By Cassandra Bernyk
For anyone who aspires to be an advocate for our sick environment and wishes to make a change in our world, the best place to be inspired is Silent Spring written by Rachel Carson. Published in 1962, Carson’s book turned already known facts about how harmful DDT was becoming to our environment into a must-read experience that appealed to millions of concerned people. This book single handedly kicked off the huge environmental movement of the 1960’s, which happened due to many aspects of the book.
This book had such a profound effect on our world for many different reasons, in my opinion. One of the biggest reasons was that Rachel Carson was able to take scientific facts that were only known among scientists, and made them appealing to the everyday person so that they could be informed.
Carson was able to do this because she grew up in an environment just like an average American experiencing the same things and the same environmental hazards. This gives Carson a great perspective on a pressing issue for the American people who don’t have time or maybe even the knowledge to just understand scientific facts. She related a huge hazard to something simple that an everyday person comes in contact with, birds. Silent Spring is written in such an intriguing way that is interesting to non-science interested citizens, which is really key when trying to inform the majority on such a pressing issue.
Another reason Silent Spring had such a huge impact on the society at the time was that it was the first book to really stress an environmental issue. Before this, Americans didn’t know that something that felt so normal in their society could have such harmful effects on things they loved and, potentially, on themselves. Being the first book to really do this sparked interest and passion in other people, which then creates a domino effect. More people becoming enlightened and interested leads to more light being shed on these hazards, with a bigger following.
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