From Calm Leadership, Lasting Change
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ReflectionI was very inspired after reading this article. Reading about Carson's life and how she lived was very enlightening. Even with all the troubles that she faced in life, she never stopped pursuing her goal in trying to inform people the dangers of the current pesticides that are being used today. If I was in Rachel's position, I too would combat the use of such pesticides. After being in my APES class for a few weeks, I was shown videos of little kids getting sprayed with DDT and I was surprised that everyone was just okay with that happening. However the only reason why I know the harmful effects of DDT today is because of Rachel Carson has proven the numerous amount of health risks. The solution to this problem was very simple, just stop the use of DDT. I believe that what she did to open our eyes about DDT is VERY important and without Rachel Carson and "Silent Spring" our society would be very different.
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SummaryRachel Carson is one of the most influential person when regarding the ban of harmful pesticides. Not only in harmful pesticides but the environmental movement in general. She lived at a time were people were very naiive and were not aware of the dangers these pesticides can cause. She first started off attending different colleges and ended up with a master's degree in zoology. She ended up finding a job and "writing radio scripts about the ocean for what would become the United States Fish and Wildlife Service". After this, she ended up publishing two other books: "Under the Sea-Wind" and "The Sea Around Us". Then in early 1958, she began writing "Silent Spring". However, her life became exceedingly more difficult due to breast cancer as well as other events that made it difficult for her to write. Even though all of these things were happening to her, she still pursued her research for Silent Spring. She recruited many scientists and environmentalists to help her with this to try and warn people about the harmful pesticides they are using more casually. The book was so well received that the current president at the time (John F. Kennedy) appointed a committee to study pesticide use.
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