Years of working for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and looking through scientific findings put Carson in a position where she was blatantly aware of man’s impact on the natural environment. In 1945, Carson began to take notice of a new pesticide that was being sold by chemical companies, this chemical was called DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane).

In 1945, a FWS plane flew over 117-acres of forest in the Patuxent Research Refuge in Prince George’s County, Maryland, dispersing DDT in unequal amounts over they forest and Patuxent River. Through experiments at Patuxent, it soon became clear to Carson that the chemical was hazardous not only to insects, but other organisms as well. Unable to sit back and watch as DDT was becoming more and more widespread, Carson decided to speak up and take action.

“[Photograph of Rachel Carson at a typewriter]”. Courtesy of Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.