A recent article in Nature’s Voice, the newsletter of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), reminded me of the scientist and author, Rachel Carson, and her courageous landmark 1962 book entitled Silent Spring.

In Silent Spring, Carson laid out her thesis that DDT, a then widely-used pesticide, was causing numerous serious effects in both humans and wild creatures. I recall one effect she claimed for DDT: that it caused a dangerous thinning of egg shells, which was the cause of much death of incubating bird chicks in the nest. Further, she describes how the DDT molecule has a long half-life and would be around in our soils and waters for decades, where it could be picked up by living organisms and would continue to be a threat. It took a few years, but DDT was eventually banned. Carson’s egg shell claim was correct.

Many people laughed at Carson’s book. Industry dismissed her argument with disdain. Book clubs read, discussed, and voted on who believed her and who thought she had wandered into la-la land. We were, by that time, passionately launched along the path to becoming a society eagerly and unthinkingly in search of convenience and ease of life. And industry was more than willing to meet our desires, while fine-tuning its own sense of greed.

My thoughts had turned to Silent Spring and DDT because the Nature’s Voice article mentioned above discusses in depth the dangers of a group of widely-used pesticides called neonicotinoids, or “neonics.” They contain nicotine, which affects the nervous system. And I saw parallels between DDT and neonics. 

Some three years ago, in this “Outdoor Encounters” column, I dealt with the dangers of neonics to pollinators. But the Nature’s Voice article also includes data showing that neonics pose significant dangers to humans. Unfortunately, neonics are now the most widely used pesticides both in the USA and around the world.

Not generally known is that only 10 or so species of bees in the world are social and make honey. Almost all of the 4,000 or so bee species in North America live solitary lives. True, the neonics pose a great danger to honey bees, but they are having a devastating effect on solitary bees. Also not generally understood is that these solitary bees, and various other solitary insects, are responsible for the majority of the pollinations of the food plants we use. 

The Nature’s Voice article also related a study done last year by Harvard researchers. The study revealed a three-percent drop in global vegetable production and a five-percent global drop in both fruit and nut production. Other recent studies have shown that in some areas our wholesome favorites such as apples, cherries, and blueberries were “pollinator-limited,” meaning that fewer insects to pollinate the crops led to lower crop yields. This scenario likely will get worse.

A recent study done by researchers at the University of California and other leading institutions found that over 90 percent of participating humans in that study had neonicotinoid pesticides in their bodies. But the real kicker was when that 90-percent plus incidence was matched with an earlier study showing that these neurotoxic neonics can pass from mother to fetus through the placenta during pregnancy. The fetus exposed to neonics is at risk for birth defects of the developing heart and brain and has an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder.

As was once true for DDT, sampling now routinely finds neonics in lakes, rivers and streams across the country, including non-rural, highly populated areas. 

Today, no one laughs at Rachel Carson. Rather, she is remembered as a brave, prophetic, and hallowed guardian of Spaceship Earth. And we have work to do.