Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson devoted her life to the environment, and though at times this didn't seem rewarding, she was able to save cities and towns from destroying the natural habitats that surrounded them. I was lucky enough to have a teacher in high school who was very aware about the environment, and he showed my class a longer video about Rachel Carson, so this is not the first time I have heard about her.

The fable portrays a rather apocalyptic scenario where the use of pesticides and man made chemicals has completely destroyed a small town, and like the book says this level of devastation never occurred, humans definitely have the potential to destroy this planet. I especially thought the comment about the atomic bomb was very interesting. Last month I had the opportunity to go down to Hiroshima and see the A-bomb dome, pictures, and talk to a survivor. It really is incredible to think about what humans are capable of doing when unchecked. To think that we are on such a small and fragile planet, and yet we do such terrible things to each other really is unbelievable.

As a fan of science I believe that science does improve our lives, but only when implemented correctly. In the movie, she talks about how the chemicals were used in world war 2, and how chemistry had indeed improved economic conditions, and indeed World War 2 was the first war where more men died in combat than from disease, however (like she says) these chemicals were never tested for widespread use. The use of non-tested products and such is extremely dangerous, and should never be done. Pfizer used an untested drug (Trovan) in a village in Nigeria in 1996, and since then has fought a battle with activist groups as well as groups from Nigeria over it's use. Whether or not the deaths of the patients resulted directly from the use of the drug remains to be seen, however it is obvious that corporations still test and use drugs/chemicals that can have negative impacts on life.

Corporations foregoing natural and environmental risks for profit is not unique to the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Banana farms in Costa Rica have been cited for using pesticides which have had a negative impact on the surrounding environment. Dove's farms for palm oil in Indonesia have destroyed the country's natural forests, and although the situation has created controversy, deforestation is still a common practice that is most certainly having negative impacts on the earth.

Another very interesting part of the video was when she was talking about how the federal government has moved to create legislation against the pesticides, and she specifically said "it thrills me." I found this very surprising, and it makes me wonder if the same thing could happen today. So many politicians have allied themselves with different industries, different corporations and such that I wonder if the same situation could ever happen again, where the men in power, the federal government, actually has the will and courage to stop the greedy corporations. I think there is still a sliver of hope, but the light is waning.

Finally, I think she provides a perfect example of what science is, and what science should be. The line between pure science, and science for commercial use is too thin these days, with programs such as NASA and other pure science expenditures taking a back seat to other problems in America. Without pure science, man cannot hope to solve the problems that we will surely encounter such as overpopulation, power problems, more environmental problems. Only science and research can hope to combat the problems in the future, not commercial corporations that only seek profits. Silent Spring and Rachel Carson are the perfect example of this.

Wangari Maathai - The Hummingbird

Wangari Maathai and the hummingbird. How exactly does this apply to my life?

The simplest explanation would be voting. People often say that a single vote doesn't matter, that what they think doesn't matter, that they are too insignificant. Of course one vote among millions may seem insignificant, but as long as someone has the ability to vote, they should exercise it. In this sense the fire to me would represent American politics, and I honestly think that would be a good description. One does feel helpless watching discussions about laws that will affect the nation, people's jobs, and international relations.

The story also applies to really any situation where something terrible is happening, and there are observers who either refuse to do anything, or feel too insignificant to act. Obviously this situation applies to Wangari Maathai and Kenya where the hummingbird symbolizes her, and the economic and environmental problems are the fire. Other applicable situations might be found in Haiti right now, where the country has been devastated by the recent earthquake, and people feel that even 10-20 dollars in aid would not make a difference.

Africa itself has many countries that are divided by war and facing economic and environmental problems that may be symbolized by the fire. Aids affects so many in Africa, and yet so little is done about it. Oil and other natural resources cause either wars for control of the resources, or foreign companies to come and drain the land of it's resource, without little care for the environment or the people it will affect.

In terms of what people can do to be a hummingbird, as previously mentioned, vote. It takes only a small portion of time, and makes a difference. Community service is also another easy to way to become a hummingbird. In Columbus Ohio, there are many ways to get involved with community service, however getting people to show up is extremely difficult. The simplest way, is most likely to donate money to an organization that actually does good in the world.