Silent Spring

More than that, however, the book is a plea to human beings to completely transform the perspective they have on their relationship with nature. To Carson, the danger is certainly posed by pesticides, by pollution, by other waste from industry and technology. However, just as important, if not more important, is the view that nature is the enemy of man, or at least a wild force which needs to be tamed in order to exploited as humanity wishes: "The 'control of nature' is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists for the convenience of man."

What humanity is now having to face is the fact that humanity will destroy itself if it destroys nature. Nature is, in effect, the home in which human beings live, the realm from which all life is derived. What human beings do to the natural environment, then, is essentially what they do to themselves as a race, as well as to all other life which shares the earth with them: "As man proceeds toward his announced goal of the conquest of nature, he has wr

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s scenario calls to mind the attacks launched against today's environmentalists by corporate powers for their warnings about the greenhouse effect, for example, and global warming. The fight initiated by Carson, therefore, is far from over. As long as money is to be made by cutting environmental corners, there will be greedy, arrogant, profit-driven individuals and companies eager to make that money. Consumers are, of course, not immune from criticism. They are in league with greedy corporate powers as long as they ask no questions and claim not to care about how that shiny apple got to their table, where their waste water goes, and so on. All are guilty of taking part in the damaging of the environment, and as many as possible of those who care must work together to stop the damage which Carson warned us a bout almost three decades ago. The "Fable for Tomorrow" is a warning which joins many known incidents of pollution together to show what will happen to the earth if and when such damage were done world-wide. "The Obligation to Endure" summarizes the dangers and the need for mankind to first become aware of the damage it is quickly doing to the earth. At least one can say today that the world is indeed far more aware of enviro
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Approximate Word count = 1549
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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