The increased toxicity of our world demands we wake up. Half a century ago, 1962, Rachel Carson spoke out, detailing chemical company disinformation and demonstrating that uncontrolled and unexamined pesticide use was harming (and killing) animals, birds, and humans. Carson’s Silent Spring referenced a spring season in which no bird songs could be heard, because they had all vanished.
Ah, the good old days.
Today, fifty years fast forward, it’s ramped up, extreme. Pesticides practically sound benign these days when we see headline grabbing stuff like toxic radioactive debris washing up, widespread fracking and poisonous waste grounds.
Overall toxicity levels are rising on many fronts. It’s not just DDT but many other substances and harms to us, all living creatures and our entire planet, including (in no particular order) herbicides, dispersants, fungicides, antibiotics, hormones, plus radiation, electromagnetic effects, genetic modification, nanotechnology and more, we’re certain. On some of these issues, each of which deserves a lengthy discussion, there is a teeny teensy tiny bit of awakening, for which we say, “yay!”
But, mostly, any miniscule progress looks like kiddie-level stuff compared to how screwed were going to be if we look at the pace at which things are accelerating. The GE industry (“genetically engineered,” not the company) is pushing hard to shut down every last challenge to its ability to do whatever it wants, with no actual accountability or requirements (other than to protect the revenue stream). It’s doing ok by the looks of things.
At the same time, nowadays, the techniques of “disinformation” are the stuff of cliché, permeating popular culture – books, movies, television, games. These days, it can seem as if much of our society expects that we are not necessarily hearing the truth. Or, if we don’t actually expect lies, we still aren’t too shocked to learn that yet again, what we were led to believe is not how it really works. Til recently, it’s almost created paralysis, garnering shrugs and sighs as if we are just poor vicitms and alas it shall always be so.
Fortunately, we do not have to have a silent spring in 2012. We can speak up and demand accountability and take matters into our own hands. We do not have to allow ourselves to be trampled by those who make decisions that ripple through our ecosystem and affect us all with neither our knowledge nor our consent. We don’t have to eat hacked food.
We can (and must) share information about what is happening, to our food supply, our personal sovereignty, our environment, and our society. There are signs this is happening, like the swelling of an early spring bud. The “Just Label It” movement seems to be helping wake people up about genetically modified food. The idea, while modest, is simply to let consumers know that the stuff they’re eating has been genetically altered, and possibly, even let us know how – herbicide cereal anyone? Already, it has helped create a growing trickle of awareness. More and more of us are waking up to the possibility that we do not have to succumb and can take charge of what we do, where we live and who we are.
The time has come. Let’s do the Silent Spring (Re-mix). Occupy Spring.