Fiftyyearsago, RachelCarsonwroteandpublishedSilentSpring. Carsonwasaheadofhertime. ShesaidpesticideslikeDDTweredamagingtheenvironmentandhumanhealth.Althoughthebookbecameaninspirationfortheenvironmentalmovement, thebattlefortheenvironmentcontinues.
Inthe 1950s, theU.S. DepartmentofAgriculturewassprayingmorethanaquarter-millionkilogramsofpesticideseachyear. SilentSpring, byRachelCarson, revealedthatpesticideslikeDDTwerelethalnotonlyforinsectsbutforalllivingthings.
SilentSpringessentiallytoldthereadingpublicthathumanbeingscouldalterthenaturalworldinwaysthatwerequitedeadlyandthatitcouldbepotentiallylethaltohumanbeingsaswellastootherpartsofthenaturalworld, saidLindaLear, theauthorofabiographyonCarson.
MorethansixmillioncopiesofthebookhavebeensoldintheU.S. Itsbeentranslatedintosome 30 languages.
IntheWashingtonsuburbs, thehousewhereCarsonwroteSilentSpringisnowaNationalHistoricLandmark. Carsonwasapathbreaker.InSilentSpring, sheiswritinginavoicethatIcallapocalypticwriting, addedLindaLear. Sheistryingtosoundanalarmtogetourattention.
ThirtyyearsafterSilentSpringwaspublished, publictelevision, initsprogramTheAmericanExperience, calledthebookoneofthemostimportantofourtime.
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