Rachel Carson: The Modern Environmentalism Movement

Rachel Carson, a biologist, was the founder of the modern environmentalism movement during the 1960’s and 70’s. This movement spread quickly throughout the United States. Carson is known today for publishing her very famous book Silent Spring. This book was published during such an important time in history and is significant to this day because it tells us a lot about the environment we live in today. Many people have been fascinated by her book and several other pieces of work. She has achieved many things in life and has also suffered a couple consequences.
Rachel Louise Carson was born May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Robert Warden Carson and Maria McLean. As a young little girl, she had such a wide love …show more content…
Carson passed away at the age of 56 but the beauty and intelligence of her work still lingers around today. She only got to live 18 months after her book was published. Even though she didn’t live long enough to accept these, she was honored for many things like the Presidential Medal of Freedom award from President Jimmy Carter and the renaming of the post office in Springdale, Pennsylvania where she was born. She was also honored on several television programs and mentioned in some industrial leaders interviews. In April of 1963, she got the opportunity to be on the "CBS Reports" documentary, and "60 Minutes". Her book and what she knew about the pesticides were proven to be correct by the President's Science Advisory Committee's report. It was released May 15, 1963. This report is what let people know that the pesticides being used in the environment were poisonous. When Carson appeared in California for a subcommittee by Abraham Ribicoff, they noticed that she was wearing a wig and also used a cane to walk. None of her friends really knew what was happening with her and why she wore wigs and was barely seen after this. She had a secret that she kept to herself for a very long time. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and was battling through it when her book …show more content…
In 1970, The Environmental Protection Agency was created. The reason why it was created was to protect the environment and those living in it. After this there were also other acts and things that were made to keep the environment as clean as possible. Even though her book caused a lot of controversy, it caught a lot of people's attention which is why there was a difference in the nations water and why the air was much more clear than it has ever been since the 1970's. After reading her book and listening to what Rachel Carson had to say about the environment, everyone came to the realization that there was definitely something wrong with the harmful substances that were being used on nature. They knew that something needed to be done. All because of Rachel Carson's wonderful idea and her book, she was able to change the environment in several ways. She is what made the world a better place for humans to