Yet, despite her efforts, we haven't won the war on toxic chemicals and the irony of geo-engineering and chem trails we face these days didn't escape me as I watched archival footage of crop duster planes and trucks that sprayed DDT and other pesticides on suburban and urban streets. One disturbing image showed a group of picnickers at a table eating hotdogs while men sprayed clouds of chemicals directly at the picnickers, who for whatever reason were smiling. Another disturbing image shows medical personnel spraying DDT directly on people's heads to rid of lice! Are humans really this stupid? Apparently, they were just ignorant and severely brainwashed as they lived on a post war high.
Meanwhile, birds and other wildlife were dying. Meanwhile, domestic farm animals also died from the poisoned fields, air, and water; the fish died too. Reports of damages caused by the chemicals were kept away from public eye and the agricultural chemical companies launched brainwashing campaigns (much like Monsanto these days) to convince the American people that pesticides were a good thing. As Carson battled breast cancer and endured radiation treatments, she and her secretary worked diligently on the heroic book that would change ecology in the US forever.
I think everyone should read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and her other books because history repeats itself. If we take any message away from this book and the video on the Carson, it is this: We must remain hyper aware of large corporations who exploit us for private gain and not take their words (lies) at face value. We too must do our investigative work and at least, Carson did the legwork for us.
http://www.pbs.org
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