The Environment and Environmental Hysteria
missing Works Cited
Fanatics see everything in absolutes.
Perspective means nothing to them(425).
In this essay I will focus on the events surrounding the regulation of Alar (diaminozide) up to and including 1985, as a case-study of knowledge and decision-making amidst uncertainty (418-19). I pick this time period in particular, because it is when the NRDC and other public interest groups began their campaign in protest against the EPA's decision to not ban Alar. My analysis of the events surrounding Alar will take shape around a critique of Michael Fumento's article "Environmental Hysteria: The Alar Scare," in which he paints the NRDC as "fanatics" launching a "smear campaign" not founded in any rational decision-making. This is an important argument to counter, because it has not only been taken up by many to condemn citizen-group action in the case of Alar, but to criticize their activities in many other regulatory processes. The chief framework used to devalue public action in these cases is the technocratic model, wherein it is believed that decisions can be best made by objective, rational experts acting based upon scientific knowledge.
In this case, we can see a perfect example of when a decision was decided by scientific experts, in accordance with the technocratic model. Fumento and other supporters of the technocratic mode privilege the scientific knowledge of bodies such as the Scientific Advisory Panel in this case over other forms of knowledge. He denounces NRDC as fanatics based on his claim that they acted in spite of, and in contradiction to scientific declarations and reports which indicated that their "Alar alarm" did not correspond to the evidence at hand (423). However, the Alar saga is typical of many regulatory decision-making processes in that the scientists and administrators were forced to act before scientific opinion has solidified around a certain determination of the dangers of the chemical. In this case, the scientists cannot simply rely on the accepted scientific verdict, but they need to make value judgements about what evidence and opinion to include in their decision-making and what to exclude. In this type of scenario, I will first argue, the technocratic model is imperfect for our democratic country, as it privileges the value judgements of scientists over those of the populace. I further suggest that scientists themselves should not be considered above subjectivity nor fanaticism, but rather in some cases their rigorous abidance to objectivity can be seen as a certain type of blind"fanaticism.
No one really knows the long-term effects of these substances, individually or in unpredictable combination, either on human health or on the health of the ecosystems upon which we, and all life, depend. The chemicals are not the same as the ones Carson indicted in Silent Spring, yet they are produced, sold, and used on an unsuspecting public by the same interconnected complex of profit-driven companies and government authorities. Carson’s words in her “Fable for Tomorrow” still apply, as if we lived in the future that she imagined: “No witchcraft, no enemy action” had produced our “stricken world. The people had done it themselves” (Carson, 1962,
· “Plyler v. Doe” Online source. U.S. Supreme Court. Gov. 1982. 15 June. 2005 < http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Plyler/>
Rachel Carson establishes ethos to begin constructing her argument against poisonings. In lines 8-12, she cites the Fish and Wildlife Service to demonstrate that her concerns extend to credible organizations and are not unfounded. She documents an example where farmers in southern Indiana “went together in the summer of 1959 to engage a spray plane to treat an area of river bottomland with parathion” (lines 12-16). To further establish her ethos and authority to speak on this topic, she also supplements this example by explaining a healthy, eco-friendly alternative to how the farmers could have responded. In lines 17-22, she states that agricultural practice revisions would have sufficed for a solution, making the poisonings unnecessary. By offering a solution, Carson not only
When I read that I was astonished and disappointed that we could be so unsafe about potentially harmful chemicals LeBlanc (2010) went on to give a reason. That reason being that the Environmental Protection Agency can only require after there is proof that a substance poses a health risk under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976. LeBlanc (2010) goes on and states that this is the only major environmental regulation that has not been updated and that only five chemicals have been regulated since the law enacted. This act is insane to me and I can’t believe it was ever passed. It seems pretty obvious to me that we should test chemicals for safety before we put them on the market. We should do this for a number of reasons. One of the more important being the health of pregnant women and their
Civilization began with agriculture, and agriculture continues to be an integral part of our lives. Civilization brought knowledge, knowledge brought technology, and technology brought chemicals and pesticides to “improve” our world. “The Obligation to Endure” is an excerpt from Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” a passionate and masterful work on the results of civilization’s efforts to control pests and insects. These effects include destruction of the environment, alteration of gene structures in plants and animals, water contamination, and an upset of nature’s delicate balance. This article is an impassioned plea to the world to understand the threat and demand the information necessary to make an informed consent on use of these deadly substances.
Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, is a plant that people have been using recreationally for years. In fact, people have consumed marijuana since ancient times. Until 1906, the year the United States Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States has really blown up within the last decade. And finally, in 2012, Colorado became the first state to officially legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses. The prohibition of marijuana has gone on for far too long, and it is time for America to change its views.
“My case at this point in time really isn't about me as much as it is about wrongful illegal immoral policies that they practice against our people. And at this juncture of history though these practices were for the most part exercised first on my people they have now crossed over into all peoples, especially the poor. Or anyone that doesn't have the political or monetary power to combat their system and bring to public awareness the transgressions upon those who can ill afford to defend themselves.” Leonard Peltier Fourth of July Statement
Rachel Carson’s work Silent Spring, while it dramatizes the situation and events, also provides information on how society has suffered losses from the use of pesticides in recent years. She focuses highly on the irreversible damage to wildlife and the danger these new pesticides pose to humans. With Carson’s background and knack for writing, this piece was excellently written to exact a specific response from the uninformed reader. This piece does a bit of a poor job at balancing the gains and losses between pesticides and the welfare to humankind. Her purpose appears more wavering towards an impassioned plea for action against the use of these new insecticides than an informed piece striving to enlighten the population.
Smil, Vaclav. "The Long Slow Rise of Solar and Wind." Scientific American 310.1 (2014): 52. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, is a story set in the year 1775 and through the turbulent time of the French Revolution. It is of people living in love and betrayal, murder and joy, peril and safety, hate and fondness, misery and happiness, gentle actions and ferocious crowds. The novel surrounds a drunken man, Sydney Carton, who performs a heroic deed for his beloved, Lucie Manette, while Monsieur and Madame Defarge, ruthless revolutionaries, seek revenge against the nobles of France. Research suggests that through Dickens’ portrayal of the revolutionaries and nobles of the war, he gives accurate insight to the era of the Revolution.
The Environmentalists claim the science is settled, and that any actions taken to prove otherwise will be unfruitful. They do this to turn public attention away from the fact that much of their data is purposely taken out of context, manipulated, or made up in order to prove that Manmade Global Warming exists. In fact, there is more evidence showing that the rise in temperatures may be due to solar activity or part of the Earth’s natural climate fluctuations, than to support that it is caused by greenhouse gases generated by humans.
Today the consumerism plays an extremely important role in contemporary societies; consumerism has carried a part of the planet to the edge of Ecological, social and economic abyss, and every day becomes more evident. But naturally, it goes against a process that has become common in the daily life of people, The consumers need to advise about nature of the products, the value and the consequences of the consumption of certain products in the environment. One of the most creative ways to solve this problem is to minimize consumption of newly manufactured products, either by buying items with a longer shelf life or buying used items, new resources are not used in the manufacturing and industrial pollution and carbon dioxide will be lower. We can Recycling and reusing, also make reasonable use of natural resources, energy, and water, this contribute to the mitigation of climate impacts, will require manufacturers to use more sustainable technologies.
Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)
Wildavsky, A. (1995). But is it true? A citizen’s guide to environmental health and safety issues. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
The natural conservancy is an organization that is out to conserve the lands and waters on which life depends on. In this paper, I will argue that the natural conservancy organization mission statement captures the true essence of environmentalism. The mission statement of the Nature Conservancy represents the true essence of environmentalism since it recognizes the intrinsic value of all living beings while prioritizing the importance of protecting nature for future generations.