Editing Silent Spring (section)

==Impact==

===Grassroots environmentalism and the EPA===
Carson's work had a powerful impact on the environmental movement. ''Silent Spring'' became 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."<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|p=3}}</ref> Carson's work and the activism it inspired are partly responsible for the [[deep ecology]] movement and the strength of the grassroots environmental movement since the 1960s. It was also influential to the rise of [[ecofeminism]] and to many [[feminist]] scientists.<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|pp=8–9}}</ref> 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 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|pp=46–47}}</ref>

The creation of the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|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 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|pp=47–48, 148–163}}</ref> 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 was that DDT could not be used safely.<ref>George M. Woodwell, Broken Eggshells, ''Science 84'', November.</ref> History professor Gary Kroll wrote, "Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring'' played a large role in articulating ecology as a 'subversive subject'{{mdash}}as a perspective that cuts against the grain of materialism, [[scientism]], and the technologically engineered control of nature."<ref>Gary Kroll, [http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/carsonindex/kroll.aspx "Rachel Carson-''Silent Spring''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715160311/http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/carsonindex/kroll.aspx |date=2007-07-15 }}: A Brief History of Ecology as a Subversive Subject". Onlineethics.org: National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved November 4, 2007.</ref>

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 the issue drew considerable public attention.<ref>EPA Alumni Association: EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus and some of his closest aides recall the DDT ban decision, [http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=16 Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011072603/http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=16 |date=2016-10-11 }}, [http://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/605EA9C8EF2DD115.pdf#page=13 Transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011224944/http://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/605EA9C8EF2DD115.pdf#page=13 |date=2016-10-11 }} (see pages 13, 14).</ref>

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&nbsp;...&nbsp;Indeed, Rachel Carson was one of the reasons that I became so conscious of the environment and so involved with environmental issues &nbsp;...&nbsp; [she] has had as much or more effect on me than any, and perhaps than all of them together."<ref name="McLaughlin" />

===Debate over environmentalism and DDT restrictions===
Carson has been targeted by some organizations opposed to 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.<ref name="Erik"/><ref name="Slate"/><ref>{{harvnb|Lytle|2007|p=217}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Baum|first=Rudy M.|date=June 4, 2007|title=Rachel Carson|journal=Chemical and Engineering News|volume=85|issue=23|page=5|url=http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/85/i23/html/8523editor.html}}</ref> 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 is worse than irresponsible".<ref name="salon">{{cite news |first=Kirsten |last=Weir |title=Rachel Carson's birthday bashing |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/06/29/rachel_carson/ |work=Salon.com |date=June 29, 2007 |access-date=July 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415165815/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/06/29/rachel_carson/ |archive-date=April 15, 2008 }}</ref> Investigative journalist Adam Sarvana and others characterize this notion as a "myth" promoted principally by Bate.<ref name="NRNS">{{cite news|url=http://www.nrns.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51:bate-and-switch-how-a-free-market-magician-manipulated-two-decades-of-environmental-science-|title=Bate and Switch: How a free-market magician manipulated two decades of environmental science|last=Sarvana|first=Adam|date=May 28, 2009|publisher=Natural Resources New Service|access-date=June 2, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524144406/http://www.nrns.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51%3Abate-and-switch-how-a-free-market-magician-manipulated-two-decades-of-environmental-science-|archive-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Guts">{{cite book|last=Gutstein|first=Donald|title=Not a Conspiracy Theory: How Business Propaganda Hijacks Democracy|publisher=Key Porter Books|date= 2009|isbn=978-1-55470-191-9}}. Relevant excerpt at {{cite magazine |url=https://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2010/01/22/DDTPropaganda/ |title=Inside the DDT Propaganda Machine |last=Gutstein |first=Donald |date=January 22, 2010 |magazine=The Tyee |access-date=January 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125172424/http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2010/01/22/DDTPropaganda/ |archive-date=January 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

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.<ref name="quig"/><ref name="Erik">{{harvnb|Oreskes|Conway|2010|p=217}}</ref> In 2009, the heavily corporate-funded<ref>{{cite news|last1=Eilperin|first1=Juliet|title=Anatomy of a Washington dinner: Who funds the Competitive Enterprise Institute?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/06/20/anatomy-of-a-washington-dinner-who-funds-the-competitive-enterprise-institute/|access-date=25 September 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 20, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Guardian 2015">{{cite news |last1=Goldenberg|first1=Suzanne|last2=Bengtsson|first2=Helena|title=Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups $125m over three years|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/secretive-donors-gave-us-climate-denial-groups-125m-over-three-years|access-date=30 November 2016|work=The Guardian|date=June 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052301305_pf.html |title=The Tempest |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=2006-05-23 |access-date=2015-03-11}}</ref> CEI set up 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''.<ref name="Erik"/><ref name="Slate">{{cite news |last= Souder |first= William |date= Sep 4, 2012 |title= Rachel Carson Didn't Kill Millions of Africans |url= http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/09/silent_spring_turns_50_biographer_william_souder_clears_up_myths_about_rachel_carson_.html |newspaper= Slate |access-date= March 30, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140422025120/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/09/silent_spring_turns_50_biographer_william_souder_clears_up_myths_about_rachel_carson_.html |archive-date= April 22, 2014 |url-status= live |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

A 2012 review article in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' by Rob Dunn<ref name="dunn_2012">{{cite journal |author=Dunn |first=R. |year=2012 |title=In retrospect: Silent Spring |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=485 |issue=7400 |pages=578–579 |bibcode=2012Natur.485..578D |doi=10.1038/485578a |doi-access=free}}</ref> 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 [[Chris J. Leaver|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".<ref name="trewavas_2012">{{cite journal | last1=Trewavas |first1=Anthony|author1-link = Anthony Trewavas|first2=Chris J.|last2=Leaver|author2-link=Chris J. Leaver|first3=Bruce|last3=Ames|author3-link=Bruce Ames|last4=Lachmann|first4=Peter|author4-link=Peter Lachmann|last5=Tren|first5=R.|last6=Miller|first6=Henry|author6-link=Henry I. Miller | display-authors = et al | year = 2012 | title = Environment: Carson no 'beacon of reason' on DDT | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume = 486 | issue = 7404 | page = 473 | doi = 10.1038/486473a | bibcode = 2012Natur.486..473T | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Biographer Hamilton Lytle believes these estimates are unrealistic, even if Carson can be "blamed" for worldwide DDT policies.<ref>{{harvnb|Lytle|2007|pp=220–228}}</ref> [[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 the United States in 1972 did not apply outside the US nor to anti-malaria spraying.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eac.int/health/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95%3Aclassification-system&catid=15%3Adiseases&Itemid=32 |title=Malaria Prevention and Control |publisher=East African Community Health |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150108233412/http://www.eac.int/health/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95%3Aclassification-system&catid=15%3Adiseases&Itemid=32 |archive-date=2015-01-08 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Oreskes|Conway|2010|p=226}}</ref> The international treaty that banned most uses of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides{{mdash}}the 2001 [[Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants]] (which became effective in 2004){{mdash}}included an exemption for the use of DDT for malaria control until affordable substitutes could be found.<ref name="quig"/> 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.<ref name="quig">{{cite journal |last1=Quiggin |first1=John |last2=Lambert |first2=Tim |date=24 May 2008 |title=Rehabilitating Carson |url=http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2008/05/rehabilitatingcarson/ |url-status=live |journal=Prospect |issue=146 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512125536/http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2008/05/rehabilitatingcarson/ |archive-date=12 May 2012 |access-date=17 March 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Oreskes|Conway|2010|pp=223–224}}</ref>

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 the status quo&nbsp;...&nbsp;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."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome malaria.org - BlueHost.com |url=http://www.malaria.org/DDTpage.html |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=www.malaria.org}}</ref>

===Legacy===
''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 the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-05-03 |title=The Non-Fiction 100 |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/1999/05/non-fiction-100/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2006, ''Silent Spring'' was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of ''[[Discover Magazine]]''.<ref name="discovermagazine.com"/> In 2012, the American Chemical Society designated the legacy of ''Silent Spring'' a [https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/rachel-carson-silent-spring.html National Historic Chemical Landmark] at Chatham University in Pittsburgh.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Historic Chemical Landmarks – American Chemical Society |url=http://www.acs.org/landmarks |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907083641/http://www.acs.org/landmarks |archive-date=September 7, 2008 |access-date=2016-08-24 |website=American Chemical Society}}</ref>

In 1996, a follow-up book, ''Beyond Silent Spring'', co-written by H.&nbsp;F. van Emden and [[David Peakall]], was published.<ref name="Chapman & Hall">{{cite book |title=Beyond silent spring: integrated pest management and chemical safety |publisher=Chapman & Hall |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-412-72810-5 |editor1=Peakall, David B. |location=London |editor2=Van Emden, Helmut Fritz}}</ref><ref name="Richards H 269–270">{{cite journal |author=Richards |first=H. |date=September 1999 |title=Beyond Silent Spring: Integrated Pest Management and Chemical Safety. Edited by H.F. van Emden and D.B. Peakall |journal=Integrated Pest Management Reviews |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=269–270 |doi=10.1023/A:1009686508200 |s2cid=83433090}}</ref>

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.<ref>[https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/arts/meeting-the-old-master/ Gareth Stevens. 'Meeting the Old Master', ''Hastings Independent'', 25 March, 2022]</ref>

''Silent Spring'' is mentioned in the 2008 science fiction novel ''[[The Three-Body Problem (novel)|The Three-Body Problem]]'' by [[Liu Cixin]], as well as its [[Three-Body|Tencent 2023]] and [[3 Body Problem (TV series)|Netflix 2024 television series]] adaptations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-22 |title=Is the book Silent Spring, as seen in 3 Body Problem, real? |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a60275117/netflix-3-body-problem-silent-spring/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]}}</ref>

In 2011, the American composer [[Steven Stucky]] wrote the eponymously titled [[symphonic poem]] [[Silent Spring (composition)|''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 [[Conducting|conductor]] [[Manfred Honeck]] leading the [[Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Druckenbrod |first=Andrew |title=PSO takes hard look at turmoil, both environmental and human |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=February 18, 2012 |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/music-reviews/2012/02/18/PSO-takes-hard-look-at-turmoil-both-environmental-and-human/stories/201202180463 |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083632/http://www.post-gazette.com/music-reviews/2012/02/18/PSO-takes-hard-look-at-turmoil-both-environmental-and-human/stories/201202180463 |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kanny |first=Mark |title=Offerings of 'Silent Spring', venerated material excel |work=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]] |date=February 18, 2012 |url=http://triblive.com//x/pittsburghtrib/ae/music/s_782327.html#axzz3ZoO1ke3V |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518090430/http://triblive.com//x/pittsburghtrib/ae/music/s_782327.html#axzz3ZoO1ke3V |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |title=Capping Off Prokofiev With 'New York, New York' |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 27, 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/arts/music/pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra-at-avery-fisher-hall.html |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519024239/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/arts/music/pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra-at-avery-fisher-hall.html |archive-date=May 19, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

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]].<ref name="BI2014">{{cite web | last=Thomsen | first=Simon | title=Sir David Attenborough Did A Reddit Q&A: Worst Thing He's Seen? Chimps Killing Monkeys | website=Business Insider Australia | date=2014-01-09 | url=http://www.businessinsider.com.au/sir-david-attenborough-did-a-qa-on-reddit-worst-thing-hes-ever-seen-is-chimps-killing-monkeys-2014-1 | access-date=2016-03-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306110225/http://www.businessinsider.com.au/sir-david-attenborough-did-a-qa-on-reddit-worst-thing-hes-ever-seen-is-chimps-killing-monkeys-2014-1 | archive-date=March 6, 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[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''<nowiki/>'. The lead singer [[Bobby Gillespie]] in his book ''Tenement kid'' published late 2021, mentions how he dedicated the songs title after the Book.