Today’s premium subscriber issue commemorates the 50th anniversary of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s seminal, ground-breaking, game-changing and poetic book about the disastrous environmental effects of the chemical insecticide DDT. Silent Spring not only caught the attention of then President John F. Kennedy — resulting in its ban — but also whipped the chemical industry into a frenzy and paved the way for Carson’s successors to connect the dots with how chemicals also disrupt our inner systems. Eric demonstrates how both Rachel’s natal chart and that of Silent Spring illustrate the potential for deep and wide impact on society — and a ‘second act’ may be approaching.
You can read all this — plus your Gemini New Moon horoscopes for all 12 signs and astro-news briefs — with the individual purchase of this issue here. Or be sure you don’t miss a beat as the rest of this incredible year of astrology unfolds by signing up for a one-month free trial subscription here.
Strange this identification card, a blow of the Jupiter/Neptune square that makes us see life double copies, it is true that I had been bluffé a moment but it was impossible unless it had been of astrological twins
Rachel Carson :
http://www.astrotheme.fr/astrologie/Rachel_Carson
We will put it on the account of the computer bug
i posted the link to the article on my FB page, and this is what one friend wrote (she and her husband are in their mid- late-30s, and i believe he grew up in latin america, not sure which country):
“My husband had his hair washed with DDT routinely while growing up – ‘just to be safe’ whenever a classmate had lice. Just to be ‘safe’.”
*sigh*
I have a discovery Eric, the theme of birth is almost identical with the position of the planets between Rachel Carson that I did not know and the theme of birth mentioned in another article on Valerie Trierweiller the wife of the current president in France.
Strange as coincidence, I thought a moment that I have a computer problem
Rachel Carson
Née le 27 mai 1907 à 02h00
à Springdale (PA) (États-Unis)
http://www.astrotheme.fr/celestar/carte.php?ID=50&clef=W2aQJPGjJ37d&initialiser=1
Valerie Trierweiller
Née le 16 février 1965 à 16h45
à Angers (49) (France)
http://www.astrotheme.fr/celestar/portrait.php?clef=7RPfx54DZ22B&info=1
Incredible as minds meet without necessarily with the same story to tell….
To read the entire article about “Silent Spring” and then read the ECO bit on fracking in economically struggling areas makes me wonder how far back the turning of the clock (turning of the screw?) will go.
Then I read the “ERO” bit… Pussyphobia in Michigan. Local media only reported that Rep. Brown was banned from the floor and showed the clip of her comment about her vagina. But I haven’t seen or heard anything about the context of Rep. Brown’s remarks, no reporting about the abortion bill along with the clip. There has been scant little on the local media about that abortion bill. {The media is too busy covering Snyder’s snookering of the legislature and the taxpayers with his deal with Canada for a second bridge, allegedly at “no cost” to the Michigan taxpayers, with Canada allegedly and presumably graciously footing the bill to build this second span with payback in the form of receiving all tolls.)
On Monday, Rep. Brown and othe women will be performing the “Vagina Monologues” on the steps of the capital in Lansing. Now, what is it going to take for others, especially women, to wake up in Michigan? Not just wake up, ACT UP!! And not just by saying
“vagina” on the floor of the legislature.
And thanks to GrafGram, I now know that I should ask for my carry-out of GMO food that is laced with chemicals and drugs, pesticides and anti-biotics in something other than a #1, 3 or 7 plastic container. Right. At least I use ceramic for the microwave. Yeah, right again. I am getting exhausted by all these “WTF???” moments.
JannKinz
Eric,
Absolutely stunning, in content, focus and writing. Thank you so much for sharing your unique perpsective of the environment through the astrological lens, and the benefit of your experience in journalism and devotion to research. I cannot think of anywhere else that such important information is shared with such integrity and eloquence.
As Len observed, it is the now we need to attend to. I can only imagine (vision?) and pray that there are others out there NOW prepared to follow in Rachel Carson’s footsteps, and that there are many more in places that matter to enable changes to happen.
I am encouraged by Dale O’Brien’s astrological opinion of Chiron in Pisces. Maybe the wide conjunction of Chiron and Neptune will be a catalyst for the revitalization, boosted by Pholus (“little cause, big effect”) in Sagittarius.
Again, thank you, Eric.
JannKinz
Via email — re NYT article referenced below:
“The paradox is that sprayed in tiny quantities inside houses — the only way anyone proposes to use it today — DDT is most likely not harmful to people or the environment. Certainly, the possible harm from DDT is vastly outweighed by its ability to save children’s lives.”
from that NY Times article — these sentences are outright knowing lies. This article reads like it was planted by the chemical industry, and incidentally was published when NYT was at a low ebb in its ethics, post 9-11. However it’s perfectly consistent with their past coverage of DDT and dioxin.
To understand the deception, we have to start with “tiny qualities” — there is no such thing. “Inside houses” means enclosed within an environment. “Most likely not harmful” is so full of weasely language that it reads like a Monsanto lawyer wrote it. We would need to define every one of those words; and they don’t mention fetuses in that statement. The chemicals have to be manufactured and shipped, which comes with many risks of exposure, toxic byproducts and accidents.
Katie, I can’t quite tell where you’re coming from. Sure as Jim said the chances are one in five that no one here gets out alive. But there is a big issue of quality of life, which seems to be your first premise. Yet we need to question, and that means question scientifically, whether DDT even does what it’s supposed to do. For example, if you were to have great success at first then end up with DDT-resistant malaria mosquitoes + a lot of people with endocrine disruption + a dead environment, how is that a benefit?
The claims of chemical manufacturers are some of the most suspect ever. We are the test subjects of the real-life studies they never did, the ones they forged, the ones they stuffed in the file cabinet or shipped to another country for safe keeping away from the federal courts. This article offers a case in point.
I don’t believe Carson would have called for restricted use of DDT — which she did in Silent Spring — had she known about the endocrine disrupting effects, for which there is no observed safe level of exposure. No matter what the exposure someone will get sick, and there is no way to protect fetuses from exposure except to keep the stuff away from everyone — they are the most vulnerable.
One note about The New York Times. They are extremely dishonest about environmental issues. I have published on the issue of how they lie about DDT per se. If anyone would like to inform themselves about this, check out this article by Vicki Monks that appeared in American Journalism Review.
Could the cure be worse than the disease?
Heaven forbid. But..sometimes it just might be. Consider the peculiar cases of DDT and, well, Asbestos.
Not to denigrate Rachel Carson’s heroic contributions to saving Planet Earth from venal petrochemical warlords…but DDT is an extremely effective malaria exterminator–and while it largely eradicated the disease in America and European countries–malaria still ravages tropical climes like those of Africa and India. However, because its nasty environmental reputation has made it a bete noire among Gaia groups and gurus and a virtual four-letter-word on Main Street, its unparalled efficacy in saving lives and preventing crippling diseases prompted the New York Times to announce in April 2004: “What the World Needs Now is DDT”. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/11/magazine/11DDT.html
”’Silent Spring” changed the relationship many Americans had with their government and introduced the concept of ecology and the interconnectedness of systems into the national debate. Rachel Carson started the environmental movement. Few books have done more to change the world,” noted Tina Rosenberg in her thought-provoking article. “But this time around, I was also struck by something that did not occur to me when I first read the book in the early 1980’s. In her 297 pages, Rachel Carson never mentioned the fact that by the time she was writing, DDT was responsible for saving tens of millions of lives, perhaps hundreds of millions….
Malaria kills tourism and foreign investment. It greatly reduces human intelligence and productivity and lessens agricultural yields. Against these costs, a nation’s business sectors and economic ministries should willingly join the fight — and donors must begin to think of malaria control as an unusually cost-effective antipoverty program.
South Africa’s success is inspiring another look at DDT around the continent. Uganda, Kenya and other places are now examining whether it could work in their nations. If it could, donors should encourage it. DDT is a victim of its success, having so thoroughly eliminated malaria in wealthy nations that we forget why we once needed it. But malaria kills Africans today. Those worried about the arrogance of playing God should realize that we have forged an instrument of salvation, and we choose to hide it under our robes.”
Which brings us to the queston of….insulation. I read Faith Franz’s June 12 PW post on “Asbestos: Mineral that could Drastically Change your Future” with a Hunter S. Thompson-like fear and loathing. That is because I had recently encountered a heart-stopping diatribe as per the dangers of FIBERGLASS insulation. Just one more reason, of course, to hate central air conditioning.
“The translation of this highly consequential dynamic of indoor air flow is that air is being pulled into the home from the attic, wall spaces, and any other point of entry as indicated above. The serious health repercussion is that fiberglass-laden air is continuously drawn into the home living space via the turning on and off of the HVAC system through both the hot and cold seasons,” wrote The Health Coach of “Fiberglass Insulation: Extremely Hazardous to Your Health”. http://thehealthcoach1.com/?p=1995
“How does this happen?!
The very fine fiberglass dust from the attic and wall spaces is simply drawn through every small crack or crevice, opening or wire conduit which leads directly into the home living space. Go to your many electrical sockets, lighting fixtures, air vents, ceiling fans, etc. and see how many opportunities there are for fiberglass to pass through these openings. The number of these cracks and openings in the aggregate provides a conducive environment for much fiberglass-laden air flow into every room of a home or office space….
Perhaps we should ask how you feel your lungs would feel if they are constantly being bombarded with tiny cylindrical fibers of glass or glass wool (minute shards of cut glass is how they might appear under a microscope)?!
Not a pretty picture, especially when it occurs over the course of a lifetime. Especially when living or working in the same space the air of which is super-saturated with fiberglass particles….
The Health Coach has witnessed an exponential increase in lung ailments over the years. All upper and lower respiratory illness and chronic disease has seen a major increase in incidence per capita. Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, Bronchiolitis, Emphysema, Lung Cancer, Sarcoidosis, Systemic Scleroderma (aka CREST Syndrome or lcSSc), and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) are all examples of serious lung conditions which have experienced a dramatic uptick.”
So…while my personal vote for contributing factors to those debilitating ailments would include increased atmospheric radiation and omnipresent Chemtrails… and though I sincerely hope we would all do what we can to ameliorate toxic living conditions…I also think it would be prudent to pause to consider that while this is arguably a Prison Planet, it is inarguable that no one gets out of here alive.
And all the sit-ups and soul-clearings and second-helpings of wheatgrass in the world will not, as things stand, change that. Not one fiberglass or asbestos iota.
Egad! I kept reading and there is more to know:
http://www.ewg.org/news/pots-pans-and-plastics-shoppers-guide-food-safety
Don’t re-use those clear plastic containers that you get takeout food in from Whole Foods! They have Bpa in them and they are labeled “1” which means “safe for single use only.” (yeah right. They surely are not safe even the one time.)
Don’t eat or drink out of any plastic labeled 1, 3 or 7, according to EWG.
Nice work.
Just a footnote: soft and cloudy-colored plastics do not contain BPA according to the Environmental Working Group, which has done most of the heavy lifting on investigating BPA and the harm it does.
I assume “cloudy colored” plastic would be stuff like Tupperware, and also those Glad containers you can buy to store your food in the frig. Those things are ok, apparently, although I wouldn’t put them in a microwave.
What does contain BPA? Clear plastic food container and bottles and most store receipts (there’s a chemical in the ink used in these “thermal ink” registers that contains BPA).
Here’s a useful page from the Environmental Working Group site:
http://www.ewg.org/bpa/tipstoavoidbpa
Also a personal note — I have a dear friend who’s quite ill with Graves Disease, a hyperthyroid condition. She may go blind from this disease. Her doctors say she got it from some kind of environmental exposure to toxins, but they have no idea what.
They told her to take the styrofoam mattress pad off her bed, which she did. I now try to look at all household objects with a new eye — what is this thing made of? Do I want to be sleeping or just breathing near it all the time? Do I want it in my kitchen where I prepare food?
Just a thought.
Eric,
That photo of Jones Beach got to me. I grew up a short seagull’s flight from Jones Beach on the South Shore of Lawn Guyland, and spent most every Summer weekend of my childhood and youth on similar beaches. I hope, being younger than the photo in question, I missed the fog machine, but seeing it in action on that beach, wow.
Great stuff as always, thank you!
Peace
Eric,
I am one of the uninformed and unread, though not younger than you. Not sure how it is that I missed this extraordinary woman and her Silent Spring … but I suspect it has something to do with living in the echo-sphere that is washington, dc. I’ve come to know birds and other critters more deeply than some of my own family members and listen soooo closely for their messages to me. Read “Silent Spring” is a message I missed along the way and thank god I’m connected to planet waves for this oversight.
Rachel Carson. I am so honored to know you … now.
Mary
Eric: One of your many (possibly overlooked) talents is your knack or nose for selecting just the right subject for the subscriber edition feature article. With this thoroughly well done and compassionate piece on Rachel Carson, you have done it again. Not just because it is the 50th anniversary of one of the most important books of the 20th Century, either. On every level the selection and expression of the subject matter connects the reader to the now we need to attend to. Thank you so much.