Rachel Carson: Biography - page 2

As early as 1945, Carson had become concerned with the increasing use of synthetic chemical pesticides, perhaps best exemplified by post-World War II reliance on DDT. She wanted to alert the public to the dangers of DDT, but an article she wrote on the subject was rejected by Reader's Digest, leading her to set the issue aside for several years. However, as the number of pesticides in use expanded beyond DDT and the mishaps associated with their use became widely known, Carson's interest in the subject was revitalized. She began writing Silent Spring in 1957, a year that also witnessed a mosquito control campaign in Massachusetts that killed a large number of wildlife. Carson, in fact, received a letter in 1958 from a Massachusetts woman horrified to find dead birds throughout a bird sanctuary a few days after a massive DDT spraying.

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In addition to this insect-control effort in Massachusetts, Long Island, NY, was sprayed with a blanket of insecticide intended to control gypsy moth, and a widespread chemical campaign to eradicate fire ants was underway in the southern United States.
In this atmosphere of nearly uncontrolled pesticide use, Carson's Silent Spring was printed. Its first appearance was a serialized printing in the New Yorker in June 1962, which received an unprecedented response from readers. Responses in the form of attacks against the information she presented came from other sectors before, and especially, after, the book was published in final form.

The chemical industry threatened her with lawsuits, made personally demeaning comments, and publicly disputed her argument in both print and spoken campaigns. The leading companies portrayed Carson as a hysterical woman, a "nature lover," and an un-American fanatic. The industry used its power and money to convince the public of pesticides' safety and need, going so far as to pull their advertisements from television programs or magazines that supported Silent Spring's message.

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