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    65 views19 pages

    Rachel Carson - Silent Spring - Excerpt

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    Adelina Duman

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 19
    Under the Sea-Wind The Seu Around Us ‘The Big ofthe Sea Silene Spring SILENT SPRING RACHEL CARSON Introduction by Linda Lear Afterword by Edvard O. Wilton ‘Boton New ok Introduction ty Linda Lear Hieapuines 1 118 New rk Tesi uly 96 capaed the peso satinen “Sa Spring Wao ly same” a few montis Beween the New lrkrt serazaton of Set ‘Spring in Jane and ts pubiation in book form that September, Rachel Cason alarm touched off national debate o the te of chemical pestis, th esponsibility of scene, and the ime {sof technologie pores When Carton ded trey eighteen monte nthe epg of 196th age of iy heh ‘Eanmononcoe doe tories noe jomestie production of DDT andthe creson of gras 00% ‘movement demanding otecton of the environment through fate ad federal eplton. Carson’ writing iniated « en Formation inthe relaosship between mans and the natal wotld and sired un sateing of public environmen eon Teishard to remebe: the clara imate that greeted Sen Springs unerand the fay that ws ue aga ie quedy determined athor. Carton tess that we wer ube jectng ourselves to low potonng bythe mine of chemical Pesce tha polled te environmen: may seem ike ommon Eurrency now tin 96s Siew Spring contained the Herself socal revaion. Canon wrote as tne of new floence and Intense soi conformity Th cold war ih climate of yp cion and intolerance, wis at ie zenith, The chemical industry, one ofthe chief bene of post techoogy wa ao oe of techie ators of ie nations prope, DDT enabled the congoes of insect pes in agrclre snd of ancient ince bomedsase jus sur 5 te some bom denoyed Amer few’ miliary enemies and dramatically lured che balance of power between humans and nature. Th: public endowed Chemists at workin their starched white cousin emote labors- tories, with almost divine wisdom. The results of diet labors were gilded with the presumption of beneicence. In postwar “Amerie, science was god, and science was mle. (Carson was an outsider who had never been part ofthe scien- sie establishment, fist because she was 2 woman but aso be- fxose her chosen field, biology, was held is low esteem in the ‘nuclear age- Her career path was nontraditional she had no aci- emie alliation, no institutional voice. She deliberately wrore for the publie rather than for 2 narrow scientific audience, For anyone else such independence would have been an enor- ‘mous detriment. But by the ime Silent Spring was published, Carson’ outsider status had become a disinet advantage. AS the science establishment would discover, ic was impossible (0 dismiss her. Rachel Carson fist discovered nature in the company of her mother, a devotee of the nature stady movement. She wandered the banks of the Allegheny River in the pristine vilage of Springdale, Pennsylvania, jastnorth of Pcesburph, observing the ‘wildlife and plants around her and particularly curious about the habits of birds. ‘Her childhood, though isolated by povery and family ror~ moi, ws not lonely She loved to read and displayed an obvious talent for writing, publishing her fist story in a children’ liter~ bry magazine atthe age of ten. By the time she entered Pennsyl- ‘ania College for Women (now Chatham College), she had read ‘videly in dhe English Romande tradition and had artcalaed a pemonal sense of mission, her “vision speed.” A dynamic f= hale zoology profeseor expanded her intelectual horizons by Urging er t take the daring step of majoring in biology rather than English. In doing ro, Carson discovered that science not ‘nly engaged her mind bu give her “someting to write about.” decided to pursue career in science, aware thatin the 19308 there were few opportnities for women Scholarships allowed her to study at Woods Hole Biological Laboratory, where she fell in love with the sea, and at Johns Hopkins University, where she was isolated one of a handful of women in marine biology. She had no mentors and ao money to ‘contnve in graduate schoo after completing an M.A. in zoology in 1932. Along the way she worked asa laboratory assistant in the school of public health, where she was lucky enough tore sive some traning in experimental genetics. As employment opportunites in science dwindled, she began writing articles about the naturel history of Chesapeake Bay for the Baltimore ‘Sen, Although these were years of nancial and emotional strug ile, Carson realized tit she did not have to choose between sci- fence and writing, thatthe had the talent ro do both. "From childhood on, Carson was interested in the long history ‘ofthe earth, in its patems and rhythms, its ancient seas, itsewolv- ing life forms, She wasan ecologst—fescinated by intersections and connections butalvays aware of the whole —before that per~ spective was accorded scholarly legitimacy. A fosil shell she ‘ound while digging inthe hill above the Allegheny allege prompted questions about the creatures of the oceans that had ‘once covered the area At Johns Hopkins, an experiment with changes inthe salinity of water in an eel tank prompted her sdy the life eyele of those ancient fish that migrate from conti- rental rivers to the Sargaso Sea. The desire to understand the sea from 2 nonhuman perspective led to her fist book, Under she ‘Ses-Wind, which featured a common seabird, the sandeling, hose life eel, drives by ancestalinstines, the rhythms of the tides, and the search fer food, involves an arduous journey from Pragonia tothe Arse Cirele. From the outset Carson acknowl edged her “kinship wits other forms of fe" and always wrote to Impress that reltonshp on her readers. ‘Carson wat conforted with the problem of environmental polltion at 2 formative period in he lif. Daring her adoes PEAS he second wave of the industrial revlon was ering Feiebungh ares ino the non and ste! ital ofthe Western ford The de wu of Spang ndaiched between 0 ge cou-ire elec plants was transformed into © iy Stmelan, i fouled by chem eon, rie polled ip indo wast. arson cou not wat escape, She ob- Mave da the captains of say took ne notice of the dfle- Sten of her hometown and no esponsiiiy fort The expei- The made her freer suspicious of promises of “beter ving ‘trough chemistry” and of chime that ecology would crete 3 rogteirely ghee Teague Carin landed a job asa parsime weiter of radio sci on ocean if forthe eral Buren of Ferien Bai Shore By might she wrote relane aces forthe Sm descib- Ii the pollution of the oyster bes ofthe Chesapeake by indas- Trai rato she uged changes in oye ecding and dredging ces and pola reglton ofthe eens pouring tnt Tica. She signed hersier RL. Caron, hoping that read- SS wold suse tht he wer was mal ands eke hers tne soa. St yeat ner Carson became junior agi biologi fo the Bares of Ferien, one of only two profesional women thee, Tad begun low bt seady advance trcogh the ranks ofthe ‘ey wh became the US. Pa nd Wa Seve Mor Her erry lets were quickly recogeized and she was Tafa eo eit other seni’ fld reper ask he trmed sinvan opporuiy to broaden er scenic Enowledge, deepen Se commen wih ats and ave making of sence palsy By 1p4p Caron was erin hil ageny Tubleadons writing her own ding Series on te new UES wit fag stem and prsptigin interageny on~ fences on the lt developments in sine and echo} er goremment responses slowed the pace of her own ‘writing. Ie took her tn years to synthesize the latest research on ‘oceanography, but her perseverance pu off. She became an ‘overnight trary clsbriy when The Sea round Us was rst se- ile it The New Dkr it 4953. The book won may var, including the National Book Avard for nonfiction, and Carson was elected tothe Anerican Academy’ of Ars and Letters. She ‘was landed not only for her scientific expertise and synthesis of wide-ranging material but also for her Iria, poetic voice. The ‘Sea Around Us and is bestselling sucesso, Te Edge ofthe Sea, ‘made Rachel Carson the foremost clence writer in America, She tnderstood that there was a deep need for writers who could re- port on and interpret the natural world, Readers around the ‘world found comfor in her clear explanations of complex sei= «ence, her description ofthe ereation ofthe seas, and her obvious love of the wonders of nature. Hers was a trusted voice in a world riddled by uncersingy. ‘Whenever she spoke in public, however, she took notice of ‘ominous new trends. Intoxicated with asense ofhis own power,” she wrote, "(mankind scems to be going farther and farther into more experiments forthe destruction of himself and his world." “Technology, she fears, was moving on a faster trajectory than ‘mankind sense of moral responsibil. In 1945 she tried t in terest Reader’ Digetin the alarming evidence of environmental damage from the wicespread use of the new synthetic chemical DDT and other long-lasting agricultural pesticides, By 1957 Carson believed cht these chemicals were potentially harm to the long-term heath ofthe whole biota The pollution ofthe environment by the profigate use of txic chemicals was the tlsimate act of humat hubris, a product of ignorance and greed that he fle compelled eo bear witness against. She iniseed that what science conceired and technology made possible must firs be judged for is safety and benef othe “whole stream of life." "There would be no peace for me, she wrote toa fiend, “if Tepesilene” Silent Spring he prods of her unces, deter challenged the wisdom ofa government tht allowed exe chemical 0 be pu into the entonment before knowing the longterm conse- tac of heir or Wing i langage at eveyone could Udrsand and dovery mig the public lowicge of womie flour ar retenc pint, Carson described ow corned Iyocrbons and orp phosphorus inesides altered he Ceinlar peceses of pln animal, and, by implation, ho trans Stance and tednoogy he charge, had become he Tnndmaiden ofthe chemi sndseys ras fr profi and con trol of makes, Rater tan protecting te pbb rom potent frm, the government not nly gave aproal these new produces bt did so without esalihing sy mechanism of 2¢- ‘nab. Caron queniond the moral ght of goverment teeter mn es ey cae ther pyle avid nor publicly quesion. Soc ellos aro- fac led only inthe destruc othe ning word “Can Eye ele iis posible ro ay down sch a barage of po ‘ous on de surfer ofthe car ithowt making fan for ll He the sed. “They choald not be cle Haecides but "ocd In Sil Spring, and le in esimony bores cogzessional conic, Cran ase hav one of he ox ban aan Sight mon sureybe the sight of the zen to e secre in is ‘home aps th intrason of poisons spied by ther pet- Sas" Through ignorance, red, and neggence, goverment ind alloved“pottnous and biologaly potent chemical” 0 fl indiscrmintely into the hand of eres largely oF wholly igvoran of thelr portals Tor harm.” When the public ‘Rocca, fea “elie ranging il of alsa by Eeverment tn refed toe respi for or scnow- Sige cridence of damage. Cason calegel such mod vac. the oblgndon to endure” she wot, "ges he Hight (© aoe" In Carsnt view; the postwar cule of science that aro- {aly claimed dominion over natre wa the pilsophic roo of Se problem: Human bigs shims nee aoe cone of tature bt simply one of par the survival of ne par des ended upon he hah of al She protested Une “conan ‘fan’ tol enviroment” with sbsances tha accumulate in the tsues of plant animal and human anda he potest toakerthegenecesrucre of Carson argued tat the human body was permeable and, as suc, vlneale to toe subtanecs inthe environment, Level of exposure could not be controlled nd scents could nora curately predic the long-term eects ofbonecumulaton nthe ce tof ie of nen hun wealth. She eegorilly rejected the notion proposed by nds, uy tht here were an “esi for och poss sl ssi corollary, chat the man body had “asinine cpa" that rendered the oon hares. In one of the mow contr versal pars of her book, Carson presented evidene tha some human eancers were linked topes exposure That evident and its sbsequen elaboration by many oder fesearcers con, tine to fuel one of the mort challenging and serimonioes de. tates within the scent and environmental commantaes ‘Caron concept ofthe ecology ofthe human body wat 8 ino deprare or ng dr reo bea humans an the natural environment It had enormeas Sse, auenes for our undeanding of human heath aswell so Sides toward environmental ik Sil Spring proned tat or bodies ae not boundaries. Chemical crsapton of he globe al. ‘ecm us fom eoneepon to death Like theres of nate, we are rulnerable wo pete; we to are permeate Al fom of ie de more sie than deren. ‘Cason believed shat human health would ulimatly reflect the environment ill. Tne this dea has changed our cs sponse to nature to cence, and vo the technologies at dense and deliver contamination Although the slente community hha been slow to acknowledge this aspect of Carson's work, her concept ofthe ecology of the human body may well prove to be ‘one of her most lasting contributions. "In 1962, however, the multimlion-dollar industrial chemical industry was not about to allow a former government editor, female scientist without a Ph.D. or an instcational afilition, lznown only for er lyrical books on the ses, to undermine public confidence in its products or to question its integrity Tewas clear to the industry that Rachel Carson was a hysterical woman whose alarming view ofthe future could be ignored or, neces- sary, suppressed. She was “bird and bunny lover" 2 woman ‘who kept cats and was therefore clearly suspect. She was a r0- mantic “spinster” who was simply overwrought about genetics. In shore, Carson was a woman out of contol. She had over- stepped the bounds of her gender and her science. But justin ‘ease her claims did gun an audience, the industry spent a quarter ‘of milion dollars to diseredither research and malign het char- acter In the end, the worst they could ay was that she had told only one side of the story and had based her argument on unver~ ‘abe case stadies ‘There is another, private side to the controversy over Silent ‘Spring. Unbeknown to her detractors in government and indvs- 1; Carson was fighting afar more powerful enemy than corpo- rate outrage: a rapidly metasaizing breast cancer. The miracle is that she lived to complete the book stall enduring a “cats logue of illnesses," as she called it She was immune to the chemn- ical industry effort to malign her; rather, her energies were fo- cused on the challenge of survival in order to bear witness tothe truth as she saw it She intended to disturb and dsrupe, and she id so with dignity and deliberation. ‘Alter Silt Spring caught the atention of President John F Kennedy, federal and state investigetions were aunched into the validity of Carson’ claims. Communities that had been sub- jected wo aerial spraying of pesticides against their wishes began to orgnize on 2 grass-roots level agunst the continuation of toxi pollution. Legislation was readied at all governmental lev- cls to ¢efend agninse anew kind of invisible fallout. The scien {ists who had caine “Lely grail” of knowledge were forced to ‘dit avast ignorance. While Carson knew that one book could not alter the dynamic ofthe capitalise system, an environmental ‘movement grew from her challenge, led by a public that de- ‘mand that science and government be held acountable. Car- ‘son renins an example of what one committed individual can do to change the direction of society. She was a revolutionary spokesperson fr the rights ofl life. She dared to speak out and confront the issue of the destruction of nature and to frame it as debate over th quality of al if, ‘Rachel Carson knew before she died chat her work had made dlference. She was honored by medals and awards, and posthu- ‘mousy received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 198, But she also new that the isues she had raised would not be solved {uicky or easily and that aflvent societies ae slow to sacrifice for the good of the whole. Ie was not unt ix years after Carson's death dat concerned Americans celebrated the frst Earth Day and that Congress passed the National Environmental Policy ‘Act esublishing the Environmental Protection Agency s= a buffer against our orn handiwoek. The domestic production of DDT wis banned, but nots export, ensuring that the pollution of the eth’ amnosphere, oceans, streams, and wildife would continu: unabated. DDT is found in the livers of birds and fish fon every oceanic island on the planet and inthe breast milk of ‘every mother. In spite of decades of environmental protest and awareness, and in sit of Rachel Carson's spocalypie call alee ing American to the problem of toxic chemicals, reduction of the use of pesticides has been one ofthe major policy failures of the envionmental er Global contamination isa fact of modern li, ‘Silent Spring compels each generation to reevaluate its rela- Sonthip oh naa wore aes ton ll debating the het nl reed how rte ae Mgapeo how achirecnronnenel se n nang tt PLRAE and essen manna sr Uunbl Ractel Cron ned ahr ofthe ce ad tele’ demos sons and tne pl Dae abou els fron cco Se Ene es, che pt pr sce eee fy Shei incapl el enue wl nea dnges oak crt ein rot of harm Is di make poi pel ine ca en governments olga ope o Mig y enews ale Richel Can eft egy tt only embrace su of lynch sh telco event ba tan he man pS conto ww the chen compton of Shel andeon rege rapes ale Slay sage" our se peseedon eons on Sieben ce wt Bat he moe cy we oa ts Sor anno he ona reise iver aout Se te wae we tal ner the ern of ow ce onder and bili wks oso and hyo tise bys isl for drm” Wd nd ily oe sone af he gi of Sie Spring They wenn at wee oh ing eee, cr plc of a cote of ie eat a of he tle Steam fle Tiga bok olan rtd eof mun nur, uc eprom ot is pont ‘Tuene was oxce a town in the heare of Ametica where allie seemed co live in harmony with is surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, i sping, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In aucun, oak fand maple and birch see up a blaze of color that famed and Bickered across a backdrop of pines. ‘Then foxes barked in the Tile and deer slenly erosed the Geld half hidden inthe miss of the fall mornings ‘Along the road, laurel, viburaum and alder, great ferns and wilddowers delighted the taveler'® eye through much of the year, Even in winter the roadsides were places of beauty, ‘where eountles birds eame to feed on the berries and on the seed heads of the died weeds rising above the snow. ‘The countryside wa, infact, famous for the abundance and vasiery ofits birdlife, and when the food of migrants was pouring ‘through in spring and fall people traveled from great distances 1 observe them. Others came to fish the steams, which flowed ‘lear and cold out of the hills and contained shady pools where ‘uout ly. So it had been from the days many years ago when the frst seers raised their houses, sank their well theie bans ‘Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had seced on the community mysterious maladies swepe the flocks of chickens; the eatle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere wat a shadow of death, ‘The farmers spoke of much illness among their families In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among thei patents. There had been several sudden and unexplained deachs, no only among adults bu even among children, who would be sicken sud-

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