Pollution

"The precautionary principle says that if the health of the environment and humans is at stake, precautionary measures should be taken even if the cause and effect relationships have not been scientifically established with certainty. The principle says, in effect, if you are not completely sure, always err on the side of caution" (Robertson, 2014, p. 155)

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Our current approach to the maintenance of pesticides and pollution as a whole has been very poor.
The results of our actions have started to be shown throughout the world, and it has been for many years. Again, it all comes down to the human ignorance and lack of a proper education on pollution and the ripple effect that results from being ignorant. The topmost priority should always be reducing or eliminating pollution at the very start of it's source. The quote presented above stresses this importance; to consider the health of our environment and other beings first and foremost. A lot of us still refuse to look at the direct impact we are having on this world which in turn affect our well-being. This impact can be through the way modern society uses chemicals in a manner that the variables and outcomes become completely difficult to control down the road. This brings on the following quote by Carson (1962)...

"The rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the impetuous and heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature." (Carson, 1962, p.154)

Photo: Robb Kendrick, National Geographic

I strongly feel that Carson manages to hit the nail on the head with this one. Time is such an essential ingredient for the restoration of pollution, and a lot of our environmental problems, but at this current time and age there is no such thing as time. It's not something that the modern world manages to lack tremendously. Carson goes on to further explain,"...it would require not merely the years of a man's life but the life of generations." (Carson, 1962, p. 154), but even then the copious amounts of new chemicals entering in the atmosphere are endless. These chemicals range in killing insects, rodents, weed, etc. These common chemicals (i.e., sprays) to do so have managed to succeed in turning man against nature. If anything, it has completely become an almost contradiction as more and more of the pests that were trying to be eliminated only return 10x stronger and more in abundance. "Thus the chemical war is never won, and all life is caught in its violent crossfire." (Carson, 1962, p. 155). We have to find a way to stop this "war" Carson has stated. A stark and obvious solution for this is education. This was coincidentally something Carson went on to state towards the end of the excerpt. But it must be considered that this was written in 1962 and we are in 2017 but very little has been done with this matter. Yes, many things have been proposed to help minimize pollution but I feel as though very little to no progress has been done. What ultimately all comes down to is that we are to this day living in "... an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged" (Carson, 1962, p.160) and I couldn't agree more with this statement. The use of chemicals is being placed in the hands of people that are not educated about their potential for further harm. It's this "industry domination" that goes on to blind these individuals.



Source: 
Carson, J. (1962). Excerpt from Hope for Animals and Their World, In University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future. Acton, MA. XanEdu Publishing Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.