Legacy of Rachel Carson

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Rachel Carson has forever changed the very dynamic of the United States. Her books brought environmental issue to the forefront of public concern. She advocated fiercely and passionately for a change in the government’s policy with the environment. Her work and tireless effort centered on the growing problem of insecticides and pesticides in the general public, namely DDT. The chemical itself was extremely prevalent in the domestic markets but also a popular insecticide used during WWII. In one of life’s great ironies, the creator of DDT, Paul Muller, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine 1948. DDT left a gilded imprint on America’s memory but Rachel Carson was to show the opposite was true. The publication of Silent Spring sent a wave of support for environmental activism through the general public. Her book became a catalyst for ecological change. Her message could not discriminate and disseminated quickly through the US. The word spread far and wide enough to where it reached the highest levels of government, including then President-elect John F Kennedy. Carson led by a powerful conviction, advocated both to Congress and to the public for change. By sheer conviction alone her calls were answered, and in more ways than one. Rachel Carson left behind a truly enviable legacy of charisma, passion, and dedication. But what I believe to be her most important legacy was the fact Rachel Carson proved that one person can make the difference for everyone. As in her case to dramatically alter the way American’s view their environment and the stance of the Federal government on nature.

Rachel Carson worked at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as a marine biologist. While at the FWS, Carson produced three books on the ocean’s ecosy...

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...s able to do what many people can only dream of completing. While not only fighting a losing battle with breast cancer, Rachel Carson still wrote Silent Spring and continued to campaign against unbearable odds to find success. As one person, she lead the charge against pesticides but was unable to witness much of the advancements she had helped fight for. From one voice came a call, a plea, to rethink our lives as humans and the interaction we have with the earth. The legacy Rachel Carson leaves for all is the example by which others may follow to fight for change because if she could accomplish so much in such little a time frame by herself, just imagine the possibilities if the rest of us followed in her footsteps of advocacy.

Works Cited

Sideris, L. H., & Moore, K. D. (2008). Rachel Carson: legacy and challenge. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

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