THINKER'S ALMANAC - May 27

Why is Rachel Carson viewed by some as a “Copernicus of biology”?

Subject: Environmentalism - Carson’s Silent Spring

Event:  Birthday of author and biologist Rachel Carson, 1907

In 1958, marine biologist Rachel Carson -- who was born on this day in 1907 -- was moved by a letter to the editor that she read in a Boston newspaper.  The letter criticized the aerial spraying of insecticides, which did more than just kill pests, it killed all manner of living creatures, including birds, bees, and grasshoppers.  Being a scientist, Carson went to work to document the harmful effects of toxic chemicals, not just to animal life but also to human life.  One chemical in particular concerned Carson, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (commonly known as D.D.T.).

The product of Carson’s passion to prevent the poisoning of the environment was the influential book Silent Spring, published on September 27, 1962 , a book that is recognized as the catalyst for the environmental movement as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 (1).

The power of Carson’s denunciation of toxic insecticides can be felt in the following excerpt:

These sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests, and homes—nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the "good" and the "bad," to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in the soil—all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects. Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called "insecticides," but "biocides." (2)

Some hailed Carson’s environmental writing as the best since Henry David Thoreau.  Others called her book the most important science volume since Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. The writer Maria Popova called Carson's impact revolutionary, changing the way that humans see themselves in relation to other living creatures:

Rachel Carson, a Copernicus of biology who ejected the human animal from its hubristic place at the center of Earth’s ecological cosmos and recast it as one of myriad organisms, all worthy of wonder, all imbued with life and reality. Her lyrical writing rendered her not a mere translator of the natural world, but an alchemist transmuting the steel of science into the gold of wonder. (3)

Unfortunately, others were critical of Carson, especially chemical companies, who threatened lawsuits.  She was accused of being a Communist and her methods were challenged.  In the end, however, her work was vindicated and embraced by scientists and conservationists.  Unfortunately, not long after the publication of Silent Spring, Carson was diagnosed with cancer and died in 1964.  In 1980 she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  Why did some call Rachel Carson a “Copernicus of biology”?

Challenge -  Words on the World: What is the best thing anyone has ever said about the environment and the obligation we have to take care of the world?  Find a quotation you like, and explain why you think it is inspirational. 

Sources:

1 – Christianson, Scott and Colin Salter. 100 Books That Changed the World. New York:  Universe Publishing, 2018.

2-Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

3-Popova, Maria. The Writing of “Silent Spring” and the Culture-Shifting Courage to Speak Inconvenient Truth to Power. www.brainpickings.com 27 Jan. 2017.