Losing the poets
When noted British author Aldous Huxley finished reading Silent Spring , he was distraught. "We are losing half the subject matter of poetry,' he remarked. He was not quite right. The chemicals have found their way up the food chain and after the birds, humans could be next. Huxley might well have added that not only is the subject matter of poetry being lost but there is a good chance of losing the poets as well. The pesticide threat is very real, and any delay in tackling it could prove to be a very expensive mistake.
The us, one of the first countries to suffer pesticide-related avian deaths, was also one of the pioneers in spearheading a legal fight against pesticides. The first signs that the chemicals were not being entirely benign in their effects came soon after the us Green Revolution. Research indicated that despite all the hype, high-input agriculture, based on the application of these chemicals, was in no way an improvement over traditional low-input agriculture. Silent Spring's poetic language and the touching tales of bird deaths and environmental degradation led to the birth of environmental activism in the country. Since then, public and government awareness has increased, and the us has taken several steps in curbing the use of pesticides.
The us Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act ( fifra ) is a sign of hope. fifra ensures that all pesticides carry extensive instructions as well as cautionary advises to prevent deaths of unintended targets. But apart from this act , the us has taken several other steps to curb decline in avian population. The country has adopted legal measures to prevent habitat destruction and use of potentially harmful pesticides. Methods suggested by conservationists include raising public awareness about the beneficial activities of birds and the need to protect them. Ecological studies, a must before other steps can be adopted, are not so rare in the us . Consequently, the country is well prepared to fight the threats to avian population.
India's own silent springs
Acts like fifra seem to be a distant dream in India and other Asian countries where the basic prerequisites