on the environment and inevitably the humans that interacted with the pesticide itself. Rachel attempted to publish the findings that were conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Department but was denied due to Readers Digest stating it did not correlate with what there demographic readers which were manly housewives wanted and how it would only bore them. The findings showed the damages that DDT had on the natural environment such as fish and other animals that ingested the flora and other fauna sprayed by it DDT and how it inevitably would come back to us through consumption those animals or inhalation of the pesticide.(DDT - a Brief History and Status, 2022)
4. Information
The video shows the reaction that people had towards Carson's book and how they attacked her and called her crazy. For her book brought forth questions no one thought to ask and even some no one wanted it, and it caused people to think twice about the damage we were causing the environment. When DDT was found to be a strong pesticide it was used practically everywhere including overseas during World War II to help control the spread of lice that carried Typhus and could Inevitably kill humans if left untreated so it was sprayed on everything and everyone. This brought forth a variety of questions for the environmental consequences it could bring so the Fish and Wildlife Department did just that. They experimented and documented the effects DDT had on the environment and what environmental changes it brought forth for the inhabitants it was introduced to.
5. Interpretation and Inference
This video gives the impression that if Rachel had not published her book and pushed the boundaries of knowledge on the environment we may not be asking questions on how to protect and preserve our environment. She opened our minds to the damage we were causing and what must be done to stop it, but it also shows how careful you must be, for not all are inclined to accept a progressive mindset. Rachel was called crazy because she pushed the average views and gave us a new view point that was greatly needed in that time.
6. Concepts
The truth was we were destroying our environment and at the time we simply did not have the resources to know about the effects we had cause on the natural environment as many of the environmental issues were kept under wraps but Rachel changed that with her book. Her book argued that pesticides should properly be called “biocides” because of their impact on organisms other than the target pests. Specifically, she noted the harm DDT inflicted on bird populations and warned of a future spring characterized by the lack of birdsong. She also accused government officials of uncritically accepting the chemical industry’s claims of safety and, more radically, questioned the then-dominant paradigm of scientific progress and the philosophical belief that man was destined to exert control over nature. (Boslaugh, 2013) In the video it gave the impression the a woman’s point of view was not truly accepted in that day an age, because of how Rachel Carson was treated and how she was attacked and accused of being a “ communist, of being a hysterical, female Luddite.”(American Experience, PBS, 2017)
7. Assumptions
In the video it talks about how well the pesticide DDT worked in attacking insects in the farm as well as being a pesticide to control the lice epidemic in Naples. They saw something that worked and without doing what I believe to be proper testing and documentation on the effects it could have on everything it touches. As well as how everyone already seemed to take the environment for granted and gave no second thought to any destruction caused towards it and when Rachel Carson brought forth the truth they attacked it.
8.Consequences
When Carson published her book Silent Spring the chemical industry mounted a counterattack and presented the book as an example of how an overzealous reformer can stir up public opinion and militate for the passage of regulations that ultimately do more harm than good. However, Carson’s claims were vindicated in an investigation ordered by U.S. President John F. Kennedy, which led to an immediate strengthening of regulations regarding the use of chemical pesticides.The book also provided a model of radical environmental activism that questioned prevailing attitudes about the benefits of scientific progress and the attitude that humans should take toward nature.(Boslaugh, 2013) Effects of DDT not being properly regulated and controlled lead to the killing and poisoning of birds and fish. Which led to even more damaging effects in the wildlife and was found to continue to spread through the environment and atmosphere as well as collecting within fatty tissue.(DDT - a Brief History and Status, 2022)
Rachel Carson a marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book Silent Spring (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. (Ellyson et al., 2017)
Works cited
American Experience, PBS. (2017, January 17). Chapter 1 | Rachel Carson | American Experience | PBS. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeJNRaE11A0&feature=youtu.be
Boslaugh, S. E. (2013, October 7). Silent Spring | work by Carson. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Silent-Spring
DDT - A Brief History and Status. (2022, April 21). US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status
Ellyson, T., Pritchard, E., Pritchard, E., & Ellyson, T. (2017, March 23). Documentary on Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ featured at UNK April 10. UNK News. http://unknews.unk.edu/2017/03/24/documentary-on-rachel-carsons-silent-spring-featured-at-unk-april-10/
