Rachel Carson's essay, "The Obligation to Endure," surfaces the issue of pesticide use and its effects on the environment. "Chemical pesticides have been a part of our modern western culture for some 50 years or so" (Cullen 14). Pesticide production in the United States and around the world has vastly increased (Briggs xii). Some people, like Carson, view this increase of pesticide use as detrimental to living organisms as well as to the environment. Others, like F.L. McEwen and G.R. Stephenson, say that, "Pesticides are important and necessary part of the modern technology that ensures our food supply" (vii). I have reasons to agree with McEwen and Stephenson, simply because pesticides are important to both people and plants. I am in favor of their use in agriculture, in society, and around the home with some limitations.
Opponents of my stand say that the use of pesticides has far more disadvantages than advantages. Carson says, "The most alarming of all man's assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials" (325). She believes that the effects of pesticide use are irrecoverable and irreversible (325). Others say that pesticides affect the health of humans and domestic animals, kill vital groups of insects, and cause the "development of pesticide resistance in pest populations of insects, plant pathogens, and weeds" (Pimentel et al. 277-78). .
I, on the other hand, feel that the advantages of pesticide use are far more than the disadvantages of their use. By definition, "the word "pesticides" is used in the generic sense and includes insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and other categories of compounds used to kill pests" (McEwen and Stephenson 2). A pest can be described as "an injurious plant or animal" ("Pest" 620). If something harms or destroys anything vital to human life, then it should be killed, and if pesticides can achieve this, then they should be used.
There might have been some bad weather the farmer came upon. ... They turn to Pesticides. Pesticides are a chemical that is used on plants, and food. ... Organically grown food is food that is grown with not any use of pesticides or fertilizers. ... Also a good thing that should be done is that you should pick a variety of foods. ...
Every year that farmers use Biocides, thirty eight million tonnes of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are dumped on the landscape, causing the environment to deteriorate at an unimaginable rate. ... Pesticides are used against insects and pests, and are the most deadly and pollutant of the three Biocides. ... It is in the interest of all parties involved to stop using Biocides, even if it means decreased profits, because in another fifty years, there will be no fertile soil left to spray with pesticides. ... Profit is not necessarily a bad thing. In a case where profit is made honestly, w...
With combined efforts of these people and others in their field, they have managed to reduce the amount of DDT's used and ensured that the pesticides used are healthier for the environment. ... Carson outlines the fact that the pesticides are: "nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the "good" and the "bad," to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger in soil-all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects"(Carson, 1962). The other problem with the pesticides is tha...
With combined efforts of these people and others in their field, they have managed to reduce the amount of DDT's used and ensured that the pesticides used are healthier for the environment. ... Carson outlines the fact that the pesticides are: "nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the "good" and the "bad," to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger in soil-all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects"(Carson, 1962). The other problem with the pesticides is tha...
With combined efforts of these people and others in their field, they have managed to reduce the amount of DDT's used and ensured that the pesticides used are healthier for the environment. ... Carson outlines the fact that the pesticides are: "nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the "good" and the "bad," to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger in soil-all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects"(Carson, 1962). The other problem with the pesticides is ...
The registered, modern pesticide products are safe to use if the instructions given in the labelling are strictly followed. ... In fact, the position of pesticides in this display was not far from the use of nuclear power. ... It has been noticed that the bad odour of the product is the best motivator of protecting oneself and on the other words would be an efficient help in communicating pesticide risks. It is kind of a pity, that modern pesticide products do not usually have bad smell anymore. ... Finns trust the authorities and the image of domestic food production is good. ...
Her intent in writing Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers related with pesticide use. ... Along with these facts, she explains how in many occasions the pesticides have done more harm than good in eliminating the pests they were supposed to destroy. ... According to Carson, "The more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became. ... She also used the destruction of life as a way to convince people that "fake" pesticides are bad. ... She uses the example that people sometimes use pesticide to kill mosquitoes. ...
Her intent in writing Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers related with pesticide use. ... Along with these facts, she explains how in many occasions the pesticides have done more harm than good in eliminating the pests they were supposed to destroy. ... According to Carson, "The more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became. ... She also used the destruction of life as a way to convince people that "fake" pesticides are bad. ... She uses the example that people sometimes use pesticide to kill mosquitoes. ...
Food additives can be just as bad as they are good for someone. ... It is in most the popular drinks that people drink today such as Coke, coffee, and tea (The Good the Bad and the Ugly of Food Additives). ... Organic crops must grow in soil where they have not been altered and have to be separated from other crops that use synthetic pesticides and petroleum fertilizers (Organic Foods). ... Things that make food taste so good can do so many bad things to the body. ... The same way additives can be bad for somebody, they can also be good for them too. ...