1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:10,880 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: a show that flips through the pages of history to 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: deliver old news in a new way. I'm Gabe Louizier, 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: and today we're talking about Silent Spring, an environmental science 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: book that literally changed the world. The day was September two. 7 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: Rachel Carson, a science writer and former marine biologist, published 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: her landmark book, Silent Spring, the results of several years 9 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: of painstaking research. The book revealed the dangers of the 10 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: pesticide d d T and paved the way for the 11 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: modern environmentalist movement. Rachel Carson was born in nineteen oh 12 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: seven in the rural town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. As a 13 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: young girl, she cultivated two great passions that would stay 14 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: with her all her life, in appreciation for nature and 15 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: a love of writing. In nineteen thirty two, Carson graduated 16 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: from Johns Hopkins University with a master's degree in zoology. 17 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: Now a marine biologist, she got a job with the 18 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: US Fish and Wildlife Service, or f WS, and spent 19 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: the next few decades researching the ecosystems of the American 20 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 1: East Coast. She used her findings to write educational brochures 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: for the f w S, as well as her own 22 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: scientific articles and books, including her nineteen fifty one bestseller, 23 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: The Sea Around Us. In the late nineteen fifties, Carson 24 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: was approached by the Audubon Society, a nonprofit dedicated to 25 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: the conservation of birds and their habitat. The organisation was 26 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: worried that new insecticides were having negative effects on other wildlife, 27 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: including birds, and they wanted Carson to write a book 28 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: about it. The author shared Audubon's concern, particularly for the 29 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,679 Speaker 1: effects of d d T, which distinguished itself from other 30 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: pesticides with its ability to kill hundreds of different insects 31 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: species rather than just one or two. The synthetic chemical 32 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: known as d d T had been developed in nineteen 33 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: thirty nine and came to prominence during World War Two. 34 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: In Europe, US troops used it as a d lousing powder, 35 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: and in the islands of the South Pacific they used 36 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: it to wipe out mosquitoes that were known to carry malaria. 37 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: The poison was widely praised for its versatility and effectiveness. 38 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty five, it became available for civilian use, 39 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: and in nineteen forty eight, the inventor of d d 40 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: T was awarded a Nobel Prize in Metison for his discovery. 41 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: Despite this rampant enthusiasm, a few people like Carson and 42 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,839 Speaker 1: those at Audubon, were forward thinking enough to question what 43 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: these poisons might be doing to humans, other animals, and 44 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: the ecosystems we share. Carson agreed to partner with Audubon 45 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: and spent the next few years talking to other scientists 46 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,639 Speaker 1: and experts about the potential adverse effects of d d 47 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: T and other similar pesticides. During that time, she was 48 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: diagnosed with breast cancer, which delayed the book's publication until 49 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: the fall of nineteen sixty two. Carson knew from the 50 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: start that Silent Spring would be controversial. Her book didn't 51 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: argue that d d T should be outlawed completely, but 52 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: it did make the case that an unchecked use of 53 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: pesticides would gradually poison all life on the planet. The 54 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: basis for this claim was the insolubility of d DT. 55 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: This means the chemical cannot be dissolved in water, which 56 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: makes it nearly impossible to remove from the environment or 57 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: from the tissues of living organisms. A claim like that 58 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: was bound to draw criticism from those in the chemical industry, 59 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: but Carson made it anyway. She knew her claims were 60 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: scientifically sound, and she was determined to tell the public 61 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: the truth about what humans were doing to the natural world. 62 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: But Carson was right to expect controversy, and boy did 63 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: she get it. Before the book was even published, the 64 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 1: makers of pesticides spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on 65 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: attempts to discredit her, both professionally and personally. In addition 66 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: to that old chestnut of being labeled a hysterical woman, 67 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: Carson was mockingly called everything from a fanatic to a 68 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: priestess of nature and quote probably a communist. The chemical 69 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: giant Monsanto when a step further misrepresenting her work in 70 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: a parody brochure they distributed called the Desolate Year. It 71 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: described a ruined world plagued by famine and disease because 72 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:16,799 Speaker 1: all chemical pesticides had been banned, even though again Silent 73 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 1: Spring did not advocate for pesticides to be banned, just 74 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: to be used with more caution. But as the saying goes, 75 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: any publicity is good publicity. All the attention from chemical 76 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,119 Speaker 1: companies and their associated scientists sparked a national debate about 77 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: the problems raised in Silent Spring, just as Carson had wanted. 78 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: Although she was quite ill by the time of the 79 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: book's release, Carson made every media appearance she could to 80 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: promote and defend her message. The country was so shaken 81 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: by Carson's findings that President Kennedy ordered a scientific investigation 82 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: on d d T. Carson testified before this Science Advise 83 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: SURI Committee, asserting that an American citizen should have the 84 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: right quote to be secure in his own home against 85 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: the intrusions of poisons applied by other persons. Rachel Carson 86 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: passed away just two years after Silent Springs publication. By then, 87 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: her book had already bolstered public awareness of the vulnerability 88 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: of nature and the need to regulate human industry as 89 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 1: a way to protect it. In the decade that followed 90 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: Carson's death, her successors would push that cause even further. 91 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: In seventy the Environmental Protection Agency was founded, thanks in 92 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: part to the hard work and persistence of the environmentalists 93 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: she inspired. Two years later, the movement claimed another victory 94 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 1: when the United States began a nationwide phase out of 95 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: d d T. By now, you may be wondering about 96 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: the meaning of the title Silent Spring. It was inspired 97 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: by a line from a John Keats poem in which 98 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: he describes a ruined landscape where the sedge is withered 99 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: from the lake and no birds sing. Carson uses similar 100 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: imagery in her books, opening section a Fable for Tomorrow. 101 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: Here she describes an eerie vision of springtime in a 102 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: desolate town where there are no birds or fish or bees, 103 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: where the grass is brown year round and all the 104 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: live stock is sickly. The culprit behind this decay is 105 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: revealed to be a pesticide, one that was used recklessly 106 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: and did its job too well, rendering the once bustling 107 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: landscape devoid of life and sound. Carson ends her fable 108 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: with this warning, this imagined tragedy may become a stark reality. 109 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: We all shall know. Carson's work helped make that grim 110 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: future a little less likely, but the fight to prevent 111 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: it entirely goes on. I'm Gabe Louzier, and hopefully you 112 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: now know a little more about environmental history today than 113 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you enjoyed the show, consider following 114 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d I 115 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: HC show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 116 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: you can send them to This Day at i heart 117 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 118 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 119 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in History class. For more 120 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 121 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.