Ways of Environmental Protection - Essay Example

Ways Of Environmental ProtectionI fully agree with Rachel Carson in her advocacy against environmental hazards as brought on by manmade attempts to alter nature, more specifically on insecticides and other contaminants. The obligation to be the wards of nature must be every individual’s duty and this should start with his propensity to know everything that necessarily affects him. It is this complacent nature of man brought about by his disregard to the things he takes for granted that impedes him from being an agent of change.

As an old saying goes, ‘if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem’ and the companies should primarily keep the public informed. What Carson discusses in her article “The Obligation to Endure” is agreeable terms by which people must be made aware of the harmful effects of insecticides or what she most explicitly refers to as ‘biocides.’ The background of the article’s title holds significant meaning derived from Jean Rostand who said that “The obligation to endure gives us the right to know.

” This is exactly where the main argument of the essay lies because Carson is correct in the presumption that people in general know very little of what’s inside a bug spray or a pesticide and how it affects our entire way of life as human beings. We are but too oblivious to go beyond the product label to scrutinize how these things affect us. The author is correct in saying that there must be more stringent policies and measures regarding the manufacture, sale and distribution of these substances.

Primarily, these harmful chemicals must not be allocated to industries or people indiscriminately. Next, there must be more investigation regarding how these biocides affect vital sources like the earth, water, animals and especially the health of man. All of these must necessarily be relayed to people who had been kept in the shadows. The ability of the people to grasp the extent of the problem and how it affects them must be factored in because they are the ones who are extensively affected.

The current atmosphere of fear of diseases attributed to harmful chemicals best explains why there has been a recent increase in the demand organic food and materials. There had been studies relating certain diseases like cancer to the harmful chemicals produced industrially. People are shedding out extra dollars just to be able to purchase food that are absolutely safe for consumption and this is correlated to eating only organically produced nourishment. There are little to no known legislations or policies regarding the use of insecticides and this is still yet to be fully addressed.

Other than the information that they are toxic and hazardous, people are yet to be fully aware on the how and the why. This onslaught of current knowledge on their effects proves how people should be more vigilant in his quest to educate himself regarding chemical harms. Furthermore, these products are perceptibly unregulated since virtually anyone can buy them at any time over the counter which is also an attestation to their haphazard disposition. The ideas that Carson has detailed are all but very logical and sensible points that any discerning mind must be able to fathom and should be a wakeup call to each and every one of us.

As citizens we also have the obligation to demand before larger entities the very things that affect our existence. What she has proposed are viable options and in no way a fanatical and unattainable dream. The solutions she offered are beyond what is expedient and are frankly considerably logical. She articulated that “we allow the chemical death rain to fall as though there were no alternative, whereas in fact there are many, and our ingenuity could soon discover many more if given opportunity” (Carson, par.21). This presupposes a greater belief in human beings to be able to transcend what is upon us.

It gives that same jolt of hope that is inversely proportionate to man’s own destruction. Because ultimately, how we take care of this planet reflects on our entire species as caretakers. This task must be tackled by each individual equipped with the knowledge that he must possess and this knowledge should be sought by him without reservation. BibliographyCarson, Rachel. "The Obligation to Endure." Silent Spring. Mc-Graw Hill Companies, 1962.Iowa State University. 2000. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.