The chemicals also affect other harmless insects and other innocent animals. Carson feels strongly and passionately about the environment and we can tell this when she says, "Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life" (Carson 752). With her strong beliefs she tries to make people understand that the chemicals that they use to kill certain pests exceed that; not only do they reach other animals but they can also reach our human population. Therefore not only is the safety of wildlife at risk, people are in danger "They should not be called insecticides, but biocides" (Carson 752). Carson connects well with her audience because she knows that they don't know everything about insecticides.
As presented in the essay the use of pesticides has at least a couple of negative effects on the pests themself. Examining the nonselective pesticides that are used presents the problem that they don't only kill the bad pests but the good ones as well insects and plants, for example, that may be effective in environmental growth. These chemicals can also be used to target a few unwanted types of weeds. Carson believes that as man tries to eliminate unwanted insects and weeds, however he is actually causing more problems by polluting the environment with, for example, DDT and harming living things. Carson adds that the "intensification of agriculture" is causing other major problems, like newly developed or created insects and diseases. She warns that man makes it impossible for nature to protect itself. Carson states, "Single- crop farming does not take advantage of the principle by which nature works; it is agriculture as an engineer might conceive it to be. Nature has introduced great variety into landscape, but man has displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built- in check and balances by which nature holds the species within bounds" (460).