Directed by Fred M. With Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens. A starship crew goes to investigate the silence of a planet's colony. Our film critics on blockbusters, independents and everything in between.
Silent Spring - Wikipedia. Download Crack For Delta Force Black Hawk Down Soundtrack. Silent Spring is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation and public officials of accepting industry claims unquestioningly. In the late 1. 95. Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was Silent Spring (1. American public. Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, but it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, led to a nationwide ban on DDT for agricultural uses.
Environmental Protection Agency. The United States Department of Agriculture's 1. DDT and other pesticides mixed with fuel oil and included the spraying of private land, prompted Carson to devote her research, and her next book, to pesticides and environmental poisons. She tried to enlist essayist E.
The destruction of Alderaan left a massive asteroid field in the planet's wake. When she refused to yield the location of the Rebel base, or the whereabouts of the. Free summary and analysis of the events in Madeleine L'Engleâ. We promise. Contents Summary. The books in the trilogy are: Out of the Silent Planet (1938), set mostly on Mars (Malacandra). In this book, Elwin Ransom voyages to Mars and. A planet, often called a world, was a celestial body that was in orbit around a star, was neither a binary star nor a moon, and had cleared out the area around its.
White and a number of journalists and scientists to her cause. By 1. 95. 8, Carson had arranged a book deal, with plans to co- write with Newsweek science journalist Edwin Diamond. However, when The New Yorker commissioned a long and well- paid article on the topic from Carson, she began considering writing more than the introduction and conclusion as planned; soon it became a solo project. Diamond would later write one of the harshest critiques of Silent Spring. From reading the scientific literature and interviewing scientists, Carson found two scientific camps; those who dismissed the possible danger of pesticide spraying barring conclusive proof and those who were open to the possibility of harm and were willing to consider alternative methods, such as biological pest control. That spring, Carson wrote a letter, published in The Washington Post, that attributed the recent decline in bird populations—in her words, the .
Carson attended the ensuing FDA hearings on revising pesticide regulations; she was discouraged by the aggressive tactics of the chemical industry representatives, which included expert testimony that was firmly contradicted by the bulk of the scientific literature she had been studying. She also wondered about the possible . Of particular significance was the work of National Cancer Institute researcher and founding director of the environmental cancer section Wilhelm Hueper, who classified many pesticides as carcinogens. Carson and her research assistant Jeanne Davis, with the help of NIH librarian Dorothy Algire, found evidence to support the pesticide- cancer connection; to Carson the evidence for the toxicity of a wide array of synthetic pesticides was clear- cut, though such conclusions were very controversial beyond the small community of scientists studying pesticide carcinogenesis. She had investigated hundreds of individual incidents of pesticide exposure and the resulting human sickness and ecological damage. In January 1. 96.
As she was nearing full recovery in March, she discovered cysts in her left breast, requiring a mastectomy. By December that year, Carson discovered that she had breast cancer, which had metastasized.
However, further health troubles delayed the final revisions in 1. By August 1. 96. 1, Carson agreed to the suggestion of her literary agent Marie Rodell: Silent Spring would be a metaphorical title for the entire book—suggesting a bleak future for the whole natural world—rather than a literal chapter title about the absence of birdsong. The final writing was the first chapter, . By mid- 1. 96. 2, Brooks and Carson had largely finished the editing and were planning to promote the book by sending the manuscript to select individuals for final suggestions. DDT is a prime example, but other synthetic pesticides—many of which are subject to bioaccumulation—are scrutinized. Carson accuses the chemical industry of intentionally spreading disinformation and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically. Most of the book is devoted to pesticides' effects on natural ecosystems, but four chapters detail cases of human pesticide poisoning, cancer, and other illnesses attributed to pesticides.
Scientists of the Food and Drug Administration who reported the discovery of these tumors were uncertain how to classify them, but felt there was some . The book closes with a call for a biotic approach to pest control as an alternative to chemical pesticides. She said in Silent Spring that even if DDT and other insecticides had no environmental side effects, their indiscriminate overuse was counterproductive because it would create insect resistance to pesticides, making them useless in eliminating the target insect populations: No responsible person contends that insect- borne disease should be ignored. The question that has now urgently presented itself is whether it is either wise or responsible to attack the problem by methods that are rapidly making it worse.
The world has heard much of the triumphant war against disease through the control of insect vectors of infection, but it has heard little of the other side of the story—the defeats, the short- lived triumphs that now strongly support the alarming view that the insect enemy has been made actually stronger by our efforts. Even worse, we may have destroyed our very means of fighting. Pressure on the pest population should always be as slight as possible. Carson was undergoing radiation therapy for her cancer and expected to have little energy to defend her work and respond to critics.
In preparation for the anticipated attacks, Carson and her agent attempted to amass prominent supporters before the book's release. Carson attended the White House Conference on Conservation in May 1. Houghton Mifflin distributed proof copies of Silent Spring to many of the delegates and promoted the upcoming serialization in The New Yorker.
Carson also sent a proof copy to Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas, a long- time environmental advocate who had argued against the court's rejection of the Long Island pesticide spraying case and had provided Carson with some of the material included in her chapter on herbicides. This brought the book to the attention of the chemical industry and its lobbyists, as well as the American public. Around that time, Carson learned that Silent Spring had been selected as the Book- of- the- Month for October; she said this would .
There was another round of publicity in July and August as chemical companies responded. The story of the birth defect- causing drug thalidomide had broken just before the book's publication, inviting comparisons between Carson and Frances Oldham Kelsey, the Food and Drug Administration reviewer who had blocked the drug's sale in the United States. Du. Pont, a major manufacturer of DDT and 2,4- D, and Velsicol Chemical Company, the only manufacturer of chlordane and heptachlor, were among the first to respond. Du. Pont compiled an extensive report on the book's press coverage and estimated impact on public opinion. Velsicol threatened legal action against Houghton Mifflin, and The New Yorker and Audubon Magazine unless their planned Silent Spring features were canceled. Chemical industry representatives and lobbyists lodged a range of non- specific complaints, some anonymously. Chemical companies and associated organizations produced brochures and articles promoting and defending pesticide use.
However, Carson's and the publishers' lawyers were confident in the vetting process Silent Spring had undergone. The magazine and book publications proceeded as planned, as did the large Book- of- the- Month printing, which included a pamphlet by William O. Douglas endorsing the book. White- Stevens called her . Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson in a letter to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower reportedly said that because she was unmarried despite being physically attractive, she was .
Muller, Loren Eiseley, Clarence Cottam and Frank Egler—mostly backed the book's scientific claims and public opinion backed Carson's text. The chemical industry campaign was counterproductive because the controversy increased public awareness of the potential dangers of pesticides. Pesticide use became a major public issue after a CBS Reports television special, . The program included segments of Carson reading from Silent Spring and interviews with other experts, mostly critics including White- Stevens. According to biographer Linda Lear, . Robert White- Stevens in white lab coat, Carson appeared anything but the hysterical alarmist that her critics contended.
Kennedy's Science Advisory Committee, which issued its report on May 1. Carson's scientific claims.
Senate subcommittee to make policy recommendations. Though Carson received hundreds of other speaking invitations, she was unable to accept most of them because her health was steadily declining, with only brief periods of remission. She spoke as much as she could, and appeared on The Today Show and gave speeches at several dinners held in her honor.
In late 1. 96. 3, she received a flurry of awards and honors: the Audubon Medal from the National Audubon Society, the Cullum Geographical Medal from the American Geographical Society, and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Silent Spring became a rallying point for the new social movement in the 1. According to environmental engineer and Carson scholar H.
Patricia Hynes, . No one since would be able to sell pollution as the necessary underside of progress so easily or uncritically. It was also influential on the rise of ecofeminism and on many feminist scientists.
The 1. 96. 7 formation of the Environmental Defense Fund was the first major milestone in the campaign against DDT. The organization brought lawsuits against the government to . By 1. 97. 2, the Environmental Defense Fund and other activist groups had succeeded in securing a phase- out of DDT use in the United States, except in emergency cases.
Wilson Movie Review & Film Summary (2. Just in case you are wondering, “Wilson” is not a sequel to “Cast Away.”However, those who are white male jerk- averse, especially since there seems to be a surplus of them lately, might prefer the company of Tom Hanks’ silent volleyball buddy over the latest iteration of a kooky curmudgeon as unfiltered instigator of awkward confrontations and general annoyance. But if anyone can make such a character not just amusingly tolerable but even somewhat sympathetic, Woody Harrelson—who rarely gets his proper due for his vital contributions to movies ranging from the . He fully exploits his sarcastic delivery, scalawag smirk and an effective pair of cartoonish horn- rimmed specs to make his bitter and lonely middle- aged loser a droll companion. That is, if he doesn’t sidle up to the seat next to you on a near- empty bus and gripe your ear off about all and nothing. Advertisement. This is not a new invention by any means.
Lionel Barrymore’s misanthropic Mr. Potter followed the dramatic blueprint laid down by cranky penny- pincher Ebenezer Scrooge, while Walter Matthau injected a sardonic humorous element to the archetype in “The Odd Couple,” “The Bad News Bears” and “Grumpy Old Men.” Meanwhile, Billy Bob Thornton took middle- age misbehavior to the next foul- mouthed degenerate level in “Bad Santa.”Lately, taking on such cranky roles has almost become a rite of passage for actors, mainly male but also female, of a certain AARP- eligible demo. Where would Robert De Niro and Shirley Mac. Laine’s late- life resumes be without such temperamental old- timers? Bruce Dern and June Squibb groused their way to Oscar nominations in “Nebraska” and Bill Murray has simply spun his younger wise- guy persona into similar sterling senior moments on screen.
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman went for it and scored a hit with “The Bucket List.” Kathy Bates (“About Schmidt”) and Lily Tomlin (“Grandma”) have struck gold in irascible lady roles. Heck, Larry David has been playing a heightened version of his uncensored, off- putting self in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on HBO since 2. One reason why these characters are perennials?
They actually ring true. As anyone who has been in the presence of those enjoying their golden years, people often act as if their advanced status gives them license to say whatever they want, non- PC consequences be damned. I myself have been known to make a somewhat inappropriate comment or two. Basically, it's now or never. As adapted by Daniel Clowes (“Ghost World”) from his graphic novel and directed by Craig Johnson (“The Skeleton Twins”), this hard slap at the perceived stupidity of the world by a disenfranchised citizen pitches its black humor in appallingly funny if occasionally poignant episodes as we get to know the title character’s Minnesota- based urban milieu.
That is, before the plot opts for cop- out sentimentality and begins to melt into goo. Much like Thora Birch’s Enid in “Ghost World,” Wilson’s street- corner apartment atop an out- of- business karate studio is awash in flea- market finds and old paperbacks stuffed in every corner with a large poster of “Moby Dick” as the centerpiece.
There is no hint that Wilson ever had a vocation of any sort. A plus: He loves his dog, a wire fox terrier named Pepper. A minus: His wife left him 1. Los Angeles, aborted their baby and became a drug addict and possibly a prostitute. His life, such as it is, turns upside- down when his only friends decide to move and he gets a call that his father is near death in a hospital.
His planned bedside reconciliation with his dad sadly arrives too late. Wilson is so desperate for companionship, he seeks out a shady childhood buddy named Olsen (David Warshofsky), who is basically a disturbed hermit who wishes his 9. After a few minutes of trying make a connection, a grieving Wilson thanks him for the reminder that he’s a “toxic soul- draining vampire.”Advertisement. After a “meet- strange” with a woman who can’t stop talking about her boyfriend of six years who left her because he was a “homo” (Margo Martindale, supporting player supreme), she helps Wilson track down his ex, Pippi (Laura Dern, always a pro at neurotic women on the verge), via Google. Turns out she has cleaned up her act and is semi- glad to reunite. But after they cozy up in bed, she reveals that she actually put their baby up for adoption. Of course, Wilson hunts the girl down without warning and she's revealed to be a portly goth high- schooler (Isabella Amara, who knows how to squeeze the most out of a sour look) with attitudinal issues.
In other words, a surly chip off the old block. From there, Wilson attempts to act as if he is now a family man despite the fact that his daughter’s adoptive parents know nothing about his existence. This results in a misbegotten odyssey to visit Pippi’s smugly self- satisfied suburbanite sister, Polly (Cheryl Hines), and her ultra- normal clan, with violently disastrous results.
Wilson should have known better. When he tells Pippi that her disparaging sister is “a living death,” she complains that he says that about everyone. He answers, “Was I wrong?” Even Wilson is sometimes right. I do appreciate that Harrelson is surrounded by a bevy of top- notch actresses, all of whom bring out different shades in Wilson’s crotchety demeanor. Although if Judy Greer is reduced to being an accommodating girlfriend ever again, there should be a law declared to ban such wastefulness. But while “Wilson” peters out at the end, one can’t totally dismiss a movie that gets away with a visual “Umberto D” joke and showcases probably the worst tramp- stamp tattoo ever.