The Silent Carson

If you were to ask an ordinary person to name a female who has made significant contributions to the environmental movement, it would be rather difficult not because there are not are a few number of female environmentalist but because they are hardly ever talked about for their accomplishments. One person that comes to mind is Rachel Carson who is credited with advancing the global environmental movement.

Rachel Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist. Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist with the U.S Bureau of Fisheries where she studied the ocean around us. Carson wrote a sea trilogy that explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths. After writing books about marine life, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. 

With years of research, Carson published Silent Spring in 1962 which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Silent Spring spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy which led to a nationwide bad on DDT and other pesticides that were very harmful to the Earth, animals, and humans. The book also inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The President at the time, President Jimmy Carter awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rachel Carson for her contributions to a better and sustainable environment. 

One World, One Dream

One for all, and all for one is an old saying that truly represents the ideology of Marxism/Communism. Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. This type of ideology, I believe can support a sustainable future if and only if it is truly communistic society. 

Back when I was still in the third grade, I'd experience a form of communism without really knowing it. My teacher at the time assigned the class with two assignments where she divided the class into two groups in which each student would have to contribute equally to successfully complete the two tasks. 

There were some students that easily finished their portion of the work while there were a few students that struggled. This at first caused the class to become frustrated and uncooperative. One group, the students quickly finished while the other group did not. The students were bad mouthing each other and that caused the slower group to become more discouraged. At this point, the teacher stepped in and addressed the class, saying:

"In this world, there is always going to be someone who is really good at one thing and maybe not as good at another thing, but that should not prevent you from continue to try to get better at it. And if you are good at one thing, you should not bash others who are not as good as you but rather help them to get better at it."

After hearing what the teacher said, the two groups then began to work together and help each other finish their assignments as a collective whole.

The lesson I learned from this exercise that I experienced many years back still carries on with me to this day, where I believe that if everyone were to work together in the common interest of the whole, then we would be able to reduce if not eliminate the conflicts between people. 

If people worked for their own personal interest, then there would only be a handful that will be good at something and rise to the top whereas the others who are not as skilled will not be able to succeed as quick or at all. If the ones that are skilled do not help those that are less skilled, then there will be a gap between the two, causing division and conflicts. This is why I believe that a truly communistic society, where everyone works towards the same interests of the collective whole, can better sustain a future.