Rachel Carson, a driving force behind the modern environmental movement, grew up in a modest homestead in Springdale Borough near the Allegheny River. For the budding marine biologist, the river's waters were an early inspiration....and in the thirty-plus years since, millions worldwide have died needlessly from malaria because of this junk-science atrocity. Thanks, Rachel!
Now, more than four decades after Ms. Carson's death, her presence may return to those waters.
Allegheny County Council tomorrow will consider renaming the Ninth Street Bridge in her honor.
...Ms. Carson's 1962 book, "Silent Spring," criticized the harmful effects of pesticides, sparking a prolonged battle with the chemical industry. In 1970, six years after Ms. Carson's death, the federal government founded the Environmental Protection Agency. Two years later, the government banned the use of the pesticide DDT in the United States.
UPDATE: JunkScience.com lists "100 things you should know about DDT". (Actually, the list has grown beyond 100)
2 comments:
In Northern Virginia, they've already named a middle school after her. The reason I know this is because my church meets in that school every Sunday. I didn't see the connection until now. Truly a hideous legacy.
I think you are participating in a misrepresentation of Rachel Carson's legacy. She did not ban DDT by herself, and the history of the ban (which was implemented nine years after her death) plainly shows that the actions of other influential people were far more pivotal than were any actions of hers.
The way to respond to the hyping of a supposed hero by environmentalists is not by hyping an image of her as a murderer.
If you are interested:
http://manshouldbealone.blogspot.com/2005/12/thanks-rachel-no-sarcasm.html
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