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And Youtube

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Popular Poets & Member Poets - Poem Hunter Poets

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Different poets all around the world. Thousands of poets. Search for poets using the Poetry Search Engine.

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Rachel Carson: Master of Two Worlds

Rachel Carson may have been one of the few people capable of writing with the scientific thoroughness her subject required and the sincerity and engaging writing style that riveted a nation's attention. Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pa., a rural river town outside of Pittsburgh. Carson's mother Maria encouraged her daughter to write, and by age 11, Carson was winning writing competitions. In 1925, she entered the Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) to pursue a writing career, but after classes in biology Carson changed majors, graduating with honors in 1929. She completed a master's degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

Carson's fascination and skill with science coupled with her love of and desire to protect natural areas inspired the rest of her life and is revealed in the work she embraced, both for FWS and personally.

In 1951, The Sea Around Us elevated Carson to fame and cemented her credentials as a successful interpreter of science for the public. The book was a bestseller at the outset, selling 250,000 copies in its first year of publication, and the following year, Carson was awarded the National Book Award for nonfiction for the work. In her acceptance speech she outlined her beliefs about the public's interest in science:

"Many people have commented with surprise on the fact that a work of science should have a large popular sale. But this notion that 'science' is something that belongs in a separate compartment of its own, apart from everyday life, is one that I should like to challenge. ...Science is part of the reality of living; it is the what, the how, and the why of everything in our experience. It is impossible to understand man without understanding his environment and the forces that have molded him physically and mentally."

Silent Spring: A Change in Perspective

In Silent Spring, Carson assembled information on chemicals used in aerial sprayings, in industrial settings, and on food to characterize the impacts of these agents in ecological terms rather than simply portraying the effectiveness of the chemical solutions. Carson built her case on science. She did extensive research, citing dozens of scientific reports, conducting interviews with leading experts, and reviewing materials across disciplines.

Silent Spring seeded important new ideas in the public mind: That spraying chemicals to control insect populations can also kill birds that feed on dead or dying insects. That chemicals travel not only through the environment, but through food chains. That chemicals that don't outright kill can accumulate in fat tissues causing medical problems later on, and that chemicals can be transferred generationally from mothers to their young. These were ideas new to the public consciousness, and paramount among them was the notion that life is much more interconnected and interdependent than people assumed or understood. Yet, Carson called not for an outright ban on agricultural chemicals but for caution, further study, and the development of biological alternatives.

When Silent Spring was released in the fall of 1962, it was met with enormous public interest and substantial criticism. Many government leaders, including President John F. Kennedy and his Secretary of the Interior, Stewart L. Udall, took Carson seriously. Those who stood to be professionally undermined by the policies her ideas would soon help to shape criticized her vehemently. Dr. William J. Darby authored a review of Silent Spring-titled "Silence, Miss Carson"-in the Oct. 1, 1962, issue of Chemical & Engineering News, published by the American Chemical Society. Darby criticized Carson for not adopting the views of "responsible, broadly knowledgeable scientists" and recommended that "in view of her scientific qualifications in contrast to those of our distinguished scientific leaders and statesmen, this book should be ignored."

Rachel Carson's Legacy

But Carson's book was not ignored. Her research and ideas became central testimony at two congressional hearings, and a Presidential Science Advisory Committee report on pesticides in 1963 affirmed Carson's call for limits on pesticide use and further research into their health hazards. Carson and her book Silent Spring are frequently cited as the catalysts that inspired the environmental movement that began in the 1960s and which gained national and international momentum by the 1970s. The years following the controversy over Silent Spring saw the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passing of numerous laws protecting the environment and human health, including a ban on domestic use of DDT in 1972 due to its widespread overuse and harmful impact on the environment.

Since the publication of Silent Spring, the chemistry discipline has grown to include green chemistry-the design, development, and implementation of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of substances hazardous to human health and the environment-and a new role for chemists in investigating the impact of human activity on the environment. Scientists, policy makers, and the public now recognize and weigh trade-offs of new technologies. Several generations have grown up embracing Carson's ideals of ecological awareness, environmental protection, and conservation.

A more telling measure of how attitudes have changed is reflected in a letter penned by Rudy M. Baum, Editor-in-Chief of Chemical & Engineering News, published in the June 4, 2007, edition:

"At a time when humans largely believed themselves to be apart from nature and destined to control it, Carson argued passionately that nature is, in fact, a network of interconnections and interdependencies and that humans are a part of that network and threaten its cohesion at their own peril. ...What is mainstream today was heretical in 1962, and I think this part of Carson's argument is what earned her such enmity when Silent Spring was published."

Carson, who died in 1964, inspired a new paradigm of thinking-where humanity is not the center of life on earth, but part of nature. The legacy of Silent Spring continues today in the scientific community's increased focus on environmentally friendly practices and the public's heightened support for sustainability in all areas of our lives.

Additional Resources

Lesson Plan

Further Reading

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Legacy of Rachel Carsons Silent Spring National Historic Chemical Landmark - American Chemical Society

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Rachel Carson may have been one of the few people capable of writing with the scientific thoroughness her subject required and the sincerity and engaging writing style that riveted a nation's attention. Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pa., a rural river town outside of Pittsburgh.

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Rachel Carson warned the world of the dire environmental impact of fertilizers and pesticides in her influential work Silent Spring . Learn more at Biography.com

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She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, National Book Award for Nonfiction, Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences.

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Rachel Carson died on April 14, 1964 in Silver Spring, Maryland

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Popular Poets & Member Poets - Poem Hunter Poets

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Different poets all around the world. Thousands of poets. Search for poets using the Poetry Search Engine.

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This video is about Rachel Carson Interview

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Uploaded by Anna Samsonov on 2014-11-29.

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By publishing her book Rachel Carson opened peoples eyes that they were harming the Earth with toxins and chemicals

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Rachel Carson: Master of Two Worlds

Rachel Carson may have been one of the few people capable of writing with the scientific thoroughness her subject required and the sincerity and engaging writing style that riveted a nation's attention. Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pa., a rural river town outside of Pittsburgh. Carson's mother Maria encouraged her daughter to write, and by age 11, Carson was winning writing competitions. In 1925, she entered the Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) to pursue a writing career, but after classes in biology Carson changed majors, graduating with honors in 1929. She completed a master's degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

Carson's fascination and skill with science coupled with her love of and desire to protect natural areas inspired the rest of her life and is revealed in the work she embraced, both for FWS and personally.

In 1951, The Sea Around Us elevated Carson to fame and cemented her credentials as a successful interpreter of science for the public. The book was a bestseller at the outset, selling 250,000 copies in its first year of publication, and the following year, Carson was awarded the National Book Award for nonfiction for the work. In her acceptance speech she outlined her beliefs about the public's interest in science:

"Many people have commented with surprise on the fact that a work of science should have a large popular sale. But this notion that 'science' is something that belongs in a separate compartment of its own, apart from everyday life, is one that I should like to challenge. ...Science is part of the reality of living; it is the what, the how, and the why of everything in our experience. It is impossible to understand man without understanding his environment and the forces that have molded him physically and mentally."

Silent Spring: A Change in Perspective

In Silent Spring, Carson assembled information on chemicals used in aerial sprayings, in industrial settings, and on food to characterize the impacts of these agents in ecological terms rather than simply portraying the effectiveness of the chemical solutions. Carson built her case on science. She did extensive research, citing dozens of scientific reports, conducting interviews with leading experts, and reviewing materials across disciplines.

Silent Spring seeded important new ideas in the public mind: That spraying chemicals to control insect populations can also kill birds that feed on dead or dying insects. That chemicals travel not only through the environment, but through food chains. That chemicals that don't outright kill can accumulate in fat tissues causing medical problems later on, and that chemicals can be transferred generationally from mothers to their young. These were ideas new to the public consciousness, and paramount among them was the notion that life is much more interconnected and interdependent than people assumed or understood. Yet, Carson called not for an outright ban on agricultural chemicals but for caution, further study, and the development of biological alternatives.

When Silent Spring was released in the fall of 1962, it was met with enormous public interest and substantial criticism. Many government leaders, including President John F. Kennedy and his Secretary of the Interior, Stewart L. Udall, took Carson seriously. Those who stood to be professionally undermined by the policies her ideas would soon help to shape criticized her vehemently. Dr. William J. Darby authored a review of Silent Spring-titled "Silence, Miss Carson"-in the Oct. 1, 1962, issue of Chemical & Engineering News, published by the American Chemical Society. Darby criticized Carson for not adopting the views of "responsible, broadly knowledgeable scientists" and recommended that "in view of her scientific qualifications in contrast to those of our distinguished scientific leaders and statesmen, this book should be ignored."

Rachel Carson's Legacy

But Carson's book was not ignored. Her research and ideas became central testimony at two congressional hearings, and a Presidential Science Advisory Committee report on pesticides in 1963 affirmed Carson's call for limits on pesticide use and further research into their health hazards. Carson and her book Silent Spring are frequently cited as the catalysts that inspired the environmental movement that began in the 1960s and which gained national and international momentum by the 1970s. The years following the controversy over Silent Spring saw the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passing of numerous laws protecting the environment and human health, including a ban on domestic use of DDT in 1972 due to its widespread overuse and harmful impact on the environment.

Since the publication of Silent Spring, the chemistry discipline has grown to include green chemistry-the design, development, and implementation of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of substances hazardous to human health and the environment-and a new role for chemists in investigating the impact of human activity on the environment. Scientists, policy makers, and the public now recognize and weigh trade-offs of new technologies. Several generations have grown up embracing Carson's ideals of ecological awareness, environmental protection, and conservation.

A more telling measure of how attitudes have changed is reflected in a letter penned by Rudy M. Baum, Editor-in-Chief of Chemical & Engineering News, published in the June 4, 2007, edition:

"At a time when humans largely believed themselves to be apart from nature and destined to control it, Carson argued passionately that nature is, in fact, a network of interconnections and interdependencies and that humans are a part of that network and threaten its cohesion at their own peril. ...What is mainstream today was heretical in 1962, and I think this part of Carson's argument is what earned her such enmity when Silent Spring was published."

Carson, who died in 1964, inspired a new paradigm of thinking-where humanity is not the center of life on earth, but part of nature. The legacy of Silent Spring continues today in the scientific community's increased focus on environmentally friendly practices and the public's heightened support for sustainability in all areas of our lives.

Additional Resources

Lesson Plan

Further Reading

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Legacy of Rachel Carsons Silent Spring National Historic Chemical Landmark - American Chemical Society

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Rachel Carson may have been one of the few people capable of writing with the scientific thoroughness her subject required and the sincerity and engaging writing style that riveted a nation's attention. Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pa., a rural river town outside of Pittsburgh.

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Rachel Carson started off attending Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929. Then went on to the Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole, Massachusetts and Johns Hopkins University where she got her master's degree in zoology in 1932.

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Rachel Louise Carson was born May 27th, 1907 in the small town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. She was very quiet and spent most of her time learning about nature from her mother, school teacher, and a musician.

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