Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson's affection for nature began as a young child. Inspired by her mother's love for nature, Rachel first began writing about the environment and then went on to study biology at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. She later received her Master's Degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

Her love for biology and nature brought her to a career with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries writing articles. Later she worked as a scientist and Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Rachel soon discovered she had a gift for writing and wrote her first book in 1941 titled, Under the Sea-Wind. Her next two books were biographies of the ocean, The Sea Around Us, written in 1952 and The Edge of the Sea written in 1955.  These two books made her a famous naturalist.  Her final book Silent Spring written in 1962 is about the indiscriminate use of poisonous chemicals and sprays used to kill insects and their ill effects on the environment and humans. She sought to bring public awareness that the use of such chemicals had deadly consequences and the full long term effects of these chemicals were not yet known. She encouraged more research on the effects of releasing pesticides and chemicals into the environment.  This in turn set off  massive controversy regarding the use of pesticides and chemicals on our crops, backyards and environment. Carson believed in 'sparing, selective and intelligent' use of chemicals and fought hard to oppose 'blanket' spraying of chemicals.

'It is the public that is being asked to assume the risks that the insect controllers calculate. The public must decide whether it wishes to continue on the present road, and it can do so only when in full possession of the facts.'  

'We still talk in terms of conquest. We still haven't become mature enough to think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a vast and incredible universe. Man's attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature.'

'But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself. The rains have become an instrument to bring down from the atmosphere the deadly products of atomic explosions. Water, which is probably our most important natural resource, is now used and re-used with incredible recklessness.'  

'Now, I truly believe, that we in this generation, must come to terms with nature, and I think we're challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves.'

To learn more about Rachel Carson click here.

 

 

 

Last Modified: January 30, 2009