7. Ivy McDermott 3/18/23 Ch. 11 Environmental Awareness

     The outside reading blog topics have been a daunting topic for me because it's my first time seeing most of these names and I'm not sure where to start; there are so many classic environmentalist authors that had an influence on the world and I'm hesitant to start a book unless I know it's a good one. I liked this chapter because it was in a more positive light and gave a glimpse into how people's words can influence reformation, as well as the different lights and lenses of Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and David Brower. 

    Leopold used a critical lense of the world without edges, moreso criticizing the conqueror culture, but inspired a sense of ethics for the land in many. Carson used simple terminology and harsh warnings and chose an audience that could help, lending legitimate, simple solutions. Within a decade of Carson's Silent Spring, the UN held it's first conference and created a permanent agency and spurred an environmental movement (pg. 288). It's sad how she was criticized for being emotionally driven, a woman, exaggerating, and a communist when she was sorely right. It's amusing how this is still a problem we see today; every time I see a video on social media about an environmental issue, people comment or refute with the idea that the issue is invalid or an elitist issue. Just because the issue is invisible at the moment or from your perspective does not mean that it is not there. As Carson explained, everything we do travels down each link of the food chain. This applies to ourselves as well, in our place in nature, small voices turn into loud echoes and sound alarms down the line.