In 1958, Rachel Carson received a letter

describing songbirds suddenly dropping 
from tree branches.

The writer blamed their deaths 
on a pesticide called DDT

that exterminators had sprayed 
on a nearby marsh.

The letter was the push 
Carson needed to investigate DDT.

She had already heard from scientists 
and conservationists who were worried

that rampant use of the pesticide 
posed a threat to fish, birds,

and possibly humans.

She began to make inquiries 
through government contacts

from her years working 
in the United States Bureau of Fisheries.

She asked: “what has already silenced 
the voices of spring?”

In 1962, Carson published her findings 
in "Silent Spring."

Her book documented 
the misuse of chemicals

and their toll on nature 
and human health.

"Silent Spring" immediately drew both 
applause and impassioned dissent—

along with vicious personal attacks 
on the author.

How did this mild-mannered biologist 
and writer ignite such controversy?

Carson began her career 
as a hardworking graduate student,

balancing her studies in biology 
at John Hopkins University

with part time jobs.

Still, she had to leave school 
before completing her doctorate

to provide for her ailing father 
and sister.

Carson found part time work 
with the Bureau of Fisheries

writing for a radio program 
on marine biology.

Her ability to write materials that could 
hold the general public’s attention

impressed her superiors, 
and in 1936,

she became the second woman 
to be hired at the Bureau full time.

In 1941, she published 
the first of three books on the ocean,

combining science with lyrical meditations
on underwater worlds.

These explorations resonated 
with a wide audience.

In "Silent Spring," 
Carson turned her attention

to the ways human actions 
threaten the balance of nature.

DDT was originally used during 
World War II to shield crops from insects

and protect soldiers 
from insect-borne diseases.

After the war, it was routinely sprayed 
in wide swaths to fight pests,

often with unforeseen results.

One attempt to eradicate fire ants 
in the southern U.S.

killed wildlife indiscriminately,
but did little to eliminate the ants.

In spite of this and other mishaps, 
the US Department of Agriculture

and chemical companies 
extolled the benefits of DDT.

There was little regulation or public 
awareness about its potential harm.

But Carson showed how 
the overuse of chemicals

led to the evolution 
of resistant species—

which, in turn, encouraged the development
of deadlier chemicals.

Since DDT does not dissolve in water,

she asserted that over time 
it would accumulate in the environment,

the bodies of insects, the tissues 
of animals who consume those insects,

and eventually humans.

She suggested that exposure to DDT 
might alter the structure of genes,

with unknown consequences 
for future generations.

The response to "Silent Spring" 
was explosive.

For many people the book 
was a call to regulate substances

capable of catastrophic harm.

Others objected that Carson 
hadn’t mentioned DDT’s role

controlling the threat insects 
posed to human health.

Former Secretary of Agriculture 
Ezra Taft Benson demanded to know

“why a spinster with no children 
was so concerned about genetics?”

and dismissed Carson 
as “probably a Communist.”

A lawyer for a pesticide manufacturer 
alluded to Carson and her supporters

as “sinister influences” 
aiming to paint businesses as “immoral.”

In reality, Carson had focused 
on the dangers of chemicals

because they weren’t widely understood, 
while the merits were well publicized.

She rejected the prevailing belief 
that humans

should and could control nature.

Instead, she challenged people 
to cultivate

“maturity and mastery, not of nature, 
but of ourselves.”

Carson died of cancer in 1964,

only two years after 
the publication of "Silent Spring."

Her work galvanized a generation 
of environmental activists.

In 1969, under pressure 
from environmentalists,

Congress passed 
the National Environmental Policy Act

that required federal agencies to evaluate
environmental impacts of their actions.

To enforce the act,

President Richard Nixon created 
the Environmental Protection Agency.

And in 1972, the EPA issued 
a partial ban on the use of DDT.

Long after her death, Rachel Carson 
continued to advocate for nature

through the lingering impact 
of her writing.