And her book was far more than just the "cumulative and devastating biological effects of pesticides," Bekoff writes; "it is about life itself, focusing on the many different webs of nature that go unnoticed, misunderstood, and unappreciated until we lose them." Carson's book was "a wake-up call for us to do something about how we destroy and desecrate nature"; it also alerted millions of readers to the "appalling abuse and torture of animals in slaughterhouses" and set forward the notion that ecosystems and species are more important that the comfort of and profits of humans, Bekoff writes. Like Thoreau and John Muir, Carson was very concerned about humans' attempts to "mold Nature to our satisfaction," and to "redecorate nature," as she wrote on page 245 of her book. She wrote that "no one can dwell long..." among the "beauties and mysteries of the earth about us" without "thinking rather deep thoughts, without asking...searching and often unanswerable questions, and without achieving a certain philosophy."

How have these ideas affected me personally? While Carson is certainly correct in her pointed, passionate narrative quoted above, and while the other three discussed in this paper are morally and scientifically very dynamic and credible, it should give every concerned citizen pause to know that millions of Americans do not think deep thoughts about the land, the trees, the animals or the future. And unlike what Carson suggests, millions of Americans have no philosophy...

Meanwhile, Global Warming is here to stay - it's not something Al Gore dreamed up - and a sad sign of the times is how effectively some of those in positions of power have turned science (climate change and evolution) into politics.
So, if you really to read up on the science of global warming, and you believe it because so much empirical evidence keeps mounting up, and you speak out about it, you're a "liberal"; it's just too bad John Muir can't come back as a reincarnated conservation activist, with the skill and intelligence and compassion that he had during his first go-around. Or maybe Thoreau himself would be a powerful spokesperson for environmental sanity, were he to appear.

Works Cited

Bekoff, Mark, & Nystrom, Jan. (2004). The Other Side of Silence: Rachel Carson's Views of Animals.…