Carson Journal

A Fable for Tomorrow and The Obligation to Endure

Quotations by Rachel Carson 

“The people had done it themselves” (Carson, p. 151)

http://www.nature-education.org/greenhouse-gas.html

                       

The story that Carson told about the town that once flourished began to experience death of all species. Humans, plants, and animals all began to die. Even though the town was made up, all of the things that happened to the town are happening all over the world. The scenario was an eye opener for me, one day, sooner or later; this could happen to the town I live in. If not in my generation, my children will experience worse environmental damage than me. People do not realize what they are doing to the very place they call home. Another quote in the excerpt goes along with this scenario. “Man can hardly even recognize the devils of its own creation”. We are destroying the environment we live in, myself included. We are one day going to wake up and say it’s to late. We are going to wish we did more to save the environment.

“Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species--man--acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world” (Carson, p. 153).

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs

I feel like people do not understand how much power we really have over nature in the present time. We have acquired so much power to control everything that surrounds us without the notion that we are damaging the nature that surrounds us. Why have we acquired so much power? I don’t know if I can answer that question. Have we gained it because we have money to control it? To live and flourish we need to have a little of control over the world. We need shelter, water, etc. but to the extent of our power are not necessary. Things have spiraled out of control. I think we need to analyze the things that really matter in life and stop being so materialistic.

“We urgently need an end to these false assurances, to the sugar coating of unpalatable facts” (Carson, p. 160).

http://uncommonchick.com/sugar-coating

In some cases, I do believe facts are sugar coated to make it seem like we are in better circumstances than we really are. I think the cold hard facts and truth can be harsh and scary. Carson states that we can only make a decision about what road to continue on only if we have the true facts. I honestly don’t know if I agree with this statement. Yes, awareness and proper education about the environment is important and will probably change some people’s minds about the environment and how it is being treated, however I don’t think just because people have the true facts will change their way of thinking and living. Some people might be in denial, do not care, or are too concerned about how they live to care enough about changing the way they treat the environment. However, starting to stop sugar coating the facts and getting more people involved is a great place to start.