Silent+Spring

**Silent Spring**

CHAPTER 1
 *  Carson begins with a fable about a rural town ravished by irresponsible pesticide use.
 * What does Carson hope to accomplish in this opening chapter?
 *  How effective is it?
 * Is her story believable?

CHAPTER 2
 *  According to Carson, how are humans unique?
 *  How has their ability to alter the environment transformed since World War II?
 *  Why is she so concerned about the accelerated pace of this change, and what examples does she provide?
 *  What are the results of these changes?
 *  What term does she propose to describe the effects of the new generation of pesticides?
 *  What does she see as the "central problem[s] of our age?"
 * What is the fundamental irony of the introduction of new pesticides designed to increase agricultural production?
 * Does she completely reject the idea of controlling insects?
 *  What is the first specific pollutant Carson mentions by name in //__Silent Spring__ //<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> (hint: see page 6)?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> According to Carson, why has the need for insect control increased?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Who has most vigorously promoted the vision of a "chemically sterile, insect-free world"?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Does Carson reject the idea of using chemical insecticides?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What do you think about Carson's idea that Americans should have a fundamental right not to be exposed to poisons distributed either by private individuals or by public officials?

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">CHAPTER 3


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What is unique about the modern age?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> How pervasive are the new synthetic pesticides?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What event is linked with the sudden growth of the synthetic pesticide industry?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What is different about synthetic (as compared to previous) pesticides?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How has the rate of pesticide production changed since the end of World War II?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What was the most common pesticide prior to 1945? What are its effects?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> According to Carson, modern pesticides are much more deadly than their predecessors. What are the two major kinds of synthetic pesticides?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What is common to both?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> The pesticide that Carson spends the most time discussing is DDT.
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Where did it come from?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Why was it considered safe?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What happens to DDT when it enters the body?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Carson claims that DDT, like other persistent pesticides, concentrates up the food chain (i.e., "bioconcentrates"). What does this mean?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">What are some of the other synthetic pesticides that Carson singles out for discussion?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> How toxic are they?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Which is the most toxic of the chlorinated hydrocarbons?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> For what purpose were organic phosphates originally developed in the late 1930s?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What effects do these substances have on living organisms?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What are some examples of commonly used organic phosphates?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What happens when one or more of these pesticides are used (or ingested) together?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> What are systemics?
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> According to Carson, do herbicides also present a threat?

Chaper 4: Surface Waters and Underground Seas
"It is not possible to add pesticides to water anywhere without threatening the purity of water everywhere."


 * What are some of the ways in which pollution enters waterways and what are some of the major risks?


 * What is the "gunk" that is referred to on page 40 and why is it a problem?


 * Explain the significance of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report released in 1960.


 * How do chemical levels build up in ecosystems?