Silent Spring

Rachel Carson published her bestselling novel Silent Spring in 1962. In her novel, Carson depicted how the pesticide DDT entered the food chain, accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals causing genetic damage and eventually cancer. As a result of the novel, there were many positive consequences, which can still be seen today. In general, Carson’s novel helped launch the environmental movement. Her book helped humans realize that nature is vulnerable and is largely affected by what we as humans do to it. More specifically, Silent Spring helped bring about the ban on DDT in the United States. In the book Carson depicted how even one application of DDT continued to kill insects for weeks and even months and how it not only kills the targeted insects, but other insects as well. The book also pointed out how DDT persists in the environment for long periods of time, even after it has been diluted by rainwater. President John F. Kennedy ordered the Presidential Science Advisory Committee to investigate Carson’s claims. The committee found that Carson’s claims were valid and this substantiation of Carson’s claims led to governmental scrutiny of DDT and eventually to the ban on DDT.
While Carson and Silent Spring have had many positive effects, they have also led to many unintended consequences. In the mid 1960’s the Global Malaria Eradication Program was successful in eradicated Malaria in several countries and regions of the world including the Balkans, the American South, several Latin American countries, Taiwan, countries in North Africa, much of Australia and the South Pacific, and much of the Caribbean using DDT. However, Carson’s claims brought programs like these to a grinding halt. As a result, DDT was is no longer used to combat Malaria and as a result the WHO(World Health Organization) estimates that there are between 300 and 500 cases of Malaria annually around the globe and that it is responsible for approximately 1 million deaths around the world each year. Today, instead of using DDT, these countries are forced to use less effective substitutes to kill the mosquitoes. Since these substitutes are less potent, larger quantities of them must be used. As a result of using larger quantities of the less potent substitutes, more insecticides are being poured into the environment than would be if smaller quantities of the more potent DDT were used. While the many positive consequences of Caron’s work are very apparent, Silent Spring has also led to many unintended consequences.

The Big Dig

The Big Dig is a project in Boston, Massachusetts that rerouted the main highway that cut through downtown Boston into a 3.5 mile tunnel and also included several other tunnels and bridges. The project began in 1991 and was completed in December of 2007. In 1985 when the project was still in the design stages it was estimated that the project would cost $2.8 billion. When the project was completed in 2007, it was estimated that the project cost a total of $22 billion. In addition to the staggering cost of the project there were many obstacles during the building process. The ground where the tunnel was to be dug was a landfill and there were remnants of house foundations. The tunnel also had to run under trail tracks, which was a huge obstacle. The project was also so large that couldn't be undertaken by just one contractor but it had divided among several different contractor. However, despite staggering costs and many hardships during construction it has had many positive impacts traffic. Before the Big Dig all of the traffic that was going to different locations traveled on the Central Artery but thanks to the Big Dig the traffic is now separated. It has also decreased travel time by 85.6%. However, there have also been many problems with the Big Dig. After completion there were several leaks found in the ceiling and walls. Bad materials were also used such as substandard concrete. Also in 2006 a piece of concrete ceiling panel fell killing the motorist below. Upon investigation it was found that the glue used to hold the ceiling panel was insufficient for long term bonding. While the Big Dig has been plagued with many hardships during both construction and completion, it has also had many positive impacts.

Best/Worst Cities

It is very easy to think of characteristics of a “bad city” and of cities that would fall into this category. It is also fairly east to think of characteristics of a “good city,” however it is much harder to think of a city that fits into this category. One city that comes to mind as a “bad city” would be Port au Prince, Haiti. Most obviously, Port au Prince would fall into this category because of its proximity to the Enriquillo Plantain Garden fault line. This is the fault line that was responsible for the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that wreaked severe havoc on not only Port au Prince, but also the entire country of Haiti. Haiti is also not a very ideal city because it lies at such low elevation. At its highest point, Port au Prince is located 65 meters above sea level. The weather in Port au Prince is also not very ideal. Summers in Port au Prince are extremely hot with the average high in July being 93F and the average high during February being 88F. The city is also fairly crowded and there are approximately 50,650 people per square mile.

There are many characteristics of an ideal city. Some of these characteristics include not being located on a fault line, not being prone to hurricanes or tornadoes, have a fairly low population density, be located somewhere where it easy for trade to take place, etc. A city that could potentially be characterized as a “good city” would be Washington, D.C. Washington D.C. is located on the Potomac River, which makes it a good location for trade. It is also at an ideal elevation with the lowest point being the Potomac River, which lies at 0 ft above sea level and the highest point is located 409 ft. above sea level. While the winters in Washington D.C. are pretty cold, the summers are mild and the average high in June is only 84F.

Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is a hot topic right now and is one is the issues that is at the forefront of the environmental movement. Sustainable agriculture is a broad concept that involves replacing current unsustainable farming practices with new sustainable practices while dealing with labor abuses, especially in developing countries, while also bringing back the family farm. Current agriculture practices are unsustainable and causing environmental degradation through soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, contaminated water and soil, etc. However, sustainable agriculture seeks to stop and reverse this environmental degradation through more sustainable farming practices. Some of the more sustainable methods that it employs are crop rotation, crop diversity, and a variety of other methods. Sustainable agriculture also seeks to deal with labor abuses, especially in developing countries. It seeks to encourage governments at the local and federal level to make laws dealing with labor abuses that relate to agriculture. Sustainable agriculture also attempts to bring back the family farm, especially in rural communities. It attempts to do this by reestablishing small farms instead of replying on large commercial farms. Sustainable agriculture is a very important topic right now and there are many positive reasons to replace the current farming practices with more sustainable farming methods.

Vampire Power

Vampire power, also known as standby power and phantom load, refers to the electricity that is wasted by appliances when they are plugged into the wall and are either in standby mode or are turned off.  Appliances such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, cell phone chargers, computers, etc. all consume vampire power. Each appliance, depending on its size and age, can consume as much as 10-15 watts by just being plugged in and being either off or in standby mode. This wasted power has huge implications for the environment. It has been estimated that vampire power accounts for more than 10% of total residential consumption in the United States each year and that it costs consumers a combined $3 million per year. This wasted energy is not only costly to consumers, but also to the environment. All of this wasted energy is produced by coal burning power plants, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which ultimately contributes to global warming.
However, there are several easy ways to tell how much vampire power an appliance is consuming and there are also several ways to prevent vampire power. One way to tell how much electricity an appliance is wasting is to plug the appliance into a watt meter, which tells how much energy an appliance is wasting. The most obvious solutions to preventing vampire power is to unplug appliances when they are not in use. This, however, can become a hassle so an easier alternative is to plug appliances into a power strip. When the appliances are not in use the power strip can be cut to 'off', which cuts power to the appliances. There are also 'smart strips' that appliances can be plugged into. The 'smart strip' recognizes for example when a television is turned off and in response it cuts the power to all of the accompanying appliances, such as the DVD player. While phantom power is very costly to both consumers and the environment and can be seen as an insurmountable problem, in reality there are several easy ways in which to prevent vampire power.

Pet Compounds

The two compounds that I chose that I would like to learn more about are bakelite and polysulfone. Bakelite was developed in 1909 and it was one of the first plastics to be made from synthetic compounds. In its early days it was used in a wide variety of products from jewelry to telephone casings to electrical insulators. Today it is most commonly used as a substitute for porcelain and other ceramics and it is also used in game pieces such as dominos, chess pieces, and checkers. It is also manufactured and produced today in tube, sheet, and rod form for industrial applications in aerospace industries, electronics, and power generation.

Polysulfone was developed in 1965 and is important because it is a very tough and rigid thermoplastic. This means that it is able to maintain its properties from a temperature range of 150 degrees Fahrenheit to above 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Its ability to withstand such high temperatures make it  a good flame retardant and today it is used in many areas including in waste water recovery and in the automobile and electric industries.

Federal Programs

While there are many government programs and agencies that are underfunded and that could be expanded, the one government agency that stands out to me as being grossly underfunded and that needs expanding is the Food and Drug Administration(FDA). The FDA has a plethora of responsibilities including regulation of  food(except for meat and poultry), food additives, tobacco products, medical devices, dietary supplements, making sure that dietary supplements and cosmetics are properly labeled, and assuring that foods are properly labeled, just to name a few. Each year the FDA is expected to regulate over $1 trillion worth of goods with a budget that is under $3 billion. This insufficient funding has led to a lack of staffing which has led to lapses in the FDA properly performing their responsibilities. As a result of the insufficient funding, instead of being able to be proactive, the agency has become reactive and is only able to catch and fix problems after they occur. An example of this is the contaminated spinach and peanut butter that has had to be recalled in recent years. Instead of being proactive and catching that the peanut butter and spinach were contaminated before they reached grocery stores, the FDA was only able to be reactive and recall all spinach and peanut butter after they realized it was contaminated and it was already in stores. By increasing the FDA's budget, the agency would be able to increase its staff which would in turn allow the agency to become more proactive rather than just reacting after a problem occurs as it currently does.

While there are many federal agencies and programs that need to be maintained and expanded, there is not one federal program or agency that stands out to me that could be either reduced or eliminated. All of the federal programs and agencies that exist were created for a reason and therefore obviously serve some purpose. These agencies and programs are all vital to American's health, education, welfare, etc. and it would not be wise to cut any of these programs.