She was the very first person to knock some of the shine off modernity… she was the first to tap into an idea that other people were starting to feel.

Silent Spring was published in the boom of the industrial age, right after World War II when technology was beginning to really revolutionize the world. While “wonder chemicals” and similar modern products were being promoted everywhere and everyone was jumping on the bandwagon of science, technological advancement and human progress, Carson argued that it is essential that we watch for our impact on the environment. Technological advancements could easily disturb and permanently damage natural systems.

I almost threw up… this was the first time I learnt that humans could impact the environment with chemicals.

In the 1940s, concern about pesticides has been mounting among wildlife biologists about their impact on the environment, but the wider more general public was unaware about the potential harm that unrestrained human progress could have on the environment. Along with providing scientific evidence, Carson used her unique style of sentimental, poetic writing to increase reactions towards the potential adverse effects human progress could have on the environment.

The head and neck were outstretched, and the mouth often contained dirt, suggesting that the dying animal had been biting at the ground… By acquiescing in an act that causes such suffering to a living creature, who among us is not diminished as a human being?

Carson knew her audience consisted of many housewives who discover robins and squirrels poisoned by pesticides in their backyard, and she wrote in a manner to appeal to them to change their attitudes towards human progress, now that they know pesticides, representative of technological advancements in the industrial age, are detrimental to the environment.

Carson also rode on the hysteria over radiation during that period to “snap her readers to attention” about the dangers of pesticides, noting that they would cause adverse effects to human health and could potentially devastate the natural environment. Reaction toward the environmental threat was enhanced by Carson making them relevant to public sentiment about other issues, especially with something that caused alarm about its adverse effects – radiation.

Though the change of attitudes and increased public awareness were not the main cause of the outrage and controversy at the publication of Silent Spring, Carson’s presentation of the environmental threats in the book served to change attitudes of her audience, thereby getting people involved in the environmental movement that would be birthed from the controversy of the book’s publication.