Rachel Carson's Lessons, 5 Years After "Silent Spring"
-From Calm Leadership, Lasting Change
-From Calm Leadership, Lasting Change
Summary:
Rachel Carson played a central role in starting the environmental movement, by forcing government and business to confront the dangers of pesticides. She saw it as her mission to share her observations with a wider audience. She faced outburst of public reaction and black lash from chemical companies, and despite her personal and public struggles, she was an informed spokeswoman. She spent a lot of her time researching and finishing 'Silent Spring' and trying to make it as best as it could be. She was particularly interest in possible connections between cancer and human exposure to pesticides. Battling with her on boasts of breast cancer, she feared that people would question her objectivity of her findings, especially the chapters that linked pesticides and cancer. She argued that synthetic pesticides like DDT were being applied in profligate quantities without regard to their effect on human health, animals, and the environment. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy, citing the book, appointed a committee to study pesticide use; and during the next two years, various government units called for increased oversight of and reductions of pesticides. Chemical makers counterattacked; invoking a cold-war language. In late 1960s, including an oil spill, chemical fire, agent orange used in the Vietnam War, underscored her warnings that efforts to control nature threatened man's survival. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 reflected mounting public concern. Government agencies then began operations like banning DDT, passing the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act act with a pivotal role in starting the modern environmental movement.
Rachel Carson played a central role in starting the environmental movement, by forcing government and business to confront the dangers of pesticides. She saw it as her mission to share her observations with a wider audience. She faced outburst of public reaction and black lash from chemical companies, and despite her personal and public struggles, she was an informed spokeswoman. She spent a lot of her time researching and finishing 'Silent Spring' and trying to make it as best as it could be. She was particularly interest in possible connections between cancer and human exposure to pesticides. Battling with her on boasts of breast cancer, she feared that people would question her objectivity of her findings, especially the chapters that linked pesticides and cancer. She argued that synthetic pesticides like DDT were being applied in profligate quantities without regard to their effect on human health, animals, and the environment. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy, citing the book, appointed a committee to study pesticide use; and during the next two years, various government units called for increased oversight of and reductions of pesticides. Chemical makers counterattacked; invoking a cold-war language. In late 1960s, including an oil spill, chemical fire, agent orange used in the Vietnam War, underscored her warnings that efforts to control nature threatened man's survival. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 reflected mounting public concern. Government agencies then began operations like banning DDT, passing the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act act with a pivotal role in starting the modern environmental movement.
Reflection:
Before reading this article, I knew very little about Rachel Carson. I thought she was just a woman that wanted to show the world that these chemicals were bad for the environment. I didn't know she was battling so many personal issues including many cancer warnings. The fact that she was battling with such things, and continued to do her work and to show the world what was in these chemicals and the effects of them, gives her so much more credibility. I like the fact that she hid these issues from the public, because of the bias that some people might feel towards her. Instead of reading what she wrote, they would think that she only wrote it to put blame on something for her own health issues; which were definitely not the case. I think she has a lot of strength to do what she did, and despite her last few moments not being as great as could have been, because of the chemical companies disputes and counterattacks, it was still great for her because of the effects that people did after she died. After reading this article, it made my viewpoint on Rachel Carson change a lot. She seemed like a very sweet sounding lady, and if she were still to be alive today, it I wouldn't have mind to meet her. She seemed really nice, and had such great goals that she was lucky enough to achieve, alive or departed.
Before reading this article, I knew very little about Rachel Carson. I thought she was just a woman that wanted to show the world that these chemicals were bad for the environment. I didn't know she was battling so many personal issues including many cancer warnings. The fact that she was battling with such things, and continued to do her work and to show the world what was in these chemicals and the effects of them, gives her so much more credibility. I like the fact that she hid these issues from the public, because of the bias that some people might feel towards her. Instead of reading what she wrote, they would think that she only wrote it to put blame on something for her own health issues; which were definitely not the case. I think she has a lot of strength to do what she did, and despite her last few moments not being as great as could have been, because of the chemical companies disputes and counterattacks, it was still great for her because of the effects that people did after she died. After reading this article, it made my viewpoint on Rachel Carson change a lot. She seemed like a very sweet sounding lady, and if she were still to be alive today, it I wouldn't have mind to meet her. She seemed really nice, and had such great goals that she was lucky enough to achieve, alive or departed.