Rachel Carson

Paper Summary:

Rachel Carson is celebrated as one of the most influential conservationist of the 20th century and one who will continue to to inspire generations to come. This paper examines the life story of Carson, beginning with her childhood, her university education, and her love for nature. It also focuses on Carson's most famous book, "The Silent Spring", which opened the world's eyes to the dangers of pesticide such as DDT and changed the course of this form of destruction to the environment.

From the Paper:

"In 1958 Carson received a letter from Olga Owens Huckins, owner of a private bird sanctuary in Duxbury, Massachusetts, who was horrified one day to find birds dead and dying throughout her property (Rachel pp). Explaining that only days earlier local agencies had conducted a massive, unannounced spraying of the pesticide DDT, Huckins begged Carson to find someone in government to look into the regulations regarding chemical spraying (Rachel pp). Carson had long suspected the danger posed by the use of DDT and in fact had once tried to interest Reader's Digest in an article based on research by Elmer Higgins and Clarence Cottram at the Fish and Wildlife Service, but Reader's Digest declined and the findings were never released to the public (Rachel pp)."

More papers on Rachel Carson:

• Term Paper # 117901 : "Rachel Carson and the Environmentalist Movement"
• Book Review # 121061 : "Rachel Carson and the Environment"
• Term Paper # 121169 : "Rachel Carson and DDT"
• Narrative Essay # 136708 : "Web Discussions and Rachel Carson"

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