Her legacy

Carson did not simply sit back and watch after writing Silent Spring. Although she tended to turn down requests from reporters for interviews and speaking requests, she soon changed her mind when she realized how many people she could reach out to if she were to appear on TV or speak in public.

Hence, in 1963 she allowed Life magazine to run an article on her writing of Silent Spring, with the condition that they did not ask her any personal questions unrelated to the book. She also appeared on CBS Report’s television special “The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson” alongside a pesticide company scientist. At that time, weak and tired from the radiation therapy she was undergoing for breast cancer, Life described Carson’s as a “gentle storm center”. Although she looked poor in health, she spoke with a sturdiness, presence and calm that demonstrated her passion for her cause and knowledge of the issue.

In the year before she died (very poor in health and wearing a wig), Carson courageously testified before President Kennedy’s Science Advisory Committee and once more a month later in Congress regarding the detrimental effects of DDT on wildlife. Though she only lived until the age of 57, Rachel Carson’s efforts in conservation both forced the government into action and inspired many people, who like her, chose to protect the natural environment and wildlife.

In 1964, the U.S. Congress passed the Wilderness Act, which would protect around 9 million acres of America’s forests. In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed, which together with the Environmental Defense Fund (a group of American scientists studying the harmful effects of DDT on specific birds), managed to get DDT banned in the U.S. in 1972. All these may not have happened if Carson had not spoken against DDT.

Bird species such as the bald eagle and peregrine falcon were facing the prospect of extinction as exposure to DDT had caused the weakening of eggshells, hence preventing their ability to reproduce. Carson’s efforts along with those that she inspired, managed to protect them from extinction.

Winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, climate change activist and former U.S. vice president- Al Gore, credits Carson for having a huge influence on his work and believes that without Silent Spring, the environmental movement “might never have happened at all”.

 

"Rachel Carson, 1951" By Brooks Studio, Courtesy of the Rachel Carson Council.

“Rachel Carson, 1951”. By Brooks Studio, Courtesy of the Rachel Carson Council.