We must act fast for the planet
Society’s contempt for the planet has to end soon, says Andrew Hejtmanek
AFTER many years of best intentions I finally read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, a seminal book from 1962 on the consequences of mistreating our planet, specifically by the use of synthetic pesticides.
It led to the banning of DDT and the establishment of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
It is commonly credited with the start of the US environmental movement. I knew what the book was about but no matter how prepared I was, the stories were shocking.
During the
1950s the agricultural use of pesticides in the
US became widespread. They were aggressively marketed by greedy chemical companies, and while farmers were impressed with the early results, it soon became clear these pesticides also killed the natural predators of the pests, so the pests often came back more strongly in following years.
Crops failed under assault of these increased numbers of pests, as well as in the absence of important pollinating insects.
The delicate balance that had been disturbed in turn decimated bird populations as they either had no food (the insects), or were poisoned by consuming contaminated insects and water. The stories of their suffering are disturbing.
Fish are extremely sensitive to pesticides, so when forests were sprayed with DDT to control budworm, entire populations of fish were wiped out in rivers and lakes.
Migration patterns of salmon, which return to the same river every year, were destroyed. In one especially shocking case a release of chemicals from a production plant in Austin, Texas, killed almost everything for 200km downstream.
Urban areas were also sprayed to control pests threatening elm trees, often while children were having lunch in the schoolyard. Many pets died and birdlife became non-existent in places, hence the title of the book.
These pesticides are absorbed by our food, and cannot be removed by cooking or washing. They are then accumulated in our fat.
It took a long time for authorities to acknowledge these pesticides did more harm than good. While there are places in the US that still bear the scars, they took action that prevented perhaps catastrophic harm. We wouldn’t be that stupid again. Or would we?
Richard Flanagan’s new book reminds us the River Derwent contains toxic sediment from years of industrial activity. As long as it’s not disturbed, it’s OK … sort of. But fish farming
creates conditions for these toxins to be released. That same industry even threatens the safety of our drinking water. Despite loudly proclaiming a few years ago they were going to take their operations out to sea, salmon operators now want to expand operations into areas such as Storm Bay, at the mouth of the Derwent.
Millions of tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year, and concern is growing that as it breaks down it ends up in the food chain, ending with us. In our own Tasmanian wilderness there are rivers too contaminated by mining to drink from. And arguably the Covid-19 pandemic has arisen out of a lack of awareness and respect for the planet.
This ongoing environmental negligence and mismanagement has been driven by greedy corporations, corrupt autocrats and the worship by politicians of the economy.
However, there’s a growing acknowledgment this is serious and future generations don’t deserve where we’re heading.
Those of us of the generations that created this mess need to heed Greta Thunberg’s recent reminder it’s her generation that will be writing the history books, and as things stand they’re unlikely to portray us favourably.