The Mother Earth Movement
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The United States and the rest of the world was in ruins after the Stockmarket crash of 1929. People all over the world were starving and the second world war began soon after. The world was in turmoil, millions were being systematically murdered and countries such as the United States sent men to fight in Europe and Asia. Women were forced to enter the workforce in order to keep the country running. The war demanded a huge increase in the production of weapons and supplies for US troops and the allies. Americans responded to this demand. The United States Government invested in the research and development of technology for factories and agriculture. Factories started popping up all over the country, and production skyrocketed. When the war ended the need for weapons and war supplies ended, but the technology that made it possible to produce massive quantities of goods still existed. Goods could be produced in high quantities at lower costs, making them more accessible to a wide range of American people. This time period is known as the Golden Age of Consumption.
During the Golden age of Consumption, the economy was booming. The war had ended and men were coming back from war, wanting to start families. According to Landon Johnson, a well known American historian, “More babies were born in 1946 than ever before, 20 percent more than in 1945”(History Network). Most families were able to live a comfortable life and achieve their American Dream. The middle class increased, and every family has a car and a nice home in the suburbs. Mass consumption of goods and services with no concern for waste, became the norm. To Americans, the earth was a resource that was meant to be used for their benefit.
Scientists had to find a way to produce more food for the growing population. Insects were killing a large portion of crops, so they looked for ways to fix this problem, and pesticides were the solution. The use of pesticides such as DDT killed the insects and increased the amount of food produced. These new production methods were efficient in that the production of goods and services jumped significantly, but there was no concern on the impact these production methods were having on the environment. These consequences could not be avoided for long. Not only was the environment suffering from these advancements, animals and people were getting sick. In Donora Pennsylvania, 20 people died and 1000’s were injured from an inversion that trapped the harmful toxins coming from local zinc factory(Murray). Just 4 years late, smog from coal emission killed “4,000 people”(history.com) just over the time span of a couple of days. Even though the air was killing people, no legislation in the United States was passed until 1972, when the Clean Air Act was passed.
During the Golden age of Consumption, the economy was booming. The war had ended and men were coming back from war, wanting to start families. According to Landon Johnson, a well known American historian, “More babies were born in 1946 than ever before, 20 percent more than in 1945”(History Network). Most families were able to live a comfortable life and achieve their American Dream. The middle class increased, and every family has a car and a nice home in the suburbs. Mass consumption of goods and services with no concern for waste, became the norm. To Americans, the earth was a resource that was meant to be used for their benefit.
Scientists had to find a way to produce more food for the growing population. Insects were killing a large portion of crops, so they looked for ways to fix this problem, and pesticides were the solution. The use of pesticides such as DDT killed the insects and increased the amount of food produced. These new production methods were efficient in that the production of goods and services jumped significantly, but there was no concern on the impact these production methods were having on the environment. These consequences could not be avoided for long. Not only was the environment suffering from these advancements, animals and people were getting sick. In Donora Pennsylvania, 20 people died and 1000’s were injured from an inversion that trapped the harmful toxins coming from local zinc factory(Murray). Just 4 years late, smog from coal emission killed “4,000 people”(history.com) just over the time span of a couple of days. Even though the air was killing people, no legislation in the United States was passed until 1972, when the Clean Air Act was passed.
The publication of "Silent Spring"
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Before the publication of Rachel Carson’s novel Silent Spring, the pesticide DDT was seen as a miracle chemical. Before the use of DDT in 1945, “between one and six million” (Zubrin) Americans were diagnosed with malaria. In 1952, DDT was sprayed all over the south, and that year only 2 cases of malaria was reported. Not only did it get rid of Malaria in the United States, it also effectively killed crop-eating insects. It eliminated the insect problem, that consumed almost “40 percent”(Population Reference Bureau) of crops. People were unaware of the significant consequences that the use of DDT had on the environment. When Silent Spring was first published in 1962, the world was shocked. Carson was not the only one who was aware of these consequences, other scientists knew that DDT was harmful, but the general American public had no idea. Carson was not only a scientist but she was a skillful writer who knew how to write a story that would send the world into a terrified frenzy.
Carson was one of the first women to promote preservation in the United States. She advocated for strict environmental legislation and spent her whole life spreading awareness about the negative impact humans have on the environment. Carson heard about birds dying at a rapid rate in Massachusetts, and after much investigation she found that they there was a direct correlation between the DDT being sprayed in the area and the death of the birds. The birds were eating the sprayed insects and were dying just days after consumption. Not only were the birds dying, fish and many other animals in the are were dying from the DDT. She concluded that not only was DDT destroying ecosystems, it also was making people who consumed the food that had been sprayed with DDT, sick. She also wrote about how pesticides do not work in the long run. That insects eventually build up an immunity to pesticides, and they come back even worse. She claimed that the same thing would eventually happen with DDT, insects would become immune to it and farmers would have an even bigger problem.
Carson was one of the first women to promote preservation in the United States. She advocated for strict environmental legislation and spent her whole life spreading awareness about the negative impact humans have on the environment. Carson heard about birds dying at a rapid rate in Massachusetts, and after much investigation she found that they there was a direct correlation between the DDT being sprayed in the area and the death of the birds. The birds were eating the sprayed insects and were dying just days after consumption. Not only were the birds dying, fish and many other animals in the are were dying from the DDT. She concluded that not only was DDT destroying ecosystems, it also was making people who consumed the food that had been sprayed with DDT, sick. She also wrote about how pesticides do not work in the long run. That insects eventually build up an immunity to pesticides, and they come back even worse. She claimed that the same thing would eventually happen with DDT, insects would become immune to it and farmers would have an even bigger problem.
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Carson’s scientific findings on the harmful consequences DDT has on the environment are scary by themselves, but combined with Carson’s writing technique, the information terrified the American People. Carson drew similarities between the destructiveness of nuclear bombs and the use of DDT. At the time, the American people were living in fear of a nuclear attack by the Soviets. Carson played on that fear and directed it towards DDT.This fear technique can be seen in this exert from Chapter 2 of Silent Spring
- “Strontium 90, released through nuclear explosions into the air, comes to earth in rain or drifts down as fallout, lodges in soil, enters into the grass or corn or wheat grown there, and in time takes up its abode in the bones of a human being, there to remain until his death. Similarly, chemicals sprayed on croplands or forests or gardens lie long in soil, entering into living organisms, passing from one to another in a chain of poisoning and death. Or they pass mysteriously by underground streams until they emerge and, through the alchemy of air and sunlight, combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle, and work unknown harm on those who drink from once pure wells.” (Carson).
The Aftermath
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Today, the publication of Silent Spring is seen as the birth of the Mother Earth movement. It created an uproar that had never been seen before in the area of environmentalism. People were outraged that the government would allow a chemical like this to be used. People had been noticing that the air and water quality were getting worse and worse, and that the government was doing nothing about the problem. Carson was the first person to write to the audience of the American people about the issue and she was the first person to be honest about what was actually going on. Many people during this time were frustrated with the government. The government had not taken a stand on the current environmental issues because nothing significant had really happened yet, and they were afraid to set environmental regulations because it would hurt many big American companies. Throughout the book Carson seems to point the finger at the Government and the powerful companies of that time. People were already mad with how the government was handling civil rights, women's rights and the Vietnam War, so by making the government the enemy in her book, Carson was able to get all of the angry Americans on her side. The Mother Earth Movement became another way for young people to rebel, making it very popular.
The Media also played a big role in the advancement of the Mother Earth movement across the country. The response to the publication of Silent Spring was broadcasted and documented on every form of media of the time. More and more people in the 1960’s had a television or at least a radio in their home. News channels followed the Mother Earth protestors around, broadcasting their message across the country. More and more Americans, who experienced the consequences of pollution and other issues, were inspired by what these protestors were doing, and in response joined the movement as well.
The Media also played a big role in the advancement of the Mother Earth movement across the country. The response to the publication of Silent Spring was broadcasted and documented on every form of media of the time. More and more people in the 1960’s had a television or at least a radio in their home. News channels followed the Mother Earth protestors around, broadcasting their message across the country. More and more Americans, who experienced the consequences of pollution and other issues, were inspired by what these protestors were doing, and in response joined the movement as well.
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Americans joined preservation groups, such as the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society and membership numbers sky rocketed. The use of DDT was made illegal and less harmful pesticides were used instead. Many other Americans, especially strict Christians, thought the Mother Earth Movement was foolish. That the Earth was fine and it is the responsibility of people to continue to harvest and use the Earths natural resources, no matter the consequences. People protested against legislation that regulated the amount of pollution companies could release. For the first time in history, environmental issues became political. The conservative Republican party took a stand against environmental regulations, saying that global warming was not occurring, and the more liberal Democratic party advocated for more legislation to combat global warming. This is still evident in todays US politics.
Legislation
The government could no longer turn a blind eye form the environmental issues. In 1963 the first environmental legislation in the United States was passed. The Clean Air Act of 1963 created a program that was responsible for monitoring and controlling the pollution in the air.
An exert from the Clean Air Act of 1963 Declaration:
The purposes of this subchapter are--
(1) to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation's air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population;
(2) to initiate and accelerate a national research and development program to achieve the prevention and control of air pollution;
It set standards and limits as to the amount of harmful toxins could be released in to the air at a time. The act marks an important landmark in American history. The point at which the government acknowledged what was going on in the environment and took action to fix the issue and prevent it from getting worse. Following the the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency was established. Lyndon Johnson passed 300 more environmental laws in the next 10 years (EPA.org).
An exert from the Clean Air Act of 1963 Declaration:
The purposes of this subchapter are--
(1) to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation's air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of its population;
(2) to initiate and accelerate a national research and development program to achieve the prevention and control of air pollution;
It set standards and limits as to the amount of harmful toxins could be released in to the air at a time. The act marks an important landmark in American history. The point at which the government acknowledged what was going on in the environment and took action to fix the issue and prevent it from getting worse. Following the the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency was established. Lyndon Johnson passed 300 more environmental laws in the next 10 years (EPA.org).
The Mother Earth Movement left a lasting impact, saving many lives and changing politics into what they are today. Trillions of dollars have been spent to protect the environment and monitor pollution. Since the publication of Silent Spring farmers only use pesticides that are safe for the environment and for people consuming them. Even as the United States population has risen, the greenhouse gas emissions have gone down. More problems have arisen, such as soil depletion and melting glaciers but if anything can be learned from the past, is that people are resourceful. When people come together these complex issues that seem impossible to solve, get solved.The 1960’s provided a perfect environment for change, and with the help of Rachel Carson, progress was made.
For more information on Rachel Carson visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rachel-carson/
For more information on the Mother Earth Movement visit: http://faculty.wagner.edu/lori-weintrob/rachel-carson-mother-of-the-environmental-movement-2/
For more information on the Mother Earth Movement visit: http://faculty.wagner.edu/lori-weintrob/rachel-carson-mother-of-the-environmental-movement-2/