“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
ALFRED EISENSTAEDT / Time Life Pictures
Rachel Carson lived from 1907 to 1964. She grew up in Maryland, attended college, and ultimately earned her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins during a time where few women were achieving any sort of higher education. Her work in the environmental science field began as a writer for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. She was the second woman ever to be hired by the organization. Eventually, she published several works designed to increase interest and awareness in the environment, including The Sea Around Us, which won the 1952 National Book Award for Nonfiction and launched her into the academic and public eye as a respected conservationist.
Her most famous book was Silent Spring, which challenged the use of pesticides. Many credit the book with launching the environmental movement because it was so widely read by the public. The book was also one of the first widely-read pieces to illustrate the links between pesticides with cancer and other health problems in humans. Much of its focus was on DDT, a pesticide that was ultimately banned by the EPA.
Rachel Carson died from breast cancer in 1964. She received a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom from Jimmy Carter. In 2010, she was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the top 25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century.
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