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116-829: The corresponding name in the United States for this ecozone, where it is classed as a Level I ecoregion by the United States Environmental Protection Agency , which is identical though differently-named than the CEC system, is the Northwestern Forested Mountains ecoregion. It contains the headwaters for the Fraser and Columbia rivers and many of their tributaries, notably the Thompson and Kootenay . It

232-622: A Colorado mine, and accidentally released over three million gallons of waste water into Cement Creek and the Animas River . In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization , cited research linking glyphosate , an ingredient of the weed killer Roundup manufactured by the chemical company Monsanto , to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma . In March 2017,

348-476: A mastectomy . By December that year, Carson discovered that she had breast cancer, which had metastasized . Her research was also delayed by revision work for a new edition of The Sea Around Us , and by a collaborative photo essay with Erich Hartmann . Most of the research and writing was done by the fall of 1960, except for a discussion of recent research on biological controls and investigations of some new pesticides. However, further health troubles delayed

464-591: A 15-year cut of 32%, or 789 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. In 2019 it was voided and replaced by the Affordable Clean Energy rule under the Trump administration, and in 2022 its constitutionality was ruled out by the Supreme Court. In August 2015, the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill occurred when EPA contractors examined the level of pollutants such as lead and arsenic in

580-608: A call for a biotic approach to pest control as an alternative to chemical pesticides. Carson never called for an outright ban on DDT. She said in Silent Spring that even if DDT and other insecticides had no environmental side effects, their indiscriminate overuse was counterproductive because it would create insect resistance to pesticides, making them useless in eliminating the target insect populations: No responsible person contends that insect-borne disease should be ignored. The question that has now urgently presented itself

696-567: A copy of Silent Spring as one of the items burning on the Fox News yule log. Naturalist David Attenborough has stated that Silent Spring was probably the book that had changed the scientific world the most, after the On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin . Sonic Flower Groove , is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream , it was released on 5 October 1987, features

812-502: A dramatic move to the right, President Ronald Reagan in 1981 appointed Anne Gorsuch as EPA administrator. Gorsuch based her administration of EPA on the New Federalism approach of downsizing federal agencies by delegating their functions and services to the individual states. She believed that EPA was over-regulating business and that the agency was too large and not cost-effective. During her 22 months as agency head, she cut

928-620: A joint House–Senate colloquium was convened by the chairmen of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Senator Henry M. Jackson , and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Representative George P. Miller , to discuss the need for and means of implementing a national environmental policy. Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the law

1044-449: A letter written by Anthony Trewavas and co-signed by 10 others, including Christopher Leaver , Bruce Ames and Peter Lachmann , who quote estimates of 60 to 80 million deaths "as a result of misguided fears based on poorly understood evidence". Biographer Hamilton Lytle believes these estimates are unrealistic, even if Carson can be "blamed" for worldwide DDT policies. John Quiggin and Tim Lambert wrote, "the most striking feature of

1160-534: A long and well-paid article on the topic from Carson, she began considering writing more than the introduction and conclusion as planned; soon it became a solo project. Diamond would later write one of the harshest critiques of Silent Spring . As her research progressed, Carson found a sizable community of scientists who were documenting the physiological and environmental effects of pesticides. She took advantage of her personal connections with many government scientists, who supplied her with confidential information on

1276-409: A metaphorical title for the entire book—suggesting a bleak future for the whole natural world—rather than a literal chapter title about the absence of birdsong. With Carson's approval, editor Paul Brooks at Houghton Mifflin arranged for illustrations by Louis and Lois Darling , who also designed the cover. The final writing was the first chapter, "A Fable for Tomorrow", which was intended to provide

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1392-612: A national outcry and criminal charges against major steel companies. The US Justice Department in late 1970 began pollution control litigation in cooperation with the new EPA. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, better known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA established a national framework for addressing water quality, including mandatory pollution control standards, to be implemented by

1508-470: A pamphlet by William O. Douglas endorsing the book. American Cyanamid biochemist Robert White-Stevens and former Cyanamid chemist Thomas Jukes were among the most aggressive critics, especially of Carson's analysis of DDT. According to White-Stevens, "If man were to follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit

1624-529: A policy may have before implementing it; for example, in chapter 10 she describes a pesticide program from 1957 that was intended to control the spread of fire ants: With the development of chemicals of broad lethal powers, there came a sudden change in the official attitude towards the fire ant. In 1957 the United States Department of Agriculture launched one of the most remarkable publicity campaigns in its history. The fire ant suddenly became

1740-675: A positive editorial in The New York Times and excerpts of the serialized version were published in Audubon Magazine . There was another round of publicity in July and August as chemical companies responded. The story of the birth defect-causing drug thalidomide had broken just before the book's publication, inviting comparisons between Carson and Frances Oldham Kelsey , the Food and Drug Administration reviewer who had blocked

1856-460: A public record, making it controversial and difficult to rescind. So they did not open it; rather, they called Johnson and asked him to take back the draft. Johnson rescinded the draft; in July 2008, he issued a new version which did not state that global warming was danger to public welfare. Burnett resigned in protest. In April 2008, the Union of Concerned Scientists said that more than half of

1972-409: A rallying point for the new social movement in the 1960s. According to environmental engineer and Carson scholar H. Patricia Hynes, " Silent Spring altered the balance of power in the world. No one since would be able to sell pollution as the necessary underside of progress so easily or uncritically." Carson's work and the activism it inspired are partly responsible for the deep ecology movement and

2088-404: A range of non-specific complaints, some anonymously. Chemical companies and associated organizations produced brochures and articles promoting and defending pesticide use. However, Carson's and the publishers' lawyers were confident in the vetting process Silent Spring had undergone. The magazine and book publications proceeded as planned, as did the large Book-of-the-Month printing, which included

2204-591: A second term. As a condition for accepting his appointment, Ruckleshaus obtained autonomy from the White House in appointing his senior management team. He then appointed experienced competent professionals to the top management positions, and worked to restore public confidence in the agency. Lee M. Thomas succeeded Ruckelshaus as administrator in 1985. In 1986 Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act , which authorized

2320-757: A senior official at the Environmental Protection Agency had worked to quash a review of Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, that was to have been conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services ." The records show that Monsanto was able to prepare "a public relations assault" on the finding after they were alerted to the determination by Jess Rowland , the head of the EPA's cancer assessment review committee at that time, months in advance. Emails also showed that Rowland "had promised to beat back an effort by

2436-563: A suit to have the spraying stopped, and many in affected regions followed the case closely. Though the suit was lost, the Supreme Court granted petitioners the right to gain injunctions against potential environmental damage in the future, laying the basis for later environmental actions. The impetus for Silent Spring was a letter written in January 1958 by Carson's friend, Olga Owens Huckins , to The Boston Herald , describing

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2552-580: A total of fourteen states had joined the suit—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA regulations violated the Clean Air Act. In response, EPA announced plans to propose such standards to replace the vacated Clean Air Mercury Rule, and did so on March 16, 2011. In July 2005 there was a delay in the issuance of an EPA report showing that auto companies were using loopholes to produce less fuel-efficient cars. The report

2668-459: A website falsely blaming Carson for deaths to malaria. This triggered a point-by-point rebuttal by biographer William Souder, who reviewed the distortions used by campaigners against Silent Spring . A 2012 review article in Nature by Rob Dunn commemorating the 50th anniversary of Silent Spring and summarizing the progressive environmental-policy changes made since then, prompted a response in

2784-475: A year of publication, attacks on the book and on Carson had lost momentum. In one of her last public appearances, Carson testified before President John F. Kennedy 's Science Advisory Committee, which issued its report on May 15, 1963, largely backing Carson's scientific claims. Following the report's release, Carson also testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee to make policy recommendations. Though Carson received hundreds of other speaking invitations, she

2900-701: Is bordered to the west by the Pacific Maritime Ecozone , to the north by the Boreal Cordillera Ecozone , to the northeast by the Boreal Plains Ecozone , and to the southeast by the Prairies Ecozone . This ecozone can be further subdivided into four ecoprovinces: Seven national parks have been established in this ecozone: Dozens of provincial parks have been established in this ecozone. Some of

3016-418: Is the powerful—and often negative—effect humans have on the natural world. Carson's main argument is that pesticides have detrimental effects on the environment; she says these are more properly termed " biocides " because their effects are rarely limited to solely targeting pests. DDT is a prime example, but other synthetic pesticides—many of which are subject to bioaccumulation —are scrutinized. Carson accuses

3132-598: Is whether it is either wise or responsible to attack the problem by methods that are rapidly making it worse. The world has heard much of the triumphant war against disease through the control of insect vectors of infection, but it has heard little of the other side of the story—the defeats, the short-lived triumphs that now strongly support the alarming view that the insect enemy has been made actually stronger by our efforts. Even worse, we may have destroyed our very means of fighting. Carson also said that "Malaria programmes are threatened by resistance among mosquitoes", and quoted

3248-403: Is worse than irresponsible". Investigative journalist Adam Sarvana and others characterize this notion as a "myth" promoted principally by Bate. In the 1990s and 2000s, campaigns against the book intensified, in part due to efforts by the tobacco industry to cast larger doubt on science-driven policy as a way of contesting bans on smoking. In 2009, the heavily corporate-funded CEI set up

3364-498: The American Academy of Arts and Letters . Of Carson, Maria Popova wrote, "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." The book was translated into many languages including German, French, Dutch, Japanese, Russian and Italian. Carson's work had a powerful impact on the environmental movement. Silent Spring became

3480-524: The Council on Environmental Quality and Atomic Energy Commission . Upon its creation, EPA inherited 84 sites spread across 26 states, of which 42 sites were laboratories. The EPA consolidated these laboratories into 22 sites. In its first year, the EPA had a budget of $ 1.4 billion and 5,800 employees. At its start, the EPA was primarily a technical assistance agency that set goals and standards. Soon, new acts and amendments passed by Congress gave

3596-687: The Environmental Protection Agency by the Nixon Administration in 1970 addressed another concern that Carson had written about. Until then, the USDA was responsible both for regulating pesticides and promoting the concerns of the agriculture industry; Carson saw this as a conflict of interest (COI), since the agency was not responsible for effects on wildlife or other environmental concerns beyond farm policy. Fifteen years after its creation, one journalist described

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3712-479: The chemical industry of spreading disinformation , and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly. In the late 1950s, Carson began to work on environmental conservation , especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result of her research was Silent Spring , which brought environmental concerns to the American public. The book

3828-492: The federally recognized tribes . The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. The agency's budgeted employee level in 2023 is 16,204.1 full-time equivalent (FTE). More than half of EPA's employees are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other employees include legal, public affairs, financial, and information technologists. Beginning in

3944-410: The 1957, 1958, and 1959 crops of U.S. cranberries were found to contain high levels of the herbicide aminotriazole and the sale of all cranberry products was halted. Carson attended the ensuing FDA hearings on revising pesticide regulations; she was discouraged by the aggressive tactics of the chemical industry representatives, which included expert testimony that was firmly contradicted by the bulk of

4060-506: The 2009 through 2016 model years. Following notice of violations and potential criminal sanctions, Volkswagen later agreed to a legal settlement and paid billions of US dollars in criminal penalties, and was required to initiate a vehicle buyback program and modify the engines of the vehicles to reduce illegal air emissions. In August 2015, the EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan to regulate emissions from power plants, projecting

4176-549: The 20th century. In 2006, Silent Spring was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of Discover Magazine . In 2012, the American Chemical Society designated the legacy of Silent Spring a National Historic Chemical Landmark at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. In 1996, a follow-up book, Beyond Silent Spring , co-written by H. F. van Emden and David Peakall ,

4292-570: The American composer Steven Stucky wrote the eponymously titled symphonic poem Silent Spring to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication. The piece was given its world premiere in Pittsburgh on February 17, 2012, with the conductor Manfred Honeck leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra . In 2019, Bobby, It's Cold Outside , an episode of animated comedy The Simpsons , features

4408-501: The Department of Health and Human Services to conduct its own review." On February 17, 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator. The Democratic Party saw the appointment as a controversial move, as Pruitt had spent most of his career challenging environmental regulations and policies. He did not have previous experience in the environmental protection field and had received financial support from

4524-575: The EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator , who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate . The current administrator is Michael S. Regan . The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given cabinet rank . The EPA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. There are regional offices for each of

4640-472: The EPA as "the extended shadow of Silent Spring ". Much of the agency's early work, such as enforcement of the 1972 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act , was directly related to Carson's work. Contrary to the position of the pesticide industry, the DDT phase-out action taken by the EPA (led by William Ruckelshaus ) implied that there was no way to adequately regulate DDT use. Ruckelshaus' conclusion

4756-580: The EPA to gather data on toxic chemicals and share this information with the public. EPA also researched the implications of stratospheric ozone depletion. Under Administrator Thomas, EPA joined with several international organizations to perform a risk assessment of stratospheric ozone, which helped provide motivation for the Montreal Protocol, which was agreed to in August 1987. In 1988, during his first presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush

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4872-501: The EPA was working on its own standards, but the move has been widely considered an attempt to shield the auto industry from environmental regulation by setting lower standards at the federal level, which would then preempt state laws. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger , along with governors from 13 other states, stated that the EPA's actions ignored federal law, and that existing California standards (adopted by many states in addition to California) were almost twice as effective as

4988-448: The EPA. The EPA's inspector general had determined that the EPA's regulation of mercury emissions did not follow the Clean Air Act, and that the regulations were influenced by top political appointees. The EPA had suppressed a study it commissioned by Harvard University which contradicted its position on mercury controls. The suit alleged that the EPA's rule exempting coal-fired power plants from "maximum available control technology"

5104-604: The Federal Water Quality Administration, which had previously been transferred from PHS to the Department of the Interior in 1966. A few functions from other agencies were also incorporated into EPA: the formerly independent Federal Radiation Council was merged into it; pesticides programs were transferred from the Department of the Interior, Food and Drug Administration , and Agricultural Research Service ; and some functions were transferred from

5220-608: The Food and Drug Administration who reported the discovery of these tumors were uncertain how to classify them, but felt there was some "justification for considering them low grade hepatic cell carcinomas". Dr. Hueper [author of Occupational Tumors and Allied Diseases ] now gives DDT the definite rating of a "chemical carcinogen". Carson predicts increased consequences in the future, especially since targeted pests may develop resistance to pesticides and weakened ecosystems fall prey to unanticipated invasive species. The book closes with

5336-578: The June 16, 1962, issue. This brought the book to the attention of the chemical industry and its lobbyists, as well as the American public. Around that time, Carson learned that Silent Spring had been selected as the Book of the Month for October; she said this would "carry it to farms and hamlets all over that country that don't know what a bookstore looks like—much less The New Yorker ". Other publicity included

5452-449: The Trump administration attempted to revoke a waiver issued to the state which allowed more stringent standards for auto and truck emissions than the federal standards. Silent Spring Silent Spring is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson . Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of DDT , a pesticide used by soldiers during WW2. Carson accused

5568-498: The U.S. government's spraying practices and related research. Carson began the four-year project of Silent Spring by gathering examples of environmental damage attributed to DDT. She tried to enlist essayist E. B. White and a number of journalists and scientists to her cause. By 1958, Carson had arranged a book deal, with plans to co-write with Newsweek science journalist Edwin Diamond. However, when The New Yorker commissioned

5684-542: The US population. The law required EPA to enforce the standards with the cooperation of state agencies. In October 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which, like FIFRA, related to the manufacture, labeling and usage of commercial products rather than pollution. This act gave the EPA the authority to gather information on chemicals and require producers to test them, gave it

5800-724: The ability to regulate chemical production and use (with specific mention of PCBs ), and required the agency to create the National Inventory listing of chemicals. Congress also enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, significantly amending the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 . It tasked the EPA with setting national goals for waste disposal, conserving energy and natural resources, reducing waste, and ensuring environmentally sound management of waste. Accordingly,

5916-525: The advice given by the director of Holland's Plant Protection Service: "Practical advice should be 'Spray as little as you possibly can' rather than 'Spray to the limit of your capacity'. Pressure on the pest population should always be as slight as possible." At the time the book was written, environmental issues were excluded from mainstream political conversation in America. However, Carson believed that governments should consider what environmental impact

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6032-399: The agency developed regulations for solid and hazardous waste that were to be implemented in collaboration with states. President Jimmy Carter appointed Douglas M. Costle as EPA administrator in 1977. To manage the agency's expanding legal mandates and workload, by the end of 1979 the budget grew to $ 5.4 billion and the workforce size increased to 13,000. In 1980, following

6148-613: The agency in partnership with the states. Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1972, requiring EPA to measure every pesticide's risks against its potential benefits. In 1973 President Nixon appointed Russell E. Train , to be the next EPA Administrator. In 1974 Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act , requiring EPA to develop mandatory federal standards for all public water systems , which serve 90% of

6264-565: The agency its regulatory authority. A major expansion of the Clean Air Act was approved in December 1970. EPA staff recall that in the early days there was "an enormous sense of purpose and excitement" and the expectation that "there was this agency which was going to do something about a problem that clearly was on the minds of a lot of people in this country," leading to tens of thousands of resumes from those eager to participate in

6380-638: The agency's Scientific Integrity Official, Francesca Grifo , from testifying at a House committee hearing. EPA offered to send a different representative in place of Grifo and accused the committee of "dictating to the agency who they believe was qualified to speak." The hearing was to discuss the importance of allowing federal scientists and other employees to speak freely when and to whom they want to about their research without having to worry about any political consequences. In September 2019 air pollution standards in California were once again under attack, as

6496-489: The agency's ten regions, as well as 27 laboratories around the country. The agency conducts environmental assessment , research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws , in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions , and other measures. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and

6612-699: The agency. Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle was fired by Reagan in February 1983 because of her mismanagement of the Superfund program. Gorsuch had increasing confrontations with Congress over Superfund and other programs, including her refusal to submit subpoenaed documents. Gorsuch was cited for contempt of Congress and the White House directed EPA to submit the documents to Congress. Gorsuch and most of her senior staff resigned in March 1983. Reagan then appointed William Ruckelshaus as EPA Administrator for

6728-543: The anticipated attacks, Carson and her agent attempted to amass prominent supporters before the book's release. Most of the book's scientific chapters were reviewed by scientists with relevant expertise, among whom Carson found strong support. Carson attended the White House Conference on Conservation in May 1962; Houghton Mifflin distributed proof copies of Silent Spring to many of the delegates and promoted

6844-431: The areas where the pesticides had been sprayed. To make matters worse, the heptachlor and dieldrin sprayed accomplished nothing, instead creating more infested areas. Had the government researched the impact the chemicals could have on wildlife they could have prevented the deaths and environmental damage and saved the taxpayer's money. Overall, Silent Spring not only uncovered the many negative effects pesticides have on

6960-688: The book's scientific claims and public opinion backed Carson's text. The chemical industry campaign was counterproductive because the controversy increased public awareness of the potential dangers of pesticides, an early example of the Streisand Effect . Pesticide use became a major public issue after a CBS Reports television special, The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson , which was broadcast on April 3, 1963. The program included segments of Carson reading from Silent Spring and interviews with other experts, mostly critics including White-Stevens. According to biographer Linda Lear , "in juxtaposition to

7076-419: The budget of the EPA by 22%, reduced the number of cases filed against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated the spraying of restricted-use pesticides. She cut the total number of agency employees, and hired staff from the industries they were supposed to be regulating. Environmentalists contended that her policies were designed to placate polluters, and accused her of trying to dismantle

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7192-459: The censorship of environmental reports . President Obama appointed Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator in 2013. In 2014, the EPA published its "Tier 3" standards for cars, trucks and other motor vehicles, which tightened air pollution emission requirements and lowered the sulfur content in gasoline. In 2015, the EPA discovered extensive violations by Volkswagen Group in its manufacture of Volkswagen and Audi diesel engine cars, for

7308-457: The chemical industry of intentionally spreading disinformation and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically. Most of the book is devoted to pesticides' effects on natural ecosystems, but four chapters detail cases of human pesticide poisoning , cancer, and other illnesses attributed to pesticides. About DDT and cancer, Carson says only: In laboratory tests on animal subjects, DDT has produced suspicious liver tumors. Scientists of

7424-513: The chemicals' impact on ecosystems. She concludes her section on DDT in Silent Spring with advice for spraying as little as possible to limit the development of resistance. Mark Hamilton Lytle writes, Carson "quite self-consciously decided to write a book calling into question the paradigm of scientific progress that defined postwar American culture". The academic community—including prominent defenders such as H. J. Muller , Loren Eiseley , Clarence Cottam and Frank Egler —mostly backed

7540-450: The claim against Carson is the ease with which it can be refuted". DDT was never banned for anti-malarial use, and its ban for agricultural use in the United States in 1972 did not apply outside the U.S. nor to anti-malaria spraying. The international treaty that banned most uses of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides—the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (which became effective in 2004)—included an exemption for

7656-403: The combination of pesticide programs from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of the Interior . After conducting hearings during that summer, the House and Senate approved the proposal. The EPA was created 90 days before it had to operate, and officially opened its doors on December 2, 1970. The agency's first administrator, William Ruckelshaus , took

7772-478: The criticism by Carson and others with a public service film, Fire Ants on Trial ; Carson called it "flagrant propaganda" that ignored the dangers that spraying pesticides posed to humans and wildlife. That spring, Carson wrote a letter, published in The Washington Post , that attributed the recent decline in bird populations—in her words, the "silencing of birds"—to pesticide overuse. The same year,

7888-524: The damage using the pesticides could bring to the environment, the Agriculture Department dismissed the objections and continued on with the program: Urgent protests were made by most of the state conservation departments, by national conservation agencies, and by ecologists and even by some entomologists, calling upon the then Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Benson , to delay the program at least until some research had been done to determine

8004-476: The death of birds around her property in Duxbury , Massachusetts, resulting from the aerial spraying of DDT to kill mosquitoes, a copy of which Huckins sent to Carson. Carson later wrote that this letter prompted her to study the environmental problems caused by the overuse of chemical pesticides. The Audubon Naturalist Society actively opposed chemical spraying programs and recruited Carson to help publicize

8120-498: The discovery of many abandoned or mismanaged hazardous waste sites such as Love Canal , Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act , nicknamed "Superfund." The new law authorized EPA to cast a wider net for parties responsible for sites contaminated by previous hazardous waste disposal and established a funding mechanism for assessment and cleanup. In

8236-725: The drug's sale in the United States. In the weeks before the September 27, 1962, publication, there was strong opposition to Silent Spring from the chemical industry. DuPont , a major manufacturer of DDT and 2,4-D , and Velsicol Chemical Company , the only manufacturer of chlordane and heptachlor , were among the first to respond. DuPont compiled an extensive report on the book's press coverage and estimated impact on public opinion. Velsicol threatened legal action against Houghton Mifflin, and The New Yorker and Audubon Magazine unless their planned Silent Spring features were canceled. Chemical industry representatives and lobbyists lodged

8352-424: The earth". Others attacked Carson's personal character and scientific credentials, her training being in marine biology rather than biochemistry. White-Stevens called her "a fanatic defender of the cult of the balance of nature". According to historian Linda Lear the former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson , asked in a letter to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower , "Why a spinster with no children

8468-412: The effects of heptachlor and dieldrin on wild and domestic animals and to find the minimum amount that would control the ants. The protests were ignored and the program was launched in 1958. A million acres were treated the first year. It was clear that any research would be in the nature of a post mortem. After the program, an increased number of birds, cattle, horses and other wildlife were found dead in

8584-439: The environment but also asked for environmental issues to be discussed and treated seriously within the political sphere. Carson and the others involved with publication of Silent Spring expected fierce criticism and were concerned about the possibility of being sued for libel . Carson was undergoing radiation therapy for her cancer and expected to have little energy to defend her work and respond to critics. In preparation for

8700-420: The environment. The "detailed statement" would ultimately be referred to as an environmental impact statement (EIS). On July 9, 1970, Nixon proposed an executive reorganization that consolidated many environmental responsibilities of the federal government under one agency, a new Environmental Protection Agency. This proposal included merging pollution control programs from a number of departments, such as

8816-403: The environmental cancer section Wilhelm Hueper , who classified many pesticides as carcinogens . Carson and her research assistant Jeanne Davis, with the help of NIH librarian Dorothy Algire, found evidence to support the pesticide-cancer connection; to Carson the evidence for the toxicity of a wide array of synthetic pesticides was clear-cut, though such conclusions were very controversial beyond

8932-580: The environmental movement, including Roger Bate of the pro-DDT advocacy group Africa Fighting Malaria and the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI); these sources oppose restrictions on DDT, attribute large numbers of deaths to such restrictions, and argue that Carson was responsible for them. These arguments have been dismissed as "outrageous" by former World Health Organization scientist Socrates Litsios. May Berenbaum, University of Illinois entomologist, says, "to blame environmentalists who oppose DDT for more deaths than Hitler

9048-532: The fact that something like the story in the book could happen any time in the near future. By mid-1962, Brooks and Carson had largely finished the editing and were planning to promote the book by sending the manuscript to select individuals for final suggestions. In Silent Spring , Carson relied on evidence from two New York state organic farmers, Marjorie Spock and Mary Richards, and that of biodynamic farming advocate Ehrenfried Pfeiffer in developing her case against DDT. The overarching theme of Silent Spring

9164-404: The final revisions in 1961 and early 1962. The work's title was inspired by a poem by John Keats , " La Belle Dame sans Merci ", which contained the lines "The sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing." "Silent Spring" was initially suggested as a title for the chapter on birds. By August 1961, Carson agreed to the suggestion of her literary agent Marie Rodell: Silent Spring would be

9280-548: The fossil fuel industry. In 2017, the Presidency of Donald Trump proposed a 31% cut to the EPA's budget to $ 5.7 billion from $ 8.1 billion and to eliminate a quarter of the agency jobs. However, this cut was not approved by Congress. Pruitt resigned from the position on July 5, 2018, citing "unrelenting attacks" due to ongoing ethics controversies. President Trump appointed Andrew R. Wheeler as EPA Administrator in 2019. On July 17, 2019, EPA management prohibited

9396-552: The issue drew considerable public attention. Former Vice President of the United States and environmentalist Al Gore wrote an introduction to the 1992 edition of Silent Spring . He wrote: " Silent Spring had a profound impact ... Indeed, Rachel Carson was one of the reasons that I became so conscious of the environment and so involved with environmental issues  ...  [she] has had as much or more effect on me than any, and perhaps than all of them together." Carson has been targeted by some organizations opposed to

9512-445: The largest and most notable ones include: United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order . The order establishing

9628-621: The late 1950s and through the 1960s, Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment. Senator James E. Murray introduced a bill, the Resources and Conservation Act (RCA) of 1959, in the 86th Congress . The bill would have established a Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President , declared a national environmental policy, and required

9744-577: The mid-1940s, Carson became concerned about the use of synthetic pesticides, many of which had been developed through the military funding of science after World War II . The United States Department of Agriculture's 1957 fire ant eradication program, which involved aerial spraying of DDT and other pesticides mixed with fuel oil and included the spraying of private land, prompted Carson to devote her research, and her next book, to pesticides and environmental poisons. Landowners in Long Island filed

9860-511: The mighty effort to clean up America's environment. When EPA first began operation, members of the private sector felt strongly that the environmental protection movement was a passing fad. Ruckelshaus stated that he felt pressure to show a public which was deeply skeptical about government's effectiveness, that EPA could respond effectively to widespread concerns about pollution. The burning Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969 led to

9976-504: The nearly 1,600 EPA staff scientists who responded online to a detailed questionnaire reported they had experienced incidents of political interference in their work. The survey included chemists, toxicologists, engineers, geologists and experts in other fields of science. About 40% of the scientists reported that the interference had been more prevalent in the last five years than in previous years. President Barack Obama appointed Lisa P. Jackson as EPA administrator in 2009. In 2010 it

10092-846: The number of waste sites that are remediated in a given year. (In 2021 Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers. ) Major legislative updates during the Clinton Administration were the Food Quality Protection Act and the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. President George W. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman as EPA administrator in 2001. Whitman was succeeded by Mike Leavitt in 2003 and Stephen L. Johnson in 2005. In March 2005 nine states (California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico and Vermont) sued

10208-610: The oath of office on December 4, 1970. EPA's primary predecessor was the former Environmental Health Divisions of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), and its creation caused one of a series of reorganizations of PHS that occurred during 1966–1973. From PHS, EPA absorbed the entire National Air Pollution Control Administration, as well as the Environmental Control Administration's Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Bureau of Water Hygiene, and part of its Bureau of Radiological Health. It also absorbed

10324-567: The passage of the Superfund law in 1980, an excise tax had been levied on the chemical and petroleum industries, to support the cleanup trust fund. Congressional authorization of the tax was due to expire in 1995. Although Browner and the Clinton Administration supported continuation of the tax, Congress declined to reauthorize it. Subsequently, the Superfund program was supported only by annual appropriations, greatly reducing

10440-439: The pesticide-slain insects relatively rapidly. Agricultural spraying of pesticides produces pesticide resistance in seven to ten years. Some experts have said that restrictions placed on the agricultural use of DDT have increased its effectiveness for malaria control. According to pro-DDT advocate Amir Attaran , the result of the (activated in 2004) Stockholm Convention banning DDT's use in agriculture "is arguably better than

10556-417: The preparation of an annual environmental report. The conservation movement was weak at the time and the bill did not pass Congress. The 1962 publication of Silent Spring , a best-selling book by Rachel Carson , alerted the public about the detrimental effects on animals and humans of the indiscriminate use of pesticide chemicals. In the years following, Congress discussed possible solutions. In 1968,

10672-419: The presiding judge in a litigation brought about by people who claim to have developed glyphosate-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma opened Monsanto emails and other documents related to the case, including email exchanges between the company and federal regulators. According to The New York Times , the "records suggested that Monsanto had ghostwritten research that was later attributed to academics and indicated that

10788-442: The proposed federal standards. It was reported that Johnson ignored his own staff in making this decision. In 2007 it was reported that EPA research was suppressed by career managers. Supervisors at EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment required several paragraphs to be deleted from a peer-reviewed journal article about EPA's integrated risk information system , which led two co-authors to have their names removed from

10904-419: The public welfare—a decision that would trigger the first national mandatory global-warming regulations. Associate Deputy Administrator Jason Burnett e-mailed the draft to the White House. White House aides—who had long resisted mandatory regulations as a way to address climate change—knew the gist of what Johnson's finding would be, Burnett said. They also knew that once they opened the attachment, it would become

11020-414: The publication, and the corresponding author, Ching-Hung Hsu, to leave EPA "because of the draconian restrictions placed on publishing". The 2007 report stated that EPA subjected employees who author scientific papers to prior restraint , even if those papers are written on personal time. In December 2007 EPA administrator Johnson approved a draft of a document that declared that climate change imperiled

11136-582: The scientific literature she had been studying. She also wondered about the possible "financial inducements behind certain pesticide programs". Research at the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health brought Carson into contact with medical researchers investigating the gamut of cancer-causing chemicals. Of particular significance was the work of National Cancer Institute researcher and founding director of

11252-485: The small community of scientists studying pesticide carcinogenesis . By 1960, Carson had sufficient research material and the writing was progressing rapidly. She had investigated hundreds of individual incidents of pesticide exposure and the resulting human sickness and ecological damage. In January 1960, she suffered an illness which kept her bedridden for weeks, delaying the book. As she was nearing full recovery in March, she discovered cysts in her left breast, requiring

11368-592: The status quo ... For the first time, there is now an insecticide which is restricted to vector control only, meaning that the selection of resistant mosquitoes will be slower than before." Silent Spring has been featured in many lists of the best nonfiction books of the twentieth century. It was fifth in the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Nonfiction and number 78 in the National Review 's 100 best non-fiction books of

11484-477: The strength of the grassroots environmental movement since the 1960s. It was also influential to the rise of ecofeminism and to many feminist scientists. Carson's most direct legacy in the environmental movement was the campaign to ban the use of DDT in the United States, and related efforts to ban or limit its use throughout the world. The 1967 formation of the Environmental Defense Fund

11600-454: The subject. From reading the scientific literature and interviewing scientists, Carson found two scientific camps: those who dismissed the possible danger of pesticide spraying barring conclusive proof, and those who were open to the possibility of harm and willing to consider alternative methods, such as biological pest control . By 1959, the USDA 's Agricultural Research Service responded to

11716-409: The target of a barrage of government releases, motion pictures, and government-inspired stories portraying it as a despoiler of southern agriculture and a killer of birds, livestock, and man. A mighty campaign was announced, in which the federal government in cooperation with the afflicted states would ultimately treat some 20,000,000 acres in nine southern states. Despite calls from experts to consider

11832-582: The upcoming serialization in The New Yorker . Carson also sent a proof copy to Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas , a long-time environmental advocate who had argued against the court's rejection of the Long Island pesticide spraying case and had provided Carson with some of the material included in her chapter on herbicides. Though Silent Spring had generated a fairly high level of interest based on pre-publication promotion, this became more intense with its serialization, which began in

11948-497: The use of DDT for malaria control until affordable substitutes could be found. Mass outdoor spraying of DDT was abandoned in poor countries subject to malaria, such as Sri Lanka, in the 1970s and 1980s; this was not because of government prohibitions but because the DDT had lost its ability to kill the mosquitoes. Because of insects' very short breeding cycle and large number of offspring, the most resistant insects survive and pass on their genetic traits to their offspring, which replace

12064-472: The wild-eyed, loud-voiced Dr. Robert White-Stevens in white lab coat, Carson appeared anything but the hysterical alarmist that her critics contended". Reactions from the estimated audience of ten to fifteen million were overwhelmingly positive and the program spurred a congressional review of pesticide hazards and the public release of a pesticide report by the President's Science Advisory Committee . Within

12180-619: Was based on ideas that had been discussed in the 1959 and subsequent hearings. The Richard Nixon administration made the environment a policy priority in 1969-1971 and created two new agencies, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA. Nixon signed NEPA into law on January 1, 1970. The law established the CEQ in the Executive Office of the President. NEPA required that a detailed statement of environmental impacts be prepared for all major federal actions significantly affecting

12296-500: Was illegal, and additionally charged that the EPA's system of cap-and-trade to lower average mercury levels would allow power plants to forego reducing mercury emissions, which they objected would lead to dangerous local hotspots of mercury contamination even if average levels declined. Several states also began to enact their own mercury emission regulations. Illinois's proposed rule would have reduced mercury emissions from power plants by an average of 90% by 2009. In 2008—by which point

12412-425: Was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, but it swayed public opinion and led to a reversal in U.S. pesticide policy, a nationwide ban on DDT for agricultural uses , and an environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . In 2006, Silent Spring was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of Discover magazine . In

12528-485: Was published. In 1967, George Newson composed the tape composition Silent Spring using birdsong recorded at London Zoo as source material. It was premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in January 1968. Silent Spring is mentioned in the 2008 science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin , as well as its Tencent 2023 and Netflix 2024 television series adaptations. In 2011,

12644-605: Was reflected in the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and in new approaches by the agency, such as a greater emphasis on watershed -based approaches in Clean Water Act programs. In 1992 EPA and the Department of Energy launched the Energy Star program, a voluntary program that fosters energy efficiency. Carol Browner was appointed EPA administrator by President Bill Clinton and served from 1993 to 2001. Major projects during Browner's term included: Since

12760-493: Was reported that a $ 3 million mapping study on sea level rise was suppressed by EPA management during both the Bush and Obama administrations, and managers changed a key interagency report to reflect the removal of the maps. Between 2011 and 2012, some EPA employees reported difficulty in conducting and reporting the results of studies on hydraulic fracturing due to industry and governmental pressure, and were concerned about

12876-481: Was so concerned about genetics?" Benson's conclusion was Carson was "probably a Communist". Monsanto published 5,000 copies of a parody called "The Desolate Year" (1962) which projected a world of famine and disease caused by banning pesticides. Many critics repeatedly said Carson was calling for the elimination of all pesticides, but she had made it clear she was not advocating this but was instead encouraging responsible and carefully managed use with an awareness of

12992-536: Was supposed to be released the day before a controversial energy bill was passed and would have provided backup for those opposed to it, but the EPA delayed its release at the last minute. EPA initiated its voluntary WaterSense program in 2006 to encourage water efficiency through the use of a special label on consumer products. In 2007 the state of California sued the EPA for its refusal to allow California and 16 other states to raise fuel economy standards for new cars. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson claimed that

13108-471: Was that DDT could not be used safely. History professor Gary Kroll wrote, "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring played a large role in articulating ecology as a 'subversive subject'—as a perspective that cuts against the grain of materialism, scientism , and the technologically engineered control of nature." In a 2013 interview, Ruckelshaus briefly recounted his decision to ban DDT except for emergency uses, noting that Carson's book featured DDT and for that reason

13224-492: Was the first major milestone in the campaign against DDT. The organization brought lawsuits against the government to "establish a citizen's right to a clean environment", and the arguments against DDT largely mirrored Carson's. By 1972, the Environmental Defense Fund and other activist groups had succeeded in securing a phase-out of DDT use in the United States, except in emergency cases. The creation of

13340-744: Was unable to accept most of them because her health was steadily declining, with only brief periods of remission. She spoke as much as she could, and appeared on The Today Show and gave speeches at several dinners held in her honor. In late 1963, she received a flurry of awards and honors: the Audubon Medal from the National Audubon Society , the Cullum Geographical Medal from the American Geographical Society , and induction into

13456-544: Was vocal about environmental issues. Following his election victory, he appointed William K. Reilly , an environmentalist, as EPA Administrator in 1989. Under Reilly's leadership, the EPA implemented voluntary programs and initiated the development of a "cluster rule" for multimedia regulation of the pulp and paper industry. At the time, there was increasing awareness that some environmental issues were regional or localized in nature, and were more appropriately addressed with sub-national approaches and solutions. This understanding

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