153-580: 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 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
306-599: 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 , 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
459-519: A 2 degrees Celsius maximum. The agreement is one of the most expansive international efforts to limit the effects of global warming to date. Most environmental disasters in this time period involve crude oil pollution or the effects of rising temperatures. In 2010, BP was responsible for the largest American oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Deepwater Horizon spill , which killed
612-607: 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
765-612: A columnist. In 2018, Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul . In October 2023, the Post announced it would cut 240 jobs across the organization by offering voluntary separation packages to employees. In a staff-wide email announcing the job cuts, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote, "Our prior projections for traffic, subscriptions and advertising growth for the past two years — and into 2024 — have been overly optimistic". The Post has lost around 500,000 subscribers since
918-496: A former Democratic congressman from Ohio. To promote the newspaper, the new owners requested the leader of the United States Marine Band , John Philip Sousa , to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. Sousa composed " The Washington Post ". It became the standard music to accompany the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze, and remains one of Sousa's best-known works. In 1893,
1071-519: A front-page story which advertised the location at which white servicemen were planning to meet to carry out attacks on black Washingtonians. In 1929, financier Eugene Meyer , who had run the War Finance Corp. since World War I , secretly made an offer of $ 5 million for the Post, but he was rebuffed by Ned McLean. On June 1, 1933, Meyer bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction for $ 825,000 three weeks after stepping down as Chairman of
1224-497: A major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon , won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 1973. In 1972, the "Book World" section was introduced with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William McPherson as its first editor. It featured Pulitzer Prize-winning critics such as Jonathan Yardley and Michael Dirda , the latter of whom established his career as a critic at the Post . In 2009, after 37 years, with great reader outcries and protest, The Washington Post Book World as
1377-461: 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 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
1530-471: 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 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
1683-506: A number of the company's workers and released large amounts of crude oil into the water. Furthermore, throughout this century, much of the world has been ravaged by widespread wildfires and water scarcity , prompting regulations on the sustainable use of natural resources as determined by environmental scientists. The 21st century is marked by significant technological advancements. New technology in environmental science has transformed how researchers gather information about various topics in
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#17327802741821836-468: 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
1989-570: 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 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
2142-529: 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
2295-675: 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
2448-429: A pseudonym. His wife Agnes Ernst Meyer was a journalist from the other end of the spectrum politically. The Post ran many of her pieces including tributes to her personal friends John Dewey and Saul Alinsky . In 1946, Meyer was appointed head of World Bank , and he named his son-in-law Phil Graham to succeed him as Post publisher. The post-war years saw the developing friendship of Phil and Kay Graham with
2601-408: 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
2754-404: 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
2907-410: 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 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
3060-453: A series of individual stories..." He has been described as a "hands-off owner", holding teleconference calls with executive editor Martin Baron every two weeks. Bezos appointed Fred Ryan (founder and CEO of Politico ) to serve as publisher and chief executive officer. This signaled Bezos' intent to shift the Post to a more digital focus with a national and global readership. In 2015,
3213-540: A standalone insert was discontinued, the last issue being Sunday, February 15, 2009, along with a general reorganization of the paper, such as placing the Sunday editorials on the back page of the main front section rather than the "Outlook" section and distributing some other locally oriented "op-ed" letters and commentaries in other sections. However, book reviews are still published in the Outlook section on Sundays and in
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#17327802741823366-572: A story about his past ties to a phone hacking scandal, have further shaken the newsroom's morale. Lewis continues to grapple with declining revenue and audience on the business front, seeking strategies to regain subscribers lost since the Trump era. Later that month, the paper ran a story allegedly exposing a connection between incoming editor Robert Winnett and John Ford, a man who "admitted to an extensive career using deception and illegal means to obtain confidential information." Winnett withdrew from
3519-448: A subset of environmental science, which also could involve purely chemical or public health issues (for example) ecologists would be unlikely to study. In practice, there are considerable similarities between the work of ecologists and other environmental scientists. There is substantial overlap between ecology and environmental science with the disciplines of fisheries, forestry, and wildlife. Historical concern for environmental issues
3672-431: A systems approach to the analysis of environmental problems. Key elements of an effective environmental scientist include the ability to relate space, and time relationships as well as quantitative analysis. Environmental science came alive as a substantive, active field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s driven by (a) the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze complex environmental problems, (b)
3825-499: A way to classify all living organisms, influenced by earlier works of Aristotle . His text, Systema Naturae , represents one of the earliest culminations of knowledge on the subject, providing a means to identify different species based partially on how they interact with their environment. In the 1820s, scientists were studying the properties of gases, particularly those in the Earth's atmosphere and their interactions with heat from
3978-472: 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
4131-422: Is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics , biology , meteorology , mathematics and geography (including ecology , chemistry , plant science , zoology , mineralogy , oceanography , limnology , soil science , geology and physical geography , and atmospheric science ) to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. Environmental science emerged from
4284-453: Is being impacted by one or more stressors might include several related environmental science fields. In an estuarine setting where a proposed industrial development could impact certain species by water and air pollution , biologists would describe the flora and fauna, chemists would analyze the transport of water pollutants to the marsh, physicists would calculate air pollution emissions and geologists would assist in understanding
4437-580: Is in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. The newspaper's 21 current foreign bureaus are in Baghdad , Beijing , Beirut , Berlin , Brussels , Cairo , Dakar , Hong Kong , Islamabad , Istanbul , Jerusalem , London , Mexico City , Moscow , Nairobi , New Delhi , Rio de Janeiro , Rome , Seoul , Tokyo , and Toronto . In November 2009, the newspaper announced
4590-545: 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, 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
4743-417: 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
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4896-485: Is well documented in archives around the world. Ancient civilizations were mainly concerned with what is now known as environmental science insofar as it related to agriculture and natural resources. Scholars believe that early interest in the environment began around 6000 BCE when ancient civilizations in Israel and Jordan collapsed due to deforestation . As a result, in 2700 BCE the first legislation limiting deforestation
5049-596: 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
5202-466: 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 a website falsely blaming Carson for deaths to malaria. This triggered
5355-695: The Los Angeles Times , and The Wall Street Journal . The Post has distinguished itself through its political reporting on the workings of the White House, Congress, and other aspects of the U.S. government. It is considered a newspaper of record in the U.S. The Washington Post does not print an edition for distribution away from the East Coast . In 2009, the newspaper ceased publication of its National Weekly Edition due to shrinking circulation. The majority of its newsprint readership
5508-567: 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 a song titled ' Silent Spring '. The lead singer Bobby Gillespie in his book Tenement kid published late 2021, mentions how he dedicated the songs title after the Book. Environmental science Environmental science
5661-541: The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill , and the Cuyahoga River of Cleveland, Ohio, "catching fire" (also in 1969), and helped increase the visibility of environmental issues and create this new field of study. In common usage, "environmental science" and "ecology" are often used interchangeably, but technically, ecology refers only to the study of organisms and their interactions with each other as well as how they interrelate with environment. Ecology could be considered
5814-496: 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
5967-687: 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
6120-578: The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as international communication focused on finding solutions for climate change and degradation. In the late 1980s, the Exxon Valdez company was fined for spilling large quantities of crude oil off the coast of Alaska and the resulting cleanup, involving the work of environmental scientists. After hundreds of oil wells were burned in combat in 1991, warfare between Iraq and Kuwait polluted
6273-575: 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 the environmental cancer section Wilhelm Hueper , who classified many pesticides as carcinogens . Carson and her research assistant Jeanne Davis, with
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6426-575: The Post for two years before selling it in 1905 to John Roll McLean , owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer . During the Wilson presidency, the Post was credited with the "most famous newspaper typo " in D.C. history according to Reason magazine; the Post intended to report that President Wilson had been "entertaining" his future-wife Mrs. Galt, but instead wrote that he had been "entering" Mrs. Galt. When McLean died in 1916, he put
6579-524: The Post moved from the building it owned at 1150 15th Street to a leased space three blocks away at One Franklin Square on K Street . Since 2014 the Post has launched an online personal finance section, a blog, and a podcast with a retro theme. The Post won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for News & Politics in the Social and Web categories. In 2017, the newspaper hired Jamal Khashoggi as
6732-549: The Post with two remaining local competitors, the Washington Star ( Evening Star ) and The Washington Daily News . In 1972, the two competitors merged, forming the Washington Star-News. Following Graham's death in 1963, control of The Washington Post Company passed to his wife, Katharine Graham (1917–2001), who was also Eugene Meyer's daughter. Few women had run prominent national newspapers in
6885-613: The Post 's average printed weekday circulation is 139,232, making it the third largest newspaper in the country by circulation. For many decades, the Post had its main office at 1150 15th Street NW. This real estate remained with Graham Holdings when the newspaper was sold to Jeff Bezos' Nash Holdings in 2013. Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street, along with 1515 L Street, 1523 L Street, and land beneath 1100 15th Street, for $ 159 million in November 2013. The Post continued to lease space at 1150 L Street NW. In May 2014, The Post leased
7038-621: The San Francisco International Airport , Development of the Houston , Metro Transportation system , Expansion of the metropolitan Boston MBTA transit system , and Construction of Interstate 66 through Arlington, Virginia . In England and Wales the Environment Agency (EA), formed in 1996, is a public body for protecting and improving the environment and enforces the regulations listed on
7191-929: The Society for the Environment as well as the Institute of Air Quality Management were founded to share knowledge and develop solutions around the world. Later, in 2008, the United Kingdom became the first country to pass legislation (the Climate Change Act ) that aims to reduce carbon dioxide output to a specified threshold. In 2016 the Kyoto Protocol became the Paris Agreement , which sets concrete goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restricts Earth's rise in temperature to
7344-597: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Stockholm, Sweden to address global environmental degradation . Much of the interest in environmental science throughout the 1970s and the 1980s was characterized by major disasters and social movements. In 1978, hundreds of people were relocated from Love Canal , New York after carcinogenic pollutants were found to be buried underground near residential areas. The next year, in 1979,
7497-578: The Watergate scandal and the 1974 resignation of President Richard Nixon . In October 2013, the Graham family sold the newspaper to Nash Holdings , a holding company owned by Jeff Bezos , for $ 250 million. As of 2024, the newspaper had won the Pulitzer Prize 76 times for its work, the second-most of any publication after The New York Times . It is considered a newspaper of record in
7650-537: The conductor Manfred Honeck leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra . In 2019, Bobby, It's Cold Outside , an episode of animated comedy The Simpsons , features 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
7803-445: The divestment from fossil fuel use . Geographic information systems (GIS) are used to observe sources of air or water pollution through satellites and digital imagery analysis. This technology allows for advanced farming techniques like precision agriculture as well as monitoring water usage in order to set market prices. In the field of water quality, developed strains of natural and manmade bacteria contribute to bioremediation ,
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#17327802741827956-410: The electromagnetic spectrum . Lastly, thermal imaging technology is used in wildlife management to catch and discourage poachers and other illegal wildlife traffickers from killing endangered animals, proving useful for conservation efforts. Artificial intelligence has also been used to predict the movement of animal populations and protect the habitats of wildlife. Atmospheric sciences focus on
8109-467: The Commons , was published by Garrett Hardin in 1968 in response to accelerating natural degradation. In 1969, environmental science once again became a household term after two striking disasters: Ohio's Cuyahoga River caught fire due to the amount of pollution in its waters and a Santa Barbara oil spill endangered thousands of marine animals, both receiving prolific media coverage. Consequently,
8262-520: 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
8415-492: The Earth's atmosphere, with an emphasis upon its interrelation to other systems. Atmospheric sciences can include studies of meteorology , greenhouse gas phenomena, atmospheric dispersion modeling of airborne contaminants, sound propagation phenomena related to noise pollution , and even light pollution . Taking the example of the global warming phenomena, physicists create computer models of atmospheric circulation and infrared radiation transmission, chemists examine
8568-518: The Federal Reserve . He had bid anonymously, and was prepared to go up to $ 2 million, far higher than the other bidders. These included William Randolph Hearst , who had long hoped to shut down the ailing Post to benefit his own Washington newspaper presence. The Post 's health and reputation were restored under Meyer's ownership. In 1946, he was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law, Philip Graham . Meyer eventually gained
8721-607: 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
8874-576: 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
9027-706: The Kennedys, the Bradlees and the rest of the " Georgetown Set", including many Harvard University alumni that would color the Post's political orientation. Kay Graham's most memorable Georgetown soirée guest list included British diplomat and communist spy Donald Maclean . The Post is credited with coining the term " McCarthyism " in a 1950 editorial cartoon by Herbert Block . Depicting buckets of tar, it made fun of Sen. Joseph McCarthy 's "tarring" tactics, i.e., smear campaigns and character assassination against those targeted by his accusations. Sen. McCarthy
9180-598: The Style section the rest of the week, as well as online. In 1975, the pressmen's union went on strike . The Post hired replacement workers to replace the pressmen's union, and other unions returned to work in February 1976. Donald E. Graham , Katharine's son, succeeded her as a publisher in 1979. In 1995, the domain name washingtonpost.com was purchased. That same year, a failed effort to create an online news repository called Digital Ink launched. The following year it
9333-455: The Sun. Later that century, studies suggested that the Earth had experienced an Ice Age and that warming of the Earth was partially due to what are now known as greenhouse gases (GHG). The greenhouse effect was introduced, although climate science was not yet recognized as an important topic in environmental science due to minimal industrialization and lower rates of greenhouse gas emissions at
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#17327802741829486-503: The U.S. Post journalists have received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards. The paper is well known for its political reporting and is one of the few remaining American newspapers to operate foreign bureaus , with international breaking news hubs in London and Seoul . The Washington Post is regarded as one of the leading daily American newspapers along with The New York Times ,
9639-472: 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 the use of DDT for malaria control until affordable substitutes could be found. Mass outdoor spraying of DDT
9792-734: The United States passed an abundance of legislation, including the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement . The following year, in 1970, the first ever Earth Day was celebrated worldwide and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed, legitimizing the study of environmental science in government policy. In the next two years, the United Nations created
9945-495: The United States. In her autobiography, Katharine Graham described her own anxiety and lack of confidence when she stepped into a leadership role. She served as publisher from 1969 to 1979. Graham took The Washington Post Company public on June 15, 1971, in the midst of the Pentagon Papers controversy. A total of 1,294,000 shares were offered to the public at $ 26 per share. By the end of Graham's tenure as CEO in 1991,
10098-625: The Vietnam War in 1971 when it published the Pentagon Papers . In the mid-1970s, some conservatives referred to the Post as " Pravda on the Potomac " because of its perceived left-wing bias in both reporting and editorials. Since then, the appellation has been used by both liberal and conservative critics of the newspaper. In the PBS documentary Buying the War , journalist Bill Moyers said in
10251-528: The War. In 1902, Berryman published another famous cartoon in the Post – Drawing the Line in Mississippi . This cartoon depicts President Theodore Roosevelt showing compassion for a small bear cub and inspired New York store owner Morris Michtom to create the teddy bear. Wilkins acquired Hatton's share of the newspaper in 1894 at Hatton's death. After Wilkins' death in 1903, his sons John and Robert ran
10404-474: The acquisition. The combined newspaper was published from the Globe Building as The Washington Post and Union beginning on April 15, 1878, with a circulation of 13,000. The Post and Union name was used about two weeks until April 29, 1878, returning to the original masthead the following day. In 1889, Hutchins sold the newspaper to Frank Hatton , a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins ,
10557-523: 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
10710-500: 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 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
10863-542: 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
11016-477: The appointment of two white men to top editorial positions have sparked internal discontent, particularly given the lack of consideration for the Post's senior female editors. Additionally, Lewis' proposed division for social media and service journalism has met with resistance from staff. Recent reports alleging Lewis' attempts to influence editorial decisions, including pressuring NPR 's media correspondent to drop
11169-428: 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
11322-401: The arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific environmental protocols of investigation and (c) the growing public awareness of a need for action in addressing environmental problems. Events that spurred this development included the publication of Rachel Carson 's landmark environmental book Silent Spring along with major environmental issues becoming very public, such as
11475-474: 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 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
11628-638: 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 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
11781-688: 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
11934-478: The case of a leaking solvent tank which has entered the habitat soil of an endangered species of amphibian. As a method to resolve or understand the extent of soil contamination and subsurface transport of solvent, a computer model would be implemented. Chemists would then characterize the molecular bonding of the solvent to the specific soil type, and biologists would study the impacts upon soil arthropods , plants, and ultimately pond-dwelling organisms that are
12087-422: The changes in climate over time, particularly ice core sampling . Environmental science was brought to the forefront of society in 1962 when Rachel Carson published an influential piece of environmental literature, Silent Spring . Carson's writing led the American public to pursue environmental safeguards, such as bans on harmful chemicals like the insecticide DDT . Another important work, The Tragedy of
12240-570: The changes in light transmission in the receiving waters. Biologists would analyze subsequent impacts to aquatic flora and fauna from increases in water turbidity. In the United States the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 set forth requirements for analysis of federal government actions (such as highway construction projects and land management decisions) in terms of specific environmental criteria. Numerous state laws have echoed these mandates, applying
12393-456: 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
12546-510: 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
12699-470: The closure of three U.S. regional bureaus in Chicago , Los Angeles and New York City , as part of an increased focus on Washington, D.C. –based political stories and local news. The newspaper has local bureaus in Maryland (Annapolis, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Southern Maryland) and Virginia (Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun County, Richmond, and Prince William County). As of March 2023,
12852-552: The communities and local government site. (formerly the office of the deputy prime minister). The agency was set up under the Environment Act 1995 as an independent body and works closely with UK Government to enforce the regulations. The Washington Post The Washington Post , locally known as The Post and, informally, WaPo or WP , is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. ,
13005-636: The cover. The final writing was the first chapter, "A Fable for Tomorrow", which was intended to provide 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
13158-524: 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
13311-499: 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, 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
13464-434: The discipline. Although warfare and disease were of primary concern in ancient society, environmental issues played a crucial role in the survival and power of different civilizations. As more communities recognized the importance of the natural world to their long-term success, an interest in studying the environment came into existence. In 1735, the concept of binomial nomenclature is introduced by Carolus Linnaeus as
13617-724: 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
13770-422: 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
13923-486: The earth's physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes, and to use that knowledge to understand how issues such as alternative energy systems, pollution control and mitigation, natural resource management , and the effects of global warming and climate change influence and affect the natural systems and processes of earth. Environmental issues almost always include an interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes. Environmental scientists bring
14076-411: 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
14229-400: The end of 2020 and was set to lose $ 100 million in 2023, according to The New York Times . The layoffs prompted Dan Froomkin of Presswatchers to suggest that the decline in readership could be reversed by focusing on the rise of authoritarianism (in a fashion similar to the role the Post played during the Watergate scandal ) instead of staying strictly neutral, which Froomkin says places
14382-426: The entire company revenue stream. Executive editor Ben Bradlee put the newspaper's reputation and resources behind reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein , who, in a long series of articles, chipped away at the story behind the 1972 burglary of Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington. The Post 's dogged coverage of the story, the outcome of which ultimately played
14535-439: 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
14688-576: 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
14841-419: 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 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
14994-483: The field. Research in engines, fuel efficiency , and decreasing emissions from vehicles since the times of the Industrial Revolution has reduced the amount of carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Furthermore, investment in researching and developing clean energy (i.e. wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power) has significantly increased in recent years, indicating the beginnings of
15147-580: The fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment . Today it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems . Environmental studies incorporates more of the social sciences for understanding human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. Environmental engineering focuses on design and technology for improving environmental quality in every aspect. Environmental scientists seek to understand
15300-487: 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
15453-506: The food of the endangered amphibian. Geosciences include environmental geology , environmental soil science , volcanic phenomena and evolution of the Earth's crust. In some classification systems this can also include hydrology , including oceanography . As an example study, of soils erosion , calculations would be made of surface runoff by soil scientists. Fluvial geomorphologists would assist in examining sediment transport in overland flow. Physicists would contribute by assessing
15606-465: 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 the subject. From reading the scientific literature and interviewing scientists, Carson found two scientific camps: those who dismissed
15759-493: 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 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
15912-642: The impact of farming practices on the sustainability of the land and its stable food production. Furthermore, in 1450 BCE the Minoan civilization on the Greek island of Crete declined due to deforestation and the resulting environmental degradation of natural resources. Pliny the Elder somewhat addressed the environmental concerns of ancient civilizations in the text Naturalis Historia , written between 77 and 79 ACE, which provided an overview of many related subsets of
16065-533: The inventory of atmospheric chemicals and their reactions, biologists analyze the plant and animal contributions to carbon dioxide fluxes, and specialists such as meteorologists and oceanographers add additional breadth in understanding the atmospheric dynamics . As defined by the Ecological Society of America, "Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment; it seeks to understand
16218-550: 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
16371-588: The last laugh over Hearst, who had owned the old Washington Times and the Herald before their 1939 merger that formed the Times-Herald . This was in turn bought by and merged into the Post in 1954. The combined paper was officially named The Washington Post and Times-Herald until 1973, although the Times-Herald portion of the nameplate became less and less prominent over time. The merger left
16524-556: 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 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
16677-459: The marsh soils and bay muds. Environmental chemistry is the study of chemical alterations in the environment. Principal areas of study include soil contamination and water pollution. The topics of analysis include chemical degradation in the environment, multi-phase transport of chemicals (for example, evaporation of a solvent containing lake to yield solvent as an air pollutant), and chemical effects upon biota . As an example study, consider
16830-720: The meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine released radioactive waste to the public, leading to international studies on the ramifications of environmental disasters. Over the next couple of years, the Brundtland Commission (previously known as the World Commission on Environment and Development) published a report titled Our Common Future and the Montreal Protocol formed
16983-605: The national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has a national audience. As of 2023, the Post has 135,980 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which are the third-largest among U.S. newspapers after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal . The Post was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy in 1933 and revived its health and reputation; this work
17136-526: The new President Lyndon B. Johnson , "I don't have much influence with the Post because I frankly don't read it. I view it like the Daily Worker ." Ben Bradlee became the editor-in-chief in 1968, and Kay Graham officially became the publisher in 1969, paving the way for the aggressive reporting of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandals . The Post strengthened public opposition to
17289-458: The newspaper in a trust, having little faith that his playboy son Edward "Ned" McLean could manage it as part of his inheritance. Ned went to court and broke the trust, but, under his management, the newspaper slumped toward ruin. He bled the paper for his lavish lifestyle and used it to promote political agendas. During the Red Summer of 1919 the Post supported the white mobs and even ran
17442-555: The newspaper moved to a building at 14th and E streets NW, where it would remain until 1950. This building combined all functions of the newspaper into one headquarters – newsroom, advertising, typesetting, and printing – that ran 24 hours per day. In 1898, during the Spanish–American War , the Post printed Clifford K. Berryman 's classic illustration Remember the Maine , which became the battle-cry for American sailors during
17595-402: The newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election , former Post ombudsman Deborah Howell wrote: "The opinion pages have strong conservative voices; the editorial board includes centrists and conservatives; and there were editorials critical of Obama. Yet opinion was still weighted toward Obama." According to a 2009 Oxford University Press book by Richard Davis on
17748-538: The nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania suffered a meltdown and raised concerns about the dangers of radioactive waste and the safety of nuclear energy. In response to landfills and toxic waste often disposed of near their homes, the official Environmental Justice Movement was started by a Black community in North Carolina in 1982. Two years later, the toxic methyl isocyanate gas
17901-433: The organization would embrace artificial intelligence to improve the paper's financial situation, telling staff it would seek "AI everywhere in our newsroom." In June 2024, Axios reported the Post faced significant internal turmoil and financial challenges. The new CEO, Lewis, has already generated controversy with his leadership style and proposed restructuring plans. The abrupt departure of executive editor Buzbee and
18054-420: The paper into an undistinguished secondary role in competition with other contemporary media. As part of the shift in tone, in 2023 the paper closed down the "KidsPost" column for children, the "Skywatch" astronomy column, and the "John Kelly's Washington" column about local history and sights, which had been running under different bylines since 1947. In May 2024, CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that
18207-459: The point of extinction. Additionally, remote sensing allows for the detection of features of the environment without physical intervention. The resulting digital imagery is used to create increasingly accurate models of environmental processes, climate change , and much more. Advancements to remote sensing technology are particularly useful in locating the nonpoint sources of pollution and analyzing ecosystem health through image analysis across
18360-465: The position shortly thereafter. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer bought the bankrupt Post , and assured the public that neither he nor the newspaper would be beholden to any political party. But as a leading Republican who had been appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve by Herbert Hoover in 1930, his opposition to Roosevelt 's New Deal colored the paper's editorials and news coverage, including editorializing news stories written by Meyer under
18513-454: 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 the criticism by Carson and others with a public service film, Fire Ants on Trial ; Carson called it "flagrant propaganda" that ignored
18666-499: The principles to local-scale actions. The upshot has been an explosion of documentation and study of environmental consequences before the fact of development actions. One can examine the specifics of environmental science by reading examples of Environmental Impact Statements prepared under NEPA such as: Wastewater treatment expansion options discharging into the San Diego/ Tijuana Estuary , Expansion of
18819-505: The process of collectivizing knowledge from researchers around the world to create increased opportunity for scientific progress. With crowdsourcing , data is released to the public for personal analyses which can later be shared as new information is found. Another technological development, blockchain technology, monitors and regulates global fisheries. By tracking the path of fish through global markets, environmental scientists can observe whether certain species are being overharvested to
18972-455: 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 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
19125-533: 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 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
19278-417: The stock was worth $ 888 per share, not counting the effect of an intermediate 4:1 stock split. Graham also oversaw the Post company's diversification purchase of the for-profit education and training company Kaplan, Inc. for $ 40 million in 1984. Twenty years later, Kaplan had surpassed the Post newspaper as the company's leading contributor to income, and by 2010 Kaplan accounted for more than 60% of
19431-481: 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 was
19584-433: The surrounding atmosphere just below the air quality threshold environmental scientist s believed was life-threatening. Many niche disciplines of environmental science have emerged over the years, although climatology is one of the most known topics. Since the 2000s, environmental scientists have focused on modeling the effects of climate change and encouraging global cooperation to minimize potential damages. In 2002,
19737-408: 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
19890-434: The time. In the 1900s, the discipline of environmental science as it is known today began to take shape. The century is marked by significant research, literature, and international cooperation in the field. In the early 20th century, criticism from dissenters downplayed the effects of global warming . At this time, few researchers were studying the dangers of fossil fuels . After a 1.3 degrees Celsius temperature anomaly
20043-483: The treatment of wastewaters for future use. This method is more eco-friendly and cheaper than manual cleanup or treatment of wastewaters. Most notably, the expansion of computer technology has allowed for large data collection, advanced analysis, historical archives, public awareness of environmental issues, and international scientific communication. The ability to crowdsource on the Internet, for example, represents
20196-581: 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
20349-463: The vital connections between plants and animals and the world around them." Ecologists might investigate the relationship between a population of organisms and some physical characteristic of their environment, such as concentration of a chemical; or they might investigate the interaction between two populations of different organisms through some symbiotic or competitive relationship. For example, an interdisciplinary analysis of an ecological system which
20502-572: The war, while contrary information got lost". On March 23, 2007, Chris Matthews said on his television program, " The Washington Post is not the liberal newspaper it was [...] I have been reading it for years and it is a neocon newspaper". It has regularly published a mixture of op-ed columnists, with some of them left-leaning (including E. J. Dionne , Dana Milbank , Greg Sargent, and Eugene Robinson ), and some of them right-leaning (including George Will , Marc Thiessen , Michael Gerson and Charles Krauthammer ). Responding to criticism of
20655-570: The west tower of One Franklin Square , a high-rise building at 1301 K Street NW in Washington, D.C. Mary Jordan was the founding editor, head of content, and moderator for Washington Post Live , The Post's editorial events business, which organizes political debates, conferences and news events for the media company, including "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate" in June 2012 that featured key Watergate figures including former White House counsel John Dean , Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee , and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein , which
20808-470: 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
20961-547: The year prior to the Iraq War there were 27 editorials supporting the Bush administration 's desire to invade Iraq. National security correspondent Walter Pincus reported that he had been ordered to cease his reports that were critical of the administration. According to author and journalist Greg Mitchell : "By the Post 's own admission, in the months before the war, it ran more than 140 stories on its front page promoting
21114-402: Was Silent Spring , which brought environmental concerns to the American public. The book 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
21267-578: 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 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
21420-906: Was attempting to do for the Senate what the House Un-American Activities Committee had been doing for years—investigating Soviet espionage in America . The HUAC made Richard Nixon nationally known for his role in the Hiss / Chambers case that exposed communist spying in the State Department . The committee had evolved from the McCormack - Dickstein Committee of the 1930s. Phil Graham's friendship with John F. Kennedy remained strong until their deaths in 1963. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover reportedly told
21573-485: Was continued by his successors Katharine and Phil Graham , Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, respectively, who bought out several rival publications. The Post 's 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War . Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the investigation into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee , which developed into
21726-673: Was established in Mesopotamia . Two hundred years later, in 2500 BCE, a community residing in the Indus River Valley observed the nearby river system in order to improve sanitation. This involved manipulating the flow of water to account for public health. In the Western Hemisphere, numerous ancient Central American city-states collapsed around 1500 BCE due to soil erosion from intensive agriculture. Those remaining from these civilizations took greater attention to
21879-588: Was found in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1940s, however, scientists renewed their studies of gaseous heat trapping from the greenhouse effect (although only carbon dioxide and water vapor were known to be greenhouse gases then). Nuclear development following the Second World War allowed environmental scientists to intensively study the effects of carbon and make advancements in the field. Further knowledge from archaeological evidence brought to light
22032-407: Was founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins (1838–1912); in 1880, it added a Sunday edition, becoming the city's first newspaper to publish seven days a week. In April 1878, about four months into publication, The Washington Post purchased The Washington Union , a competing newspaper which was founded by John Lynch in late 1877. The Union had only been in operation about six months at the time of
22185-410: 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 the scientific literature she had been studying. She also wondered about the possible "financial inducements behind certain pesticide programs". Research at
22338-525: Was held at the Watergate hotel. Regular hosts include Frances Stead Sellers . Lois Romano was formerly the editor of Washington Post Live . The Post has its own exclusive Zip Code , 20071. Arc XP is a department of The Washington Post , which provides a publishing system and software for news organizations such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times . The newspaper
22491-462: Was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of Discover magazine . In 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
22644-541: Was released to the public from a power plant disaster in Bhopal , India, harming hundreds of thousands of people living near the disaster site, the effects of which are still felt today. In a groundbreaking discovery in 1985, a British team of researchers studying Antarctica found evidence of a hole in the ozone layer , inspiring global agreements banning the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were previously used in nearly all aerosols and refrigerants. Notably, in 1986,
22797-400: Was renamed Graham Holdings shortly after the sale. Nash Holdings, which includes the Post , is operated separately from technology company Amazon , which Bezos founded and where he is as of 2022 executive chairman and the largest single shareholder, with 12.7% of voting rights. Bezos said he has a vision that recreates "the 'daily ritual' of reading the Post as a bundle, not merely
22950-410: Was shut down and the first website was launched in June 1996. In August 2013, Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post and other local publications, websites, and real estate for US$ 250 million , transferring ownership to Nash Holdings LLC, Bezos's private investment company. The paper's former parent company, which retained some other assets such as Kaplan and a group of TV stations,
23103-478: 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
23256-469: 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
23409-744: 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
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