For thousands of years, the environment has remained close to its natural state, exerting its influence on living forms. But over the past century, things have changed dramatically as humans have shifted the environmental paradigm. From now on, they are the masters and leave their mark on the earth through pollution, contamination and poison. Steps must be taken to monitor such destruction, but both sides of the environmental issue must be considered in determining what form of action should be taken. The person who almost single-handedly brought this environmental destruction to the forefront of public consciousness was Rachel Carson. In a chapter of her book Silent Spring titled “The Obligation to Endure,” she discussed the various poisons that afflicted Americans without their knowledge or consent (Carson 54). Many forms of contamination have seeped into waterways, air and land. Pollution has become endemic and difficult to reverse. Radiation, in the form of strontium 90, was released. It permeated the atmosphere after government-sanctioned nuclear explosions. Acid rain and fallout occurred. It seeped into the soil and into food supplies and eventually entered the bodies of human beings, remaining there until death (Carson 50). Additionally, pesticides were being developed at an alarming rate and were used indiscriminately, killing both good and bad insects. . When the bad bugs rebounded, more lethal products were developed, causing a never-ending cycle in chemical warfare (50-51). She asked the question: "Can anyone believe that it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons without making it unfit for life?" » Despite the destruction caused, she documented this medium, leaving the lights on, not recycling and using plastic grocery bags instead of paper. The new heresies include the failure of composting or the failure of the transition to organic” (3). None of these statements are intended to minimize the environmental cause. It's real. This deserves our attention. And we must act. The first way to act is to be aware that there is a problem with the environment and that it must be monitored through both government regulations and individual responsibility. Even if there is a problem, we should not go too far, but we need to take action ourselves. We can do this by doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint, whether by recycling, growing organically or refusing to pollute. It is a noble thing to meet the needs of the planet. But everything must be done in moderation and we must proceed accordingly..