Above photo: Courtesy of Jeanne Rizzo
Silent Spring
After writing three books about marine biology, Carson was reluctant to write "Silent Spring." In the winter of 1958 Carson received a letter from Olga Owens Huckins. Huckins lived in an area of Massachusetts where large portions of land had just been sprayed with DDT. She was horrified to find dead birds in her back yard. In desperation, she wrote to Carson asking her to help prevent future spraying. This was a turning point for Carson. She decided to pen the book and take matters into her own hands. After almost four years, "Silent Spring" was published in September 1962 and is still one of the most controversial and revolutionary books of our time. Carson was among the first ever to inform the public of how toxic certain pesticides were, and addressed the issue of how universally and carelessly they were being used. "She spawned a movement by questioning what was safe."-Chris Lane. "Silent Spring" may have been a book about pesticides, but it eventually helped inspire the modern day environmental movement.
Above: Interview with Mark Munger
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