Another Silent Spring

By

Donald Worster

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Covent Garden in London during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Empty London

Covent Garden in London during the COVID-19 lockdown. A couple walks their dog near St. Paul's Cathedral, March 30, 2020.

Rachel Carson.

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, in her 1940 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee photo.

Activists in California.

Climate Change and Agriculture

Activists in California protest climate change and the environmental impact caused by animal agriculture.

Water pollution due to dairy farming.

Water Pollution

Water pollution due to dairy farming in the Wairarapa in New Zealand.

Rachel Carson and Bob Hines conducting research off the Atlantic coast.

Marine Research

Rachel Carson and Bob Hines conducting research off the Atlantic coast in 1952.

The Notting Hill Gate Underground station in London during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Notting Hill Gate

The Notting Hill Gate Underground station in London during the COVID-19 lockdown. A sign asks passengers to only travel if necessary.

DDT being sprayed liberally across the conifer forests throughout North America.

Pesticide Treatment

To combat spruce budworm outbreaks, DDT was sprayed liberally across the conifer forests throughout North America during the 1950s-1970s.

An American soldier is sprayed with DDT during WWII.

Soldier Sprayed with DDT

An American soldier is sprayed with DDT during WWII.

An industrial farm spraying pesticide on crops.

Industrial Farm

An industrial farm spraying pesticide on crops to increase the harvest yield and keep up with the demand of an ever-growing population.

Caged geese at a wet market in Luohu District, China.

Wet Market

Caged geese at a wet market in Luohu District, China. Wet markets like these are ripe situations for diseases to jump species and eventually infect humans.

A Delta Airlines employee disinfects the surfaces of the cabin.

Sanitizing an Airplane

A Delta Airlines employee disinfects the surfaces of the cabin including tray tables, seat backs, and in-flight entertainment screens in a Boeing 757, 2020. The sanitizing solution is the same solution used to sanitize hospitals nationwide.

On the left, an insect killing spray advertisement in 1948. On the right, an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald.

DDT Advertisements

An insect killing spray advertisement from the January 3rd, 1948 edition of Australian Women's Weekly (left). An advertisement from the April 5th, 1947 edition of the Sydney Morning Herald (right).

The oriental rat flea pictured is infected with the Yersinia pestis bacterium.

Oriental Rat Flea

The oriental rat flea pictured is infected with the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which appears as a dark mass in the gut.

A photo from a 1975 plague victim shows necrosis of the hand.

Necrosis of the Hand

A photo from a 1975 plague victim shows necrosis of the hand, a characteristic of Yersinia pestis.

A summary of reported forms of transmission of the Zika virus.

Zika Virus

A summary of reported forms of transmission of the Zika virus, which appeared first in Uganda but later caused an epidemic in Latin America between 2015 and 2016.

An aerial shot of the Amazon rainforest.

Deforestation

An aerial shot of the Amazon rainforest. The light brown patches are farmland that was cleared from the dark green rainforest, which is now on the fringes.

An aerial view of a pistachio farm in Chowchilla, CA.

Farmland

An aerial view of a pistachio farm in Chowchilla, CA, 2018. Oversimplified landscapes like these dramatically reduce local biodiversity.

An Egyptian hieroglyphic painting.

Domesticated Cow in Egypt

An Egyptian hieroglyphic painting showing an early instance of a domesticated animal.

An aerial picture of cattle grazing land.

Encroaching Cattle Grazing

An aerial picture of cattle grazing land where forests used to be in northern Paraguay, 2008.

A map of Phoenician trade routes prior to the third century BCE.

Phoenician Trade Routes

A map of Phoenician trade routes prior to the third century BCE. Early trade routes like these helped to spread zoonotic diseases throughout the ancient world.

A field demonstration of a drone that drives the Kpong irrigation scheme in Ghana, 2019.

Green Revolution

A field demonstration of a drone that drives the Kpong irrigation scheme in Ghana, 2019. The Green Revolution helped several underdeveloped countries create food security through agricultural advancements.

An animated map of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Spread of COVID-19

An animated map of confirmed COVID-19 cases spreading across the globe between January and April 2020.

A wild game stall at a Chinese market.

Wild Game

A wild game stall at a Chinese market , 2007.

The city of Toronto at night.

Metropolis

The city of Toronto at night. Cities like these increasingly push out organisms from their natural habitats while humans use them to house the growing population.

Pictured are zero-waste products that help people live more sustainable lifestyles.

Sustainable Lifestyle

Pictured are zero-waste products that help people live more sustainable lifestyles. While these individual changes cannot change how humans interact with the world they raise awareness about our situation.

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