SILENT SPRING

SILENT SPRING

1. CHAPTER 6

   • Earth's Green Mantle
     • The green mantle is the one that supplies life, although the destruction of this, as in the plains of the West, which try to replace the jarales by pastures, is a clear example of the irresponsibility of man. What is not known is that weeds contribute to the feeding of a trophic chain of antelope and deer without weeds they die, however spraying has been used to destroy them without taking into account that spraying as with 2, 4-D has important consequences for livestock, wild animals and, apparently, also for man and destroy plants such as wicker that are not intended to destroy, however selective spraying on the vegetation of roads and highways, offers the hope that ecological methods also effective can be developed in programs targeting other vegetation on farms, forests and pastures.

2. CHAPTER 8

   • And No Birds Sing
     • The robin: trying to prevent the elms from being destroyed by disease-carrying beetles, they also poisoned robins and many other birds. The robins' death is due to their diet of earthworms, which feed on fallen elm leaves. Of the robins that lived, few were able to reproduce. The biggest enemy of insect life are other predatory insects, birds, and some small mammals, so controlling pests with pesticides eliminates the best pest controllers. Humanity will become the victim of its own attempts to secure temporary comfort at great future cost.

3. CHAPTER 1

   • A Fable for Tomorrow
     • There was a city full of prosperous fields adorned by the variety of fauna that there was, unfortunately, a hex took over the place, everything that once was that beautiful city was only in memories. It was not known where the birds that were singing happily went, the chickens did not brood any chicks, there were many unexplained deaths. That city does not exist, yet many North American communities have had to experience much the same.

4. CHAPTER 3

   • Elixirs of Death
     • In less than two decades, synthetic pesticides have been so completely distributed throughout the world. The residues of these chemicals remain in the soil for years, and have entered and become lodged in the bodies of fish, birds, reptiles, and domestic and wild animals. An example of these chemicals is DDT which is now used so universally that the product takes on the harmless appearance, but it is not as it is toxic. Another chemical is dieldrin, this is between 40 and 50 times more toxic than DDT, and finally endrin can be mentioned, which has killed a large number of fish, has poisoned livestock, wells and its careless use has put human lives in danger.

5. CHAPTER 4

   • Surface Waters and Underground Seas
     • Of all our natural resources, water is the most precious; but since chemists began to manufacture substances that nature never invented, the problem of water purification has become complex, since most of them are permanent and cannot be eliminated. This contamination is neither observed nor visible and its presence only becomes noticeable when hundreds or thousands of fish succumb. While surface waters are polluted with pesticides and other chemicals, not only poisonous substances but cancer-producing substances are being introduced into public water reservoirs.

6. CHAPTER 2

   • The Obligation to Endure
     • It is alarming how human attacks have caused irreparable damage to the planet. For example, strontium 90 is released into the air by nuclear explosions, which reaches the earth and is housed in the soil, where crops grow which are then introduced into humans. On the other hand, there are the insecticides not only kill the insects, they also silence the song of the birds, immobilize the fish in the river and even empty the land. Therefore, these must have a controlled use and be previously investigated. We have to put an end to the false security that does not reveal the seriousness of the problem.

7. CHAPTER 9

   • Rives of Death
     • The use of pesticides has cruelly affected river life specifically the loss of salmon in the Miramichi River in New Brunswick in 1953. Young salmon feed on insects from a river. Spraying to save the forests from the budworm resulted in the death of many salmon, as well as other fish and birds. As a result of all this, the fish could not eat insects. Not only were fish lost, but "repeated spraying has now completely altered the creek environment" by reducing the number of insects that many of these species feed on. It is also worth mentioning how marine waters are seriously threatened by chemical substances that penetrate those waters, which we conclude that there are continuous deaths in the animal sector.

8. CHAPTER 7

   • Needless Havoc
     • - Aldrin: launched to control the population of the Japanese beetle, a species that didn’t need to be controlled and the consequence of such a strong poison was, not only the death of these beetles, but also the direct killing of birds, mammals, fish and practically of all forms of wildlife, including cats and dogs.
       • - Dieldrin: 50 times more powerful than DDT and as the chemical penetrated the soil, the poisoned beetle worms crawled to the surface, where they were consumed by birds and the poison entered a food chain. - Insecticides aren’t selective, so they poison all life with which they come into contact.

9. CHAPTER 5

   • Realms of the soil
     • Without mulch, vegetation, as we know it, could not grow, and without vegetation no animal would survive, it is equally true that mulch depends on life and its true origins. The most important organisms in the mulch are bacteria, microscopic weevils, earthworms and fungi, being the main agents of degeneration, however sprays with the herbicide 2,4-D, arsenic, among others, have caused the poisoning of the mulch, Flora damage, reduction of previously mentioned organisms and nitrification problems, such as pesticide applications continue and the residues, virtually indestructible, continue to grow in the mulch, it is almost certain that we are heading to great tribulations.

10. Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring. Critical Editorial. https://cdn1.academi.cloud/aula_virtual/recursos/ue_luisadjc_recurso_pdf_20210304082233.pdf

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