In the Manner of Rachel Carson

Carson is best known for her 1962 work, Silent Spring, the book credited with launching the environmentalist movement in the United States. She was concerned about the affect of DDT, a massively used pesticide, and encouraged people to recognize forms of human pollution and their toll on the environment.

Carson, a scientist by training, became a social critic who had a profound impact on the development of environmental policy in the United States. With the obvious need for greener policies in the U.S. today, we can, like Carson, have a voice in pressing these issues.

In Carson’s honor, here are some suggestions for policy development:

Looking back to move forward: Did you know that railroads can move one ton of freight 414 miles for each gallon of low-sulfur diesel fuel used?  With improvements in emissions control and technology used to monitor locomotive operations, trains are the most efficient and least environmentally harmful mode of transportation. Trucks, our country’s primary means of internal shipping, are far less energy efficient, and release more volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide than any other form of transport. We could be taking better advantage of the railway systems already in place across America and lessen congestion on highways.

Providing for future generations: We can do more than instill an understanding of and appreciation for environmental conservation in America’s children at the family level (although that is vitally important). We could also have policies in place to require conservation education for each grade level throughout public schools.

Creating something from nothing: Garbage could be converted into biodiesel instead of rotting in landfills, releasing methane into the atmosphere. While the debate over whether fresh corn should be converted into ethanol continues (research shows the effect on the environment is fairly the same as burning gasoline), garbage is also a domestic, renewable product, unfortunately produced in mass amounts each day. It could also be
incinerated and the heat used to generate steam to run turbines to generate electricity.   

Taking a tip from Europe: The wonders of hybrid cars aside, let’s consider other alternatives to gasoline. One gallon of diesel is cheaper to produce and has more energy than one gallon of gasoline. Therefore, diesel results in better fuel mileage and less use of crude oil. With technology in place to remove sulfur and other environmental toxins from diesel emissions, these engines can now be made less polluting and therefore cleaner than gasoline engines. This could be a viable option for American vehicles as the energy crisis continues. Diesel is also less flammable than gasoline and therefore safer for drivers. Why am I suggesting this change, instead of hydrogen powered vehicles? The amount of energy it takes to create hydrogen isn't worth the environmental cost.  If only we could encourage the making of more hybrid cars…

Encouraging personal fuel efficiency: Highway vehicles could be taxed according to their fuel usage (ie, the less fuel efficient, the more the tax), and the funds could be used to develop mass transit.   

Beyond pressing our representatives in Congress to develop greener environmental policies, there are smaller steps you can take in your everyday life to tread lightly on the earth:

• Replace the incandescent lighting in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Consider instantaneous, tankless water heaters that only heat water in homes when needed.
• Encourage your school or place of employment to go green. Speak with the administration about providing more recycling bins and using less non-biodegradable material in cafeterias. Require people to turn off lights and computers when leaving for the day. Create an incentive for going green; for example, offer washable travel mugs for sale and then lessen the price for refills.
• Eat less meat. It takes three to ten kilos of plant protein to produce one kilo of animal protein for consumption. The water used to sustain livestock (which often provide limited meat) could be also used for farming grains.  Not to mention that the hormones and antibiotics used to sustain livestock wreak havoc on their natural development and then on ecosystems when concentrated in animal waste.
• As broken-record as it sounds, plant trees to offset your carbon footprint! Find a tree planting organization through the National Arbor Day Foundation or begin an initiative on your own.

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