Editing Silent Spring (section)

==Promotion and reception==
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 the anticipated attacks, Carson and her agent attempted to amass prominent supporters before the book's release.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=397–400}}</ref>

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 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=375, 377, 400–407}}. Douglas's dissenting opinion on the rejection of the case, ''Robert Cushman Murphy et al., v. Butler et al.'', from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, is from March 28, 1960.</ref>

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 the June 16, 1962, issue.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6fAP6Fjx-Y&t=10m15s ''The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson''] (CBS Reports, with Erik Sevareid, aired on Apr 3, 1963, published to YouTube on Jan 28, 2017)</ref> 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{{mdash}}much less ''The New Yorker''".<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=407–408}}. Quotation (p. 408) from a June 13, 1962, letter from Carson to Dorothy Freeman.</ref> Other publicity included 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 the drug's sale in the United States.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=409–413}}</ref>

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 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 a pamphlet by William O. Douglas endorsing the book.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=412–420}}</ref>

[[American Cyanamid]] biochemist [[Robert White-Stevens]] and former Cyanamid chemist [[Thomas H. Jukes|Thomas Jukes]] were among the most aggressive critics, especially of Carson's analysis of DDT.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=433–434}}</ref> 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 the earth".<ref name=McLaughlin/> 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".<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Lear|1997|p=434}}</ref> According to historian [[Linda Lear]] the former US Secretary of Agriculture [[Ezra Taft Benson]], asked in a letter to former President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], "Why a spinster with no children was so concerned about genetics?" Benson's conclusion was Carson was "probably a Communist".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Paull |first=John |date=2013-07-01 |title=The Rachel Carson Letters and the Making of Silent Spring |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244013494861 |journal=[[SAGE Open]] |publisher=[[Sage Publishing]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=215824401349486 |doi=10.1177/2158244013494861 |issn=2158-2440}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=429,573}} The purported letter from Benson to Eisenhower was also reported by historian [[Blanche Wiesen Cook]] in 1992, but could not be located in Eisenhower's archives; author Frank Graham Jr. in 1970 credited a "disgruntled member of the Federal Pest Control Review Board" as the source.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Professional entomology and the 44 noisy years since Silent Spring. Part 2: Response to Silent Spring|author1=Krupke, C.H.|author2=Prasad, R.P.|author3=Anelli, C.M.|journal=American Entomologist|year=2007|pages=16–25|volume=53|issue=1|url=http://entomology.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Krupke-et-al-2007.pdf|doi=10.1093/ae/53.1.16|access-date=May 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213173334/http://entomology.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Krupke-et-al-2007.pdf|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 the chemicals' impact on ecosystems.<ref>{{harvnb|Murphy|2005|p=9}}</ref> She concludes her section on DDT in ''Silent Spring'' with advice for spraying as little as possible to limit the development of resistance.<ref>Carson, ''Silent Spring'', p. 275</ref> [[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".<ref name="Lytle 2007 166–7"/>

The academic community{{mdash}}including prominent defenders such as [[H. J. Muller]], [[Loren Eiseley]], [[Clarence Cottam]] and [[Frank Egler]]{{mdash}}mostly backed 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 the wild-eyed, loud-voiced Dr. Robert White-Stevens in white lab coat, Carson appeared anything but the hysterical alarmist that her critics contended".<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=437–449}}; quotation from 449.</ref> 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]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=449–450}}</ref> Within a year of publication, attacks on the book and on Carson had lost momentum.<ref name="time100">[http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/carson03.html The Time 100: Scientists and Thinkers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613014455/http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/carson03.html |date=2009-06-13 }}, accessed September 23, 2007</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|p=461}}</ref>

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.<ref name="nwhm_bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/rachel-carson |title=Rachel Carson (1907-1964) |editor-last=Michals|editor-first=Debra|publisher=[[National Women's History Museum]]|location=Alexandria, Virginia|date=2015}}</ref> Following the report's release, Carson also testified before a [[United States Senate|US Senate]] subcommittee to make policy recommendations. Though Carson received hundreds of other speaking invitations, she 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 ''[[Today (NBC program)|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 the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=451–461, 469–473}}</ref>
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."<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Popova|first1=Maria|url=https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/01/27/rachel-carson-silent-spring-dorothy-freeman/|title=The Writing of "Silent Spring": Rachel Carson and the Culture-Shifting Courage to Speak Inconvenient Truth to Power|date=27 January 2017| website= Brain Pickings| access-date= 10 September 2019 }}</ref>