Silent Spring Case Studies
The case studies below detail the different ways environmental pollutants affects nature... and ultimately us. It portrays our arrogance and describes our ignorance of the long term impact of our own chemicals.
These case studies are just a small sample of the thousands of other cases that detail our mistreatment of nature. We’ve grown up a little since the days of Silent Spring, but in relation to environmental issues we are still very young.
The Salmon of Miramichi River
To combat a local insect infestation the region of New Brunswick, Canada was covered in clouds of DDT. Little did the authorities know that the spraying of the chemical would lead to an environmental catastrophe that would linger for decades to come.
The Panthers of the Everglades
Why was the population of the Panthers of the Everglades in Southern Florida declining? Every effort was been made to halt their slide towards extinction, yet nothing seemed to work. There was something mysterious going on, the situation seemed unsolvable until one seemingly healthy Panther, suddenly died and the scientists had an opportunity to investigate further.
From the brink; The story of the Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle was the symbol of the United States. A beautiful, magnificent, bird of prey. But they were dying. They were on the verge of extinction because toxic chemicals had entered their food chain and their capacity to reproduce had been severely damaged. What happened to the Bald Eagle and why had their numbers declined so drastically so quickly?
The mixing of chemicals
We do it all the time in the laboratory to create new ever more complex materials. But what happens when, like the hypothetical primordial soup, nature starts to spontaneously create, weird, powerful... damaging chemicals? What are the true consequences of the chemical burden we putting on the environment?
Diethylstilbestrol (DES); Cure or Curse?
How could a miracle cure do so much damage? Millions of pregnant women were given the synthetic oestrogen mimic, DES, in the false belief that it could cure miscarriages and premature births. It resulted in one of the biggest medical mishaps in recent history. The damage it caused spanned generations and the consequences of this sad episode is still around till this day.