PCTO Liceo Musicale svolto in ambito linguistico

‘Silent Spring’: a warning for our planet!

Nature has made our existence and surrounded us, even though we have considered it as a simple background since the era of ancient Greeks or as a resource to exploit for our personal purposes. For this reason, it’s important to sensitise people about pollution, a current and important item concerning the whole population.

This report has the aim to open people’s eyes about the conditions of our planet in the hope that everyone makes small sacrifices for the common good. It wants to raise our awareness about the problem of pollution. In November we started our path of PCTO with John Cabot University, so we had the opportunity to know Rachel Carson’s book: ‘Silent Spring’. The book was written in 1962. The thing that makes us smile is that Carson’s book is set in her time period but the items she describes are still current today and we haven't solved them, yet.

This is a book that makes us reflect on the future of our planet and ask questions such as: ‘how will future generations live on a land oppressed and destroyed by its own inhabitants?’ Nature is not a temporary home for man!!!

Moreover, the book talks about pollution caused by a pesticide, DDT, that was created to kill the insects that attacked the plants. The danger of this pesticide is that it mixes itself with water. The spread of pesticides is fast: from the soil they go into water, then to the vegetation and finally to the atmosphere. The humans eat the animals that have eaten contaminated plants and, of course, this is toxic also for our safety and health.

In the first chapter Rachel Carson writes about a fictional town in the heart of America where humans caused the death of children and birds due to pollution and toxic substances. Just because the author didn’t write about a specific town it doesn't mean it has never existed...In fact, it’s easy to think about the ghost city of Pripyat,15 km far from the sadly known Chernobyl, where the most terrible nuclear accident of history had its origin, The town is still empty and toxic for everyone who tries to visit it.

Finally Carson proposes two solutions:

The first one, the easiest one, is that we can continue this way but it is the worst choice because it will lead to destruction.

The second one is a slower process and it includes exploring alternatives to chemical pesticides, that is difficult but can solve the problem.

So, pollution could be considered as a CRIME and we should stop it!! Everything in this world exists thanks to a balance of soil, water, green mantle, animals, plants and human beings. To keep everything in balance we should get rid of capitalism and we should focus on what really matters: a healthy lifestyle for us and our planet. To do that, we absolutely need to replace NON renewable energies with renewable ones, by pressing on governments, avoiding to buy plastic or using it when it is not necessary, reducing pollution and the use of toxic substances, recycling.

There are plenty of things we should do, but we should change completely our attitudes, at the same time.

We would like to remind a project that should be done in all schools, as the vegetable garden realised in our school site of ‘Via Isole Curzolane’. Making a vegetable garden outside the school, in the yard or some other place, means creating a green area that makes the difference. Making a vegetable garden does not only mean giving birth to new forms of plant life, but also learning to take care of the environment that surrounds us and understand how important it is. A garden teaches us to be kind, generous and constant. A garden made by each school would make this land a greener place and therefore a better place.

It is not a ‘utopian dream’, it depends on us, if we believe it and if we are not alone…

Written By: Ilaria Bernadel (IV M), Gabriele Valerio Buccini (IV M), Beatrice Lucioli (IV M), Greta Helmi (V M), Ludovica Perna(V M), Aurora Rogai (VM).