Forty years ago, Rachel Carson died and the Pittsburgh area lost perhaps its most influential citizen. A native of a Pennsylvania College for Women graduate, Carson published “Silent Spring” in 1962, a work that launched the modern environmental movement and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the passage of our major environmental laws.
However, there has been a puzzling and troubling trend in recent years: an attack on her theory by conservatives and the agrochemical (農(nóng)用化學(xué)品) industry. For example, Rush Limbaugh gave the following quiz: “Who caused more deaths: Adolf Hitler or RachelCarson?” Limbaugh's answer was Carson, due to the approximately 100 million deaths from malaria (瘧疾) since 1972, the year in which the pesticide (殺蟲劑）DDT was banned for use in the United States in part as a result of “Silent Spring.”
Therefore, on this 40th anniversary of Carson's death, we need to take a scientific look at the myths that remain about pesticides.
Myth 1: Pesticide usage has declined since 1962. In fact, pesticide usage has more than doubled since 1962, and the global pesticide industry currently uses over 2.5 million tons of pesticides each year. Even DDT is still used abroad.
Myth 2: Pesticides are safe. In fact, as Carson warned us, these poisonous chemicals are unsafe since they are designed to kill biological organisms, but are often not specific in their targets. Pesticide exposure can cause skin irritation, headache, cancer and even death. According to the WHO, over 25 million people a year in developing countries suffer severe acute pesticide poisonings with over 20,000 deaths.
Of the 80,000 pesticides and other chemicals in use today, 10 percent are recognized as carcinogens (致癌物質(zhì)). According to recent studies, brain cancer rates are five times higher in homes with “no-pest” strips and six times higher in homes where pets wear flea collars (殺蚤頸圈). Our homes have pesticide concentrations 10 to 100 times higher than outdoors.
So, if Carson were with us today, still battling the agrochemical industry that spent millions of dollars, what would she be advocating? I feel confident that she would be a strong supporter of a new principle of chemical assessment.
Simply put, this principle requires producers of pesticides to prove that they are safe and necessary before they are put on the market. Our current system puts the burden of proof on government and scientists to prove that a pesticide is dangerous and poses an “unacceptable risk” before it can be pulled from the market.
57. Limbaugh attacked Carson because he thought that _____.
A. “Silent Spring” had caused in part the 100 million deaths from malaria
B. she was supporting the production of poisonous pesticides
C. “Silent Spring” was originated from Hitler’s writings
D. she had not cared for the 100 million deaths from malaria
58. Which of the following is the content of Myth 1?
A. The production of pesticides has doubled during the past 40 years.
B. 2.5 million tons of pesticides have been produced since 1962.
C. The usage of pesticides has been dropping since 1962.
D. Pesticides have become less poisonous since 1962.
59. The author mentions “flea collars” in the sixth paragraph to indicate _____.
A. pesticides contribute to the development of cancer
B. the close connection between them and dog cancer rates
C. the medical effect of flea collars on dogs
D. flea collars contribute to high pesticide concentrations indoors
60. What is the suggested new practice of chemical assessment?
A. Government should prove a pesticide is unsafe.
B. Scientists should be responsible for writing assessment reports.
C. Producers of pesticides should provide proof of their safety.
D. A special committee should be set up for chemical assessment.
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