Saturday, June 5, 2010

Silent Spring

All this rain has got me feeling even more uneasy as it will not be long before my neighbours discover who is responsible for the mosquito spray truck being turned of at my yard ( and by close proximity, their yards too). The mosquito population is predicted to be in higher than usual numbers this year, and I brace for potential harsh words directed my way. They are lovely people, but they adore their unlimited use of chemical sprays and embrace the philosophy of a chemical being safe until proven otherwise. This philosophy is well entrenched in our lives inherited from our parents, and grandparents so that we no longer give it a second thought. 20 or 30 years down the road is too distant to worry about what the effects of today's chemicals might do to us, and by then the source is long forgotten. After reading Living Downstream and Silent Spring, planting an apple tree in the front yard and growing plants which the butterflies come to, there is no going back to living with blinders on. Rachel Carson did not promote an all out ban on using chemicals, but to use a wiser and more effective approach. I do not feel that we live in some kind of Utopia and don't need to control mosquitos, but the current way of dealing with them is dangerous to us all.

Rachel Carson's words are as relevant today as they were when written just over 40 years ago:
"The choice, after all, is ours to make. If, having endured much, we have at last asserted our right to know, and if, knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals; we should look about and see what other course is open to us."

1 comment:

  1. Love this. Wish I was more of a consistent reader...I'll get my tips through you instead.

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