In the period after WWII, the world had major recovering to accomplish. Our environment needed tremendous work. After WWII, major regions of Europe and Asia lay in ruin. Cities throughout the world burned, and we had to deal with the after effects of an atomic bomb, something that had never been used before, so no one was sure of the aftermath that it would cause. These rallies, which are still continuing today, were both philosophical and social movements. Groups across the United States, specifically, mobilized, demanding a change for the betterment of our planet. The idea of preserving our environment is not something that is new by any means. In 1690, the colonial governor of Pennsylvania, William Penn, required that settlers in his area
…show more content…
The chemical components of DDT were something that the world had never seen before; it was a “super chemical.” DDT had the capacity to eliminate hundreds of species of insects at once, unlike the normal pesticides of the time that only had the ability to destroy a few.2 It had the ability to disrupt our natural habitat. In her book, Carson accomplished exactly what she had intended; bring awareness to the potentially deadly effects of DDT on our planet.2 She made the public aware that nature could be affected by human interference, even if it is unintentional. The public had to step up and defend themselves, because if they did not, the world was at risk for contamination of the food chain, had a heightened risk for cancer, and at an extreme level, the possible extinction of a complete species.2 This was first time that an issue of environmental protection came to light and it ignited a …show more content…
Situated along the eastern edge of Niagara Falls, Love Canal started off as a dream community.4 William T. Love, for whom Love Canal is named, believed that by plowing a small canal in a portion of land that separates the two Niagara Rivers, power could be generated for the community in a cheap manner and his city would become a prototype for cities across the country. Instead, this city became a nightmare for its inhabitants. By 1910, his dream was a distant glimmer of what it could have been.4 During the 1920s, with the canal half dug, it was turned into a chemical waste dumpsite, many of which were toxic. The owners of the land, the Hooker Chemical Company, dumped around 21,000 tons of chemicals into this “pit” over the years, until finally selling it to the city for the sum of one dollar in 1953.4 On the land, which the Hooker Chemical Company had covered with dirt, the city built a much needed school and began to sell lots upon which houses were built. By the late 1950s, about 100 homes had been built on the seemingly harmless site. In 1978, tragedy struck Love Canal. Their once-safe homes had been built upon decomposing waste-disposal barrels, which, by 1978, were beginning to break through the ground.5 An area that had once been lush, saw dying trees, flowers, and gardens. Residents had been eating the vegetation that had come out of those gardens, directly, and unknowingly
The chemical components of DDT were something that the world had never seen before; it was a “super chemical.” DDT had the capacity to eliminate hundreds of species of insects at once, unlike the normal pesticides of the time that only had the ability to destroy a few.2 It had the ability to disrupt our natural habitat. In her book, Carson accomplished exactly what she had intended; bring awareness to the potentially deadly effects of DDT on our planet.2 She made the public aware that nature could be affected by human interference, even if it is unintentional. The public had to step up and defend themselves, because if they did not, the world was at risk for contamination of the food chain, had a heightened risk for cancer, and at an extreme level, the possible extinction of a complete species.2 This was first time that an issue of environmental protection came to light and it ignited a …show more content…
Situated along the eastern edge of Niagara Falls, Love Canal started off as a dream community.4 William T. Love, for whom Love Canal is named, believed that by plowing a small canal in a portion of land that separates the two Niagara Rivers, power could be generated for the community in a cheap manner and his city would become a prototype for cities across the country. Instead, this city became a nightmare for its inhabitants. By 1910, his dream was a distant glimmer of what it could have been.4 During the 1920s, with the canal half dug, it was turned into a chemical waste dumpsite, many of which were toxic. The owners of the land, the Hooker Chemical Company, dumped around 21,000 tons of chemicals into this “pit” over the years, until finally selling it to the city for the sum of one dollar in 1953.4 On the land, which the Hooker Chemical Company had covered with dirt, the city built a much needed school and began to sell lots upon which houses were built. By the late 1950s, about 100 homes had been built on the seemingly harmless site. In 1978, tragedy struck Love Canal. Their once-safe homes had been built upon decomposing waste-disposal barrels, which, by 1978, were beginning to break through the ground.5 An area that had once been lush, saw dying trees, flowers, and gardens. Residents had been eating the vegetation that had come out of those gardens, directly, and unknowingly