Who is Rachel Carson?

Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) was a biologist and writer whose book, Silent Spring, was published in 1962. It detailed the dangers of DDT and other pesticides, starting the worldwide environmental movement.

In honor of Rachel Carson´s 99th birthday, May 27, the New England Mobile Book Fair is offering a 30% discount on purchases of Rachel Carson´s Silent Spring to people who mention the "Green Decade/Newton." A great opportunity to treat yourself and all your loved ones to a fresh copy of the book. Get them while they last.

Rachel Carson´s publications include:

Under the Sea Wind, 1941
This classic in nature writing provides an education in marine science that features Rynchops, a black skimmer; Scomber, a mackerel; and Auguilla, and eel. Through their lives Carson details the workings of currents, migration, life cycles, and general survival while these creatures search for food and try to avoid becoming it.

The Sea Around Us, 1951
Modern geological theories about how the earth acquired the oceans are employed by the author to describe the world´s last great frontier of mystery and darkness, the great oceans.

The Edge of the Sea, 1955
The ground bounded by the rise and fall of the tides is described by Carson in beautiful prose that appeals to the mind´s eye as well as the physical eye. This part of the world is filled with unfamiliar plant and animal forms, including the tiny periwinkle with its 3500 teeth, and the sea pansy, which survives by turning itself into a colony.

Silent Spring, 1962
In this introduction to the twenty-fifth anniversary edition, Vice-president Al Gore writes that he read this book at his mother´s insistence and discussed it at the family dinner table. He states that it had a "profound impact" on him because it showed an eloquent concern for the human stakes in a chemically uncorrupted nature. Carson posed the question in her bestseller, "Why should a poison dust or spray, however greatly it may advantage a grower or a housewife in a private project, enjoy immunity while there is any reason to suspect that it may endanger the public health or damage the natural scene?" She pressed for a research program to enable men to use pesticides safely and effectively, reducing their use to a minimum by the development of alternate means to keep insects in check.

The Sense of Wonder, 1965 (posthumous)
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.

About Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson´s Silent Spring [videorecording] / a Peace River Films production; for the American Experience (1993) presented by WGBH/Boston, WNET/New York and KCET/Los Angeles; writer and producer, Neil Goodwin. Available on video through www.prif.com. Order through the website, or contact Peace River Films at prif@prif.com (617-492-7993). "She had been a biologist for the federal government when she first took note of the effects of the unregulated use of pesticides and herbicides, especially DDT. Magazines refused to publish her articles because they were afraid of losing advertising. When Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1963, she was viciously attacked, called "an ignorant and hysterical woman." But her warning sparked a revolution in environmental policy and created a new ecological consciousness."

Lear, Linda, Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature. Linda Lear gives a compelling portrait of this heroic woman, illuminating the origin of her connection with nature and of her determination to save what she loved.

A Sense of Wonder, Living on Earth.www.loe.org See Archives, August 26, 2005. Actress Kaiulani Lee reads from her one-woman play about Carson´s writings, including "Silent Spring" and "Under the Seawind." Lee performs excerpts from her play, "A Sense of Wonder." (5:30 minutes)

Web Sites

The Rachel Carson Institute: www.chatham.edu/rci
At Chatham College in Pittsburgh. Rachel Carson attended Chatham when it was called the Pennsylvania College for Women.

Rachel Carson Homestead: www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org
Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania, located just north of Pittsburgh.

Rachel Carson: www.rachelcarson.org
A website by Linda Lear, author of the biography, Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature.

Rachel Carson Council: members.aol.com/rccouncil/ourpage

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge: rachelcarson.fws.gov
Dedicated in 1970 to the memory of Rachel Carson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, author, environmental advocate

The Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century: Rachel Carson: www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/carson.html
"Before there was an environmental movement, there was one brave woman and her very brave book."