Rachel Carson

Garrett Hardin in his essay “Tragedy of the Commons” discusses the elimination of natural resources through the actions people take without consideration to the environment. Most people want the resources only to themselves, not allowing others to establish a stable form of living neglecting nature’s natural intent for interdependence. Earth’s natural resources are often taken for granted but their limitations are commonly overlooked by those who only seek to benefit themselves. We as a society…

What is a Muckraker? The dictionary defines it as, “one who inquires into and publishes scandal and allegations of corruption among political and business leaders.” The term Muckraker has been surrounded with a negative connotation since the term came about in 1902 under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Some synonyms of the term Muckraker include Mudslinger, nitpicker and even hellion. But what most do not understand, is without the work of a Muckraker, those in which I prefer to recognize…

speak out about, from the benches of the school lunchroom to the deepest inner workings of the federal government, you have the right to express how you feel about any one of these issues and everything in between. For example, female scientist Rachel Carson wielded her freedom of speech in several pieces of writing revealing the effects of chemicals and improperly treated waste released by humans into the environment. These pieces went on to change the way people thought about their ecosystem…

a race we have grown accustomed to modern luxuries which we deem more important than the ground beneath our feet. In her book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson asks, “Have we fallen into a mesmerized state that makes us accept as inevitable that which is inferior or detrimental, as though having lost the will or the vision to demand that which is good?” (Carson 12). Carson’s powerful message, calling upon the public to make environmental changes, were well received throughout the United States and…

American environmentalists of the late 1800s served as environmental steward role models for people in the following generations. The thoughtfulness, passion, and original ideas in the written works of people like H. H. Bennett and John Muir are still famous inspirational messages. In the wooded area of Walden Pond State Park, for example, Thoreau’s quote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life. And see if I could not learn what it…

Freedom of speech is quite possibly one of the most important tools we Americans are provided, but with great power comes great responsibility. For example, in the sixties, around the time of America’s controversial involvement Vietnam war, thousands of soldiers, black and white, were drafted into to the desperate and indiscriminate army. Now if you’ll recall this was also the time of extreme opposition and protest for black and “colored” rights. African Americans were angry with the government…

She has the IPhone in hand, cruising through Tumblr while posting selfies of herself and her Starbucks on Instagram. She flips through the filters in the app to find which complements her shade of make-up perfectly. This is just one of the many prejudice set up against Caucasian females, as well as many others. Stereotypes affect all genders, races, and ethnicities no matter where you are in the world. In today’s society, a very common stereotype is “the white girl”. The stereotypical white girl…

Van Jones mentions that she is the figure that created and launched the regulation wave. Carson published Silent Spring during this time, which influenced the ban of the pesticide DDT in 1972. Her novel was able to create public awareness about the interconnectedness of human industry and the national environment. In 1970, President Nixon forms…

The students at Smithville Elementary School are currently on there much anticipated trip to Tougaloo College. For months the students have been learning about the various trees and birds native to Mississippi. On today, they will finally get to see those trees and birds up close while on a nature walk through Tougaloo College forest. Upon arrival the students were shocked to see that the hundreds of acres of trees were being bulldozed in order to begin construction on a new shopping center.…

Survival is a state of mind. It’s not always life or death: Sometimes it’s a matter of others not finding out what happened. “I was so naive as a kid I used to sneak behind the barn and do nothing.” Johnny Carson had that right. Until that day, I was pretty squeaky clean. Being a senior gave me an unspoken freedom, though. Picture it. The day was cold; it was freezing, really. The freezing drizzle was hard to keep off my short, 2-mile drive from our big red farmhouse to school. It was…