Rachel Carson's exploration of DDT led her to conclude that exposure to the pesticide is directly linked to harmful consequences not only occurring in humans and animals, but also in the environment.
Research
Carson knew she would be persecuted for the claims she made in her novel Silent Spring. Therefore, she spent long hours researching and supported her accusations extensively.
"The Audubon Society had traced declining bird populations to pesticide use and recruited Carson to help. . . Carson gained access to confidential data, unpublished scientific literature, and interviews with scientists researching pesticides. Over four years she consulted with biologists, chemists, entomologists, and pathologists, gathering data for her book." -Rex Weyler, Rachel Carson - And the Birth of Modern Environmentalism She cared deeply for the environment as well as all of humanity, thus advocating through her writing for the earth's current and future inhabitants. "For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals from the moment of conception until death." -Rachel Carson, Silent Spring |
Silent Spring ~ 1962
Initial InspirationIn 1958, Rachel received a letter from one of her close friends complaining about ariel spraying. The letter motivated Rachel to begin researching and writing for Silent Spring.
"R.C. Cabot claims that the DDT used by the State in the mosquito control aerial spraying last summer was harmless. It killed about a dozen of my darling half-tame birds, and I claim it's wil[l]ful trespassing over private property where such lethal showers were not needed or wanted; and that it is inhumane, stupid, undemocratic, and probably unconstitutional." -Olga Huckins in her letter to Rachel |
Breast CancerRachel was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1960, but it did not deter her from writing Silent Spring.
"If I kept silent, I could never again listen to a veery's song without overwhelming self-reproach." -Rachel Carson in a letter to Dorothy Freeman |
Publication EffectAlthough Carson had no intention of sparking the environmental movement, the publication of Silent Spring became its catalyst.
"Because the environmental movement survived the end of the Cold War, the context in which it was born, Carson can be credited not only with putting the movement into motion but for doing so in a way that would allow it to eventually stand on its own." -William Souder, The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson |