Rachel Carson Defended Nature
Inspired Environmental Movement and DDT Bans
Rachel Carson was a scientist and writer ahead of her time. She had the courage to speak out on the dangers and long term effects of pesticides on the environment.
Rachel Carson, writer, ecologist and biologist was either hated or hailed. This year marks the centennial of her birth, which was on May 27, 1907 in Springdale PA.
- She was one of the first people to express her concern about the use of pesticides, particularly DDT. Her form of protest was through writing the book “Silent Spring” in 1962. Its name is meant to represent the songs being silenced by the poisoning of birds and other wildlife because of pesticide use. In 1963, the bald eagle was almost extinct because of DDT use but now their population is up to 10,000.
The book helped inspire an environmental movement as well as DDT bans. Her writings warned of the dangers and long-term effects of indiscriminate pesticide use. President Kennedy read Silent Spring and decided to investigate further, which eventually led to DDT being banned in the US in 1972.
With her knack for breaking down scientific subjects in an elegant clear way that lay men could understand, Silent Spring soon became a bestseller. Other books about nature she authored include Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea.
- When she first enrolled in Pennsylvania College for Women, she intended to specialize in English but later switched to biology. She received a masters degree in zoology in 1932 and after that taught for many years. In 1936, she began working as a marine biologist with the US Bureau of Fisheries, which later became US Fish and Wildlife Service. She remained there for 15 years and was the Editor in Chief for all publications for the last three years.
While Rachel continues to be blamed for the outright banning of DDT her dispute was with its indiscriminate use. Critics say she is the cause of millions dying from Malaria and insist that DDT would have been able to prevent its spread.
More DDT Information
- DDT was first used in Austria in the 1870’s and then later during World War II to effectively stop the spread of lice and control mosquitoes. After the war, it began to be used by the agricultural industry.
- The World Health Organization continues to support a decreased reliance on DDT as a form of malaria control. DDT does not break down easily and is absorbed into water, land, animals and people. Its effects on people include miscarriages, infertility, developmental delays in children and birth defects. DDT is still used in some countries but other alternatives are being sought.
- Mexico no longer uses DDT to control diseases and in one project proved they could reduce malaria without it. They did this through education, planting natural insect repellent plants, removing algae, coating homes with lime, removing vegetation and using larvicides.
Carson died on April 14, 1964 after a lengthy fight with breast cancer but her legacy lives on. There continues to be much debate on how to best remember her but she was an excellent writer and a good scientist whose contributions have helped the environment.
“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.” (April 3, 1963 CBS series, The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson)
Sources:CBS, 2007,Silent Spring Institute, 2007, Natural Resources Defense Council, 2007, Pesticide Action Center of North America, 2007, RachelCarson.Org, 2007
