The Ecology Book

245

indiscriminate spraying of DDT had

been killing wildlife. Carson swiftly

approached the editor of the New

Yorker, E.B. White, suggesting that

the magazine run a piece about the

growing concern around synthetic

pesticides and their effect on

nontarget organisms. The editor

suggested that she write the article

herself. Reluctantly, Carson began

research on what she at first called

“the poison book.” It went on to

shake the world.

The chemical future

Silent Spring’s impact needs to be

seen against the backdrop of the

time in which it was published.

Although academics and scientists

had already voiced concerns about

synthetic pesticides, the public

was oblivious to this issue.

Synthesized pesticides had

been in use since the 1920s but had

advanced significantly during World

War II, powered by military-funded

research. During the 1950s, the

popular notion was that they could

solve the world’s problems of

famine and sickness by killing

pests that destroyed crops and

transmitted disease. Advertising

campaigns of chemical giants such

as Union Carbide, DuPont, Mobil,

and Shell spread this message to a

huge audience. Silent Spring aimed

to challenge the received wisdom,

arguing that the so-called scientific

progress enjoyed in post-war

America would come at a huge

price for the environment.

The most notorious of the

pesticides, and the one most

associated with Silent Spring,

was DDT. It was first synthesized

in the late 19th century, but in

1939, Swiss chemist Paul Hermann

Müller realized that it could be

used to kill a wide range of insects,

due to its pervasive action as a

nerve poison. It was used during

World War II to control insects

that destroyed vital food crops as

well as those which transmitted

malaria, typhus, and dengue fever

to combat troops.

DDT proved cheap to produce,

highly effective, and at first

appeared to pose no threat to

human beings. After the war, with

the chemical in plentiful supply, its

use in agriculture was an obvious

next step. With its wide range of

apparently safe applications, it

must have seemed like a panacea

to farmers, who happily sprayed it

on their crops, often without the

use of masks or protective clothing,

because they did not fully appreciate

the powerful toxicity of this

dangerous chemical compound.

After DDT came a whole host of

synthetic agrochemicals, including

aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, parathion,

malathion, captan, and 2,4-D. Used

in conjunction with fertilizers made

out of surplus nitrogen that was no

longer needed to make explosives,

these chemicals enabled the ❯❯

See also: Human activity and biodiversity 92–95 ■ Animal ecology 106–113 ■ The ecosystem 134–137 ■ A holistic view of

Earth 210–211 ■ Man’s devastation of Earth 299 ■ Environmental ethics 306–307

THE HUMAN FACTOR

DDT does not break

down easily.

DDT is fat soluble

and accumulates

in the body fat

of animals.

DDT is a broad-spectrum

poison, that affects not

only the target pest

but other insects, fish,

mammals, and birds.

DDT can travel long

distances in the

upper atmosphere.

DDT causes

lasting harm

throughout the

food chain.

No one since [Silent Spring]

would be able to

sell pollution as the

necessary underside

of progress so easily.

H. Patricia Hynes

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