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Friday, April 23, 2010

Rachel Carson

This won't be a biography at all; it's an attempt to get back in the habit of using this blog, forcing myself to write a little something here on a regular basis.
I find it astonishing that the name Rachel Carson is unfamiliar to most Americans, including yours truly. While I'd heard the name and knew she wrote "Silent Spring," I really had no idea who she was or the profound influence she had on the modern environmental movement and the creation of the EPA.
Even that aside, she was a trailblazer for women in education and the workplace. Look at where and when she went to college; likewise, her early professional career prior to becoming a fulltime writer. You'd think that anyone included in Time's 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century would at least have been heard of.
You all know how to use the Wiki, so look her up yourself, or go here http://www.rachelcarson.org/ and decide for yourself whether this is someone with whom we should all be familiar.

5 comments:

mamajoan said...

With the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day, yesterday I think, there has been some mention of Rachel Carson. I don't think her influence can be overstated. Also her courage can't be overstated as she was living with cancer while writing Silent Spring. It also took political leaders to get laws passed that banned DDT, etc. I assume you know we have a wildlife preserve in Maine named after Rachel Carson.

heidi said...

I am amazed everyday at what I have yet to learn in life, I have never heard of her, but I have bookmarked her page and in the fall I can not wait to read her book and biography, I now have my reading material for my vacation in November!

Zebster said...

Mom, I didn't know specifically about the wildlife preserve. Is that near her summer home in Southwest Harbor, I think it was?
Thanks Heidi, I should do the same myself.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you blogging again. I had never heard of her and I'm glad you wrote about this. I spent a good fifteen minutes reading up on that web site.

Zebster said...

Thanks RJ, good to see you here again and glad I can occasionally be enlightening. LOL