Rachel Carson

Often called the mother of the modern environmental movement, Rachel Carson rocked the world in 1962 with her book Silent Spring, which warned the American public of the impact of pesticides on the environment and unleashed an extraordinary national debate about science and safety. At the centre of that firestorm stood Ms. Carson, a strong, intensely private woman who balanced her love of the natural world and passion for writing with personal strife, including a heartbreaking battle with breast cancer.

American Experience: Rachel Carson Often called the mother of the modern environmental movement, Rachel Carson rocked the world in 1962 with her book Silent Spring, which warned the American public of the impact of pesticides on the environment and unleashed an extraordinary national debate about science and safety. At the center of that firestorm stood Ms. Carson, a strong, intensely private woman who balanced her love of the natural world and passion for writing with personal strife, including a heartbreaking battle with breast cancer.

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring antagonized some of the most powerful interests in the nation–including the farm block and the agricultural chemical industry–and helped launch the modern environmental movement.