DDT was first discovered as an insecticide by a Swiss scientist named Paul Hermann Muller. The DDT compound saved many lives after helping one billion people live malaria free by killing disease-carrying insects for thirty years after its discovery. However, the miraculous benefits of DDT resulted in negative side effects such as, DDT persistence in the environment, DDT accumulation in fatty tissues, and the compound’s ability to travel long distances in the upper atmosphere, which posed a risk to both humans and the ecosystem. The book, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson exposed the toxicity of DDT to birds, which resulted in the ban of DDT in 1972 in the United States.
What Is the Compound?
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) chemical formula
…show more content…
DDT is moderately to slightly toxic to mammals and humans if ingested. Humans that are exposed to DDT in high levels will experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, tremors, shakiness and confusion along with many other symptoms. DDT is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the United States and international authorities. In an annual report presented by the President’s Cancer Panel states that, “Girls exposed to elevated levels of DDT before puberty [...] are five times more likely to develop breast cancer in middle age.” In addition, “[...] males exposed to DDT were 1.7 times more likely to develop testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) than men not exposed.” DDT exposure can also lead to birth defects in birds such as eagles and falcons by causing thinning of their eggshells, leading to lower birth rates and hatching difficulties. In addition, high DDT levels can cause reproductive problems in fish. DDT is highly persistent in the environment, the soil half-life for DDT is from two to fifteen years. Routes of loss and degradation include volatilization, photolysis, runoff and biodegradation. The half-life of DDT in an aquatic environment is about 150 years. DDT breakdown products can be found in many foods such as, carrots, kales and heavy
Frankenstein is the novel written by Mary Shelley, it has mention about the alchemists. The novel tells about Paracelsus and the concept of the elixir of life, these ideas cause Victor Frankenstein wants to make a creation through science. It leads Victors wants use alchemy to create the creature in Frankenstein.
In the book, The Secret Life of Bees, my impression of Lily changes throughout the book because as she is learning and finding new information about her family, more specifically her mom and her reactions to the information she receives. For the rest of the book, I believe Lily gave me 3 different impressions. The 3 are that she feels insecure about herself, lonely, and a bit self-centered but also can be forgiving and loving.Throughout the story, many impressions changes as the situation changes.
The Baby Boomer generation and the time period has a lasting effect on the economy and the environment. The baby boom for the United States was similar to other countries after World War II. Several economies also blossomed, but overall with very little care for the environment. After World War II the use of industrial made chemicals increased in popularity throughout the United States and the world (The “New Environmentalism” OF THE 1960S). The chemical DDT was originally being used widespread to eradicate disease vectors, such as mosquito carrying Malaria ("The DDT Story."). DDT influenced more than just mosquitoes as it had lasting effects in the environment where it noticeably bioaccumulate in the food chain and caused high mortality in young bald eagles ("The DDT Story."). Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring released to the public in 1962 which is the time period in which environmental health and human health were connected (The “New
The pesticide DDT banned in 1987 was a detrimental to the environment leading to it to be banned in 1987. DDT remains in the soils for a long period of time. The chemicals affect the ecology of the soil and water run off causing contamination of livestock and native animals and aquatic species. Studies indicated a range of human health impacts from DDT including cancers, infertility, miscarriage and nervous system impairment. The social and economic impact of DDT use in viticulture was significant.
The history of life on earth could be thought of as a record of living things interacting with their surroundings; for most of history, this has meant that life molds over time by the environment it inhabits; however, very recently, humans have become capable of altering the environment in significant ways (Carson 49). Marine Biologist, Rachel Carson, in her environmental sciences book, The Silent Spring, documents the detrimental effects on the environment by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson argues vigilantly in an attempt to persuade her extremely diverse and expansive global audience, under the impression that chemicals, such as DDT, were safe for their health, that pesticides are in fact detrimental for their health. Through
Have you ever thought about how your fruits and vegetables are grown? How about which ingredients are put into bug sprays and insecticides to ward off those pesky insects? Look no further because author Rachel Carson looks deep into the many environmental issues caused by pesticides and herbicides in her New York Times best-selling novel, “Silent Spring.” “Silent Spring” is a collection of studies which were performed in an effort to educate others about the harmful things occurring everyday to their foods and every-day environment in hopes of giving them a wake up call. This novel is thought by many to be a revolutionary novel that forced people to take notice of the harm being caused in their world, many of which people were unaware of. After discovering the results of these chemicals, it really makes one wonder, is the luxury of being insect free really worth all of the consequences?
Mathematics in Friendswood Friendswood, a fictitious novel takes place in Friendswood, Texas, which is an actual town in Texas. Although the plot of the novel did not actually happen, many of the geographical and biological information about Friendswood and the surrounding areas is actually based off of some truth. But with the novel being fiction, how much of the data and information provided by the book is accurate and how much of it is an exaggeration. Rene Steinke portrays Friendswood to be contaminated with volatile toxic chemicals in every corn of the town and that the people within the town are contracting cancer and abnormalities like they are the common cold. The town of Friendswood is still feeling the effects of these toxic chemicals
In his short story, “Top of the Food Chain”, T.C. Boyle effectively argues that humans are destroying their planet with chemicals and that the general consensus of the public is that it is okay. He argues this efficaciously through the use of rhetorical and satirical devices, which are used throughout his story. Overall, I agree with Boyle’s argument that DDT is an especially harmful chemical to our planet, and while it may have had a place at one time, there is no need for it any longer.
Evidence provided to support these claims of human and wildlife harm is largely from laboratory studies in which large doses are fed to test animals, usually rats or mice, and field studies of wildlife species that have been exposed to the chemicals mentioned above. In laboratory studies, high doses are required to give weak hormone activity. These doses are not likely to be encountered in the environment. However the process of bioaccumulation can result in top-level predators such as humans to have contaminants at levels many million times greater than the environmental background levels (Guilette 1994). In field studies, toxicity caused by endocrine disruption has been associated with the presence of certain pollutants. Findings from such studies include: reproductive disruption in starfish due to PCBs, bird eggshell thinning due to DDT, reproductive failure in mink, small penises in alligators due to DDT and dicofol (Guillette 1994, Colburn et al 1996). In addition, a variety of reproductive problems in many other species are claimed to be associated with environmental contamination although the specific causative agents have not been determined. One recent discovery that complicates the situation is that there are many naturally occurring "phytoestrogens", or chemicals of plant origin that exhibit weak estrogenic properties.
The world is categorized into many ecospheres, among all, water and land. Upon further analysis, it is evident that both nature and humanity are interdependent. However, our anthropocentric views on the world have led to a golden age of mass production, accelerating beyond natures ability to regenerate itself. In the late 1950s nature was not seen as an item of importance, during the time civilization was captured by the topic of civil rights for the human being, rather than the detrimental natural surroundings. Often times, society does not utilize all the resources provided by the environment and can fall into the mindset of hurting the environment without knowing the full consequences. In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson exposes the hidden
Sharon Creech's Bloomability The contemporary realistic fiction book I chose to read was Bloomability. This book was written by Sharon Creech and was published in 1998 by Harper Trophy of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. It was written on the reading level of ages 8 - 12, or grades 5 8. Bloomability has won the following awards: IRA/CBC Children's Choices 1999, Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award 1998, and Chicago Public Library Best Books 1998.
In the world, there are approximately 4,740 species of frogs that can most likely be found in warm, tropical regions near the equator (). Frogs mostly remain near water or moist areas because they are amphibians. Frogs breathe and absorb water through their skin to collect vital nutrients that they need to survive. A frog is important to an ecosystem because they serve as a predator and prey, but what will happen to the ecosystem if all the frogs are extinct? Over 100 different species have gone extinct, and approximately 287 species of amphibians around the world have been detected with the newly found fungus known as Chytrid ().
“Odour of Chrysanthemums,” by D. H. Lawrence, tells a story of a woman named Elizabeth Bates, who is married to a man that works in the mines. The couple has two children, and they are expecting their third child. There is a lot trouble between them. The Bates family lives in poverty. The house where they live has no electricity and it needs to be lit up with torches. One night Mrs. Bates waits for her husband to come back home from work to serve dinner, but he never shows up. She thinks he may be drinking with his friends, and that maybe his friends are going to bring him back home drunk as usual. Time passes and Mrs. Bates does not hear from him. Later that night her mother in law arrives crying, then she begins suspect that something bad happens and her husband is dead. The central idea of liberation is expressed as the writer uses three elements of fiction to tell the story.
By the time naturalists learned of DDT's effect on wildlife, it was almost too late.
In this introduction part of the book, “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, the author describes the destruction of the delicate balance of nature by human interference, especially by the wholesale use of insecticides. She carefully explains what is the balance of nature and how it is maintained naturally. Further, she informs the reader of the ways chemical poisons upset that balance and thereby kill life.