Chemistry

Urbanization and modernization have brought with them financial prosperity, economic betterment and a higher standard of comfort and living. However, man has sacrificed all the elements, with absolutely no consideration, only to achieve and accomplish prosperity at the cost of natures biodiversity and ecological balance. The world today faces the threat of extinction of innumerable species of plants and animals that have a right to stay on planet Earth more than us as they were its first occupants. The increasing pressure on farmlands to produce larger quantities of food to meet the ever increasing demands of a rapidly growing population has forced man to use harmful chemicals like insecticides, pesticides and weedicides in an abusive and unethical manner. This paper examines why harmful chemicals should not be used and suggests alternative modes and methods of insect and pest control.

The scenario that Rachel Carson describes in the book Silent Spring is one of utter chaos and melancholy. The numbers of natural pollinators like bees have declined in recent years due to the indiscriminate use of harmful chemicals. The earths environment has undergone major disastrous changes at the cost of feeding the worlds population. These chemicals are extremely invasive and settle in the tissues of plants and animals changing their intrinsic biological structure. Humans have also been largely affected by the intrusion of chemicals into their biological systems. Nearly five hundred new chemicals are developed every year in the United States alone to meet industrial requirements. Studies show that every year, on an average, at least two hundred different chemicals are used to treat crops for diseases and pests.

According to the National Research Council (1993),A commodity treated with or exposed to a pesticide theoretically can never totally be rid of all traces of residue. The chemicals get deposited in the underground water table and from their seep into the roots of plants, vegetables and crops grown on croplands and reach our homes through the market produce that we buy. The effects of these chemicals on the delicate biological systems of infants and children are a major area of medical research and investigation. Furthermore, growing the same kind of crops year after year results in the same kind of pest attack because the soil lacks the required diversity and complexity that helps keep these predators and insects and bay. Human activities have caused an imbalance in nature as man has tried to simplify a system that can stay alive only if there is present a certain level or degree of complexity. Nature has its own way of maintaining a balance. This is highly evident if we take into consideration the process of random pollination that is mainly responsible for the diversity of flora and botanical richness in the ecosystem. Chemicals must be used in a controlled way and newer methods of biological pest control must be considered to reduce further damage.