Leadership
Why was Rachel Carson a leader?
General Douglas MacArthur once said, "a true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”
-Courtesy of Cathy Gorn, and Ann Claunch In 1962, Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" and stood very much alone in her opposition to the widespread use of DDT and its harmful effects. She was among the first to suggest, it is our moral imperative to appreciate our connection to the natural environment and it is our obligation to tread lightly and protect our natural resources. Along with other environmental pioneers, her work was an inspirational call to arms that led to breakthroughs like the modern day environmental movement. The courageous stand she took helped inspire, the first Earth Day, ground breaking legislation including the The Clean Air Act, the establishment of both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and a wave of additional legislation aimed at protecting everything from: waterways, endangered species, and the ozone layer. Carson used the legislative process to express her concerns over the misuse of pesticides. Carson gave testimony to the Senate subcommittee. PDF: Courtesy of The Rachel Carson Council
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"Rachel Carson was a leader, because she had a university education, vast experience, a community of scientists to review chapters, and most important, the courage to speak out. She had an existing readership audience from her previous books including 1951 National Book Club award winner The Sea Around Us and because the time was ripe for an articulate writer to step forward on this issue." -Thomas L. Kurt, MD, MPH
Medical Toxicologist Above: Interview with Chris Lane from ACES.
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"Silent Spring is a touchstone for the power of natural science within society. Published in 1962 (a year after Eisenhower gave his famous parting speech about the Military-industrial complex) the book argued that uncontrolled and unexamined pesticide use was harming and even killing not only birds and other wildlife, but also humans. Its title was meant to evoke a spring season in which no bird songs could be heard, because they had all vanished as a result of pesticide abuse. The metaphor was inspired by a John Keats poem, “La Belle Dame sans Merci”, which contained the lines “The sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing."[12] The meticulous scientific message in Silent Spring was carried forward and made resonant through tapping one of the most powerful events in temperate annual cycles--the Spring chorus of birds--that brings the naturalist out in nearly all of us. By making the impact of pesticides real through her poetic narrative, Carson not only awakened us all, she also inspired a policy movement that has forever changed the role of government in ensuring ecological stewardship across public and private sectors of societies around the world."
-Christopher E. Filardi, Ph.D.
Director, Pacific Programs
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
American Museum of Natural History
-Christopher E. Filardi, Ph.D.
Director, Pacific Programs
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
American Museum of Natural History
Global Followers
"Silent Spring" quickly became popular internationally. Not only was it well known but it was also influential. "Silent Spring" rallied people all over the world to fight to ban DDT.
"Below is a partial list of countries that have taken steps to reduce or eliminate the use of DDT."
Countries where the use of DDT is banned or restricted Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Poland, St. Lucia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Yemen, Zimbabwe. Courtesy of The National Resources Defense Center. |
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