Silent Spring

by Rachel Carson

book data

2,012 ratings, 3.92 average rating, 255 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		32%
4		37%
3		22%
2		5%
1		2%

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published

October 22nd 2002 (first published 1962) by Mariner Books

binding

Paperback, 400 pages

isbn

0618249060 (isbn13: 9780618249060)

description

Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness tha...more

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11/13/08

Jim rated it:

bookshelves: classics, non-fiction

I've re-read this after maybe 30 years & it is still scary. It is a classic environmental book, detailing how we're changing our ecology & poisoning it. How long the effects linger is just scary & the links to cancer is horrifying.

She occasionally goes over the top, but most often makes good points on how our current practices of bludgeoning nature into our ideal form - which is often mistaken - is not working well & will eventually spell our doom. It was written over 45 years a...more

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03/15/08

MAP rated it:

Read in April, 2008

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson can be considered a pivotal work, and must reading for those who are concerned about the environment. Published in 1962, it has taken the rest of us a couple of generations to catch up to her understanding of ecological systems. A marine biologist by training, and also a writer of three other works, Silent Spring was not received with acclaim. Rather, she was accused of having no scientific basis for her findings. To my non-scientific reading, it seems like evidenc...more

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03/10/09

Pete daPixie rated it:

bookshelves: green

Read in March, 2009

I had heard of Silent Spring for a long time, and when I stumbled upon it recently I knew right away I had to read this book. Rachel Carson wrote this when JFK was president, and he being the man he was took action straight away. The afterword, by Linda Lear was written in 98.
I can't believe that a book dealing with hydrocarbons could be so poetically written and so clearly explained. I can't believe that I've read such a book. The case studies are, of course, from America in the main, an...more

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10/09/08

Ken-ichi rated it:

bookshelves: learning

Read in October, 2008

I picked this up because it's a a classic of American nature and environmental writing, and ostensibly marks the beginning of American environmental activism in the modern sense (i.e. more "we deserve not to be poisoned" than "leisure grounds for posterity"). I found the rhetorical style interesting. She breaks the book up into chapters on where toxins come from, how they accumulate and spread, and what effects they have on wildlife, food, and human health. In each, she of...more I picked this up because it's a a classic of American nature and environmental writing, and ostensibly marks the beginning of American environmental activism in the modern sense (i.e. more "we deserve not to be poisoned" than "leisure grounds for posterity"). I found the rhetorical style interesting. She breaks the book up into chapters on where toxins come from, how they accumulate and spread, and what effects they have on wildlife, food, and human health. In each, she offloads tale after tale of dead birds, poisoned farm workers, and nearly inhuman acts of government negligence and the corporations that facilitate them. I found it made for an almost droning repetition of evidence, like a very dull, depressing filibuster. But I suppose that kind of argumentative overload has a kind of power.

I also found some of her language and opinions surprisingly dated. She often refers to insects using words like "horde" and militaristic symbolism of weaponry and defense. Here’s an example from p. 246: "the broader problem [...] is the fact that our chemical attack is weakening the defenses inherent in the environment itself, defenses designed to keep the various species in check. Each time we breach these defenses a horde of insects pours through." There are a couple odd implications here, like nature being a "designed" clockwork system of checks and balances, and insects as a kind of evil constantly trying to overthrow it. Of course, further down the page she writes, "The balance of nature is not a status quo; it is fluid, ever shifting, in a constant state of adjustment." The two statements seem at odds, and the bulk of the book effuses the latter sentiment, but I found it strange that she would occasionally be so careless with her language. I pick nits, of course, but perhaps it demonstrates that this book lies at a transition between American attitudes toward nature.

I was also intrigued by her almost unconditional support of biological control techniques over pesticides (generally, the use of cultivated predators to control a pest population), readily advocating the importation of effective predators with (I think) no examples of the kinds of ecological disaster that can ensue when such tactics are pursued without very careful consideration (cane toads, anyone?). Again, perhaps a sign of the times.

All in all, certainly worth my time. I'd really like to read some more analysis on the book and on Carson herself (the preface to this editions is great), and I'm very keen to read her natural history writing, esp. on marine life.(less)

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07/29/08

Erin rated it:

Read in August, 2008

After being in the environmental field for 15 years, I decided it was about time to finish reading the book that started it all, at least what we know as the modern environmental movement (I won't get into what I think is happening in the environmental movement right now). If you are of my generation (thirtysomethings), you will probably start to read this and think "Yea, Yea, I know all of this already" because that's what I thought at first. But then it dawned on me that the rea...more

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01/23/08

Sarah Vendetti rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in November, 2004

I have a personal rule when reading books. If I am not completely absorbed into it within fifty pages I put it down. This rule doesn’t work well for assigned reading, and fifty pages into Silent Spring I was so bored I was spending more time thinking of ways to avoid reading the book than actually reading it. Finally it occurred to me the reasons why I felt this boredom. After all, the book is not boring, Carson writes with a feverish passion towards defending nature that simply following ...more I have a personal rule when reading books. If I am not completely absorbed into it within fifty pages I put it down. This rule doesn’t work well for assigned reading, and fifty pages into Silent Spring I was so bored I was spending more time thinking of ways to avoid reading the book than actually reading it. Finally it occurred to me the reasons why I felt this boredom. After all, the book is not boring, Carson writes with a feverish passion towards defending nature that simply following her choice of verbs is intriguing. Anything relative to wildlife and plants are written with a frilly dreamlike flow of words, as if she is trying to conjure up a still image from a Disney animation. The moment man and pesticides are brought into context all flow ends and she writes in stark single word descriptions. It very effectively shows what side she is defending. This is when I realized what I was missing, which was causing my boredom. This is a very old book. Approaching this book to learn the obvious intentions was not a wise path for me. I needed to look at this book as a piece of history, a landmark to understand why we are where we are in our agricultural systems. Silent Spring was a success, and because all the various evidence that she uses in her book are examples I was strongly familiar with, solidly shows what type of impact her argument made.
I found the book to be very narrow minded. It was truly a cry, every page being a diatribe of complaints, never offering solid solutions. Yet, she consistently used that approach throughout the book making the reader create a deep sorrow for her, maybe even pity towards what she felt was being lost. If she were to offer two sides, or a bigger picture, she would not have come across so in need and injured. Less people would wanted to help in her quest for change. So, she kept this consistency by forming her arguments with great vagueness and working on the fears already established by people. She vaguely shares that the DDT founder won a Nobel Prize, but never that DDT was awarded that prize for saving lives in the World War I, in the area of medicine. She takes arsenic, a toxic element, and describes how it is found in increased amounts in our soil, leading to increased content in tobacco. She knows the association that people have with arsenic being a poison, but is it not also an essential element to man and plants? And where were the epidemic proportions of deaths associated with this increase? She has no need to answer these questions. Throughout the first third of the book she successfully chooses examples that the reader is already afraid of and lures them in from this to increase her credibility. I don’t condemn it I cheer her for it. This is the type of extremism that when a person is subjected to it they can simply put the book down if they don’t like it. Today, we are all very fortunate that people did not put down the book.
Throughout the rest of the book I shook my head, thinking of all her over the top accusations toward increased pesticide use, but no mention of modes of action. The academic standpoint she has as a biologist, yet she has never attempted to empathize with the American farmer. The way that she never references what was happening historically in our nation at that time that was putting the demand upon farmers for feeding more people. That was the era of baby boomer, no?
I thank her for her voice and how it has brought about a stronger focus on responsible agricultural practices. However, I hope that others that read this book recognize it’s age, and use the examples she documents as milestones to measure how far away from that type of system we have come. Her crying and negativity don’t solve problems. She has attacked the practices, and people responded. Today the majority of the insecticides she references are already removed or nearly removed from use today. We no longer need her narrow approach and acknowledging the date of print of her message is vital for people that are moved by it to see it as the birth of a crusade, but not the bible.
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06/13/07

Jordan Berg rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 1994

recommends it for: everyone - a must read

I wish this book was not still so poignant. But this book that really started the modern environmental movement and rose the consciences of millions of Americans is still as important today as it was 45 years ago. Whether it’s the use of chemicals still sprayed into are yards and on our food today, or lessons on the importance of questioning how our actions affect our world, Rachel Carson broke the mold. Every person needs to read this book.

“What has already silenced the v...more

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03/17/09

Matt rated it:

perhaps seminal, but in the age of Eastbound and Down who gives a damn?

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10/05/07

Janet rated it:

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: adults concerned about the environment

What is there to add to the universal praise for Rachel Carson? This book isn't a walk in the park, and it's crammed with (accesible) Scientific data, but it changed the world.

I was more fascinated by Carson's rhetoric than in her findings, which are now more than 45 years old. I read this book to learn how she built a case that challenged every major scientific, political and corporate institution in the country. And she did it by connecting with the shared values of average Ame...more

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01/30/09

Kevin added it

Read in January, 2009

I've been meaning to read this book for awhile, and just recently ran into it on my dad's bookshelves and had to go for it. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was thinking it'd be something poetic and romantic in its appreciation of nature. I didn't realize "silent spring" referred not to a tranquil spring, but a spring made silent by the pervasive poisons we pour into our environment...quite a stilling reality. She spent many parts of the book relating example after example of differ...more I've been meaning to read this book for awhile, and just recently ran into it on my dad's bookshelves and had to go for it. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was thinking it'd be something poetic and romantic in its appreciation of nature. I didn't realize "silent spring" referred not to a tranquil spring, but a spring made silent by the pervasive poisons we pour into our environment...quite a stilling reality. She spent many parts of the book relating example after example of different pesticides being used in techniques both irresponsible and ineffective. The chemicals were DDT, arsenic and many more, various of which I believe are now severely limited in use, but the basic point is the same: if we dump toxins into our environment, many insects and plants will die, not just the ones we want to die...furthermore, they accumulate, are magnified as they move up the food chain, and kill more animals, such as the bald eagle (ever wonder why our National Symbol is such a rarity?). Once the ecosystem's natural balance is upset, not only will we have destroyed the natural and hard-earned beauty of the world, we will have set the stage for the exponential increase in new pests, which had previously been kept in check by the now-killed prey species'. Basically, broad application of pesticides is ineffective, destroys ecosystems, and is fucking retarded. And is your selfish, and stupid enough to not care about the natural world, then consider the fact that humans are animals too, and if the toxins can kill a bald eagle, well, just connect the dots.

While obviously it made a good case in general, it has a bit of personal significance. I'm on the path to becoming a winemaker, and hopefully running a vineyard and winery at some point. I'll be making decisions of how to deal with the various pests that will harass my crop, aka grapes. There are all sorts of things that can attack a grapevine, lowering the health of the vine and the quality of the grape. So what can I do? Mass application of the deadliest chemicals is not an option to any responsible agriculturalist, so more thought is needed. There are three roads I see: 1) Utilize a range of the least harmful chemicals, in minimal applications, as needed, and as specifically as possible, destroying only the intended target while sparing the ecosystem in general. 2) Swear off chemicals entirely. Allow the pests to work as they will, understanding that grapevines produce the best grapes and ensuing wine under conditions of struggle (a rarity among agricultural crops, but counterintuitively true with grapes and wine). Say "no worries," and spare the environment. 3) The middle road, which as UC Davis they all Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM considers pesticides to be a last resort, to be used at an absolute minimum when no other method is found. Biological controls, using diseases and predators that will keep the pest naturally in check, come first. Cover crops are used to keep weeds under control, and vine health is maintained by building healthy soil. Essentially, the vineyard is treated like an ecosystem, utilizing the natural balance of nature to ensure that your vineyard remains healthy. And chemicals are not part of an ecosystem, so they are avoided as much as possible. If absolutely necessary they can be used, but carefully and minimally. IPM will be my approach.

Silent Spring was a damn good book, and though it is a classic of environmental literature, it is not outdated. The lessons have not been fully learned by our society. It definitely made me more aware of these issues.(less)

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01/20/09

Mrs. rated it:

(review of isbn 0395683297)

Read in March, 2004

"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals from the moment of conception until death."

I read this non-fiction book in college for the first time, in one of the best classes I ever took ("Environmental Issues and the Media," or something along those lines.) It was a real eye-opener for me.

Published in 1962, Carson's book was not the first one written about the dangers of ...more "For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals from the moment of conception until death."

I read this non-fiction book in college for the first time, in one of the best classes I ever took ("Environmental Issues and the Media," or something along those lines.) It was a real eye-opener for me.

Published in 1962, Carson's book was not the first one written about the dangers of pesticides. But it was written for a large audience and was considered so radical that it was the first to make such a large impact. It caused the government to relook at the effects of DDT and other chemicals, and much legislation was changed because of this. Sadly, Carson died a bit unpopular and probably never realized the landslide she caused. Forty-six years after publication, many of these issues are still relevant, which just shows the importance of this book.

Critics have argued that she has overexaggerated or simply made up much of her information (although her source pages go on and on and on). This may be true, but it is also true that we spray posion on the very earth we live and often don't think about how it may effect us. Spraying an insect that pollinates the plants that are eaten by the animals we in turn devour is bound to effect us. And cancer rates, etc, are at an alarming rate. Do we have a part in all this ... ?

I am still chilled by the quote in the beginning of the book: "Man has lost the capacity to forsee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth." Will we destroy our own planet? It certainly seems we are hellbent on doing harm at times, although we have taken many steps to fix our mistakes. Whether or not you believe in global warming, etc, you must admit that our Earth has some problems and we can all do a littl more to protect it and ourselves.

Here is an example of how we harm ourselves: Flwoers sprayed with insecticides were picked up by bees, which in turn contaminated the honey they produced - it's a circle that effects us all. (And not to mention that honey is the only food out there that lasts forever!)

Two points that Carson makes that I feel are very valid:
1. We contaminate the air, earth, rivers and sea with dangerous and lethal materials. The damage can take generations to fix.
2. She is not saying to stop use of insect/weed control, but to use what we need and be careful not to destroy ourselves in the process. Finding alternatives is best (and she cites many examples of alt. means)

This book needs to be read by ALL HUMANS INHABITING EARTH. I admit, it reads like a really long essay, and at times can be a bit repetitive and sure of itself, but it was a book that changed history and is a reminder that we only have one home planet, so we better take care of it now "before it's too late."
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02/15/09

erik graff rated it:

(review of isbn 0395075068)

bookshelves: sciences

Read in July, 1967

recommended to erik by: Don Martello
recommends it for: historians of environmentalism

In keeping with Dad's injunction to spend the summer's constructively and not wanting to work at Dairy Queen or the like, I took Public Speaking between the sophomore and junior years of high school. Don Martello, the instructor, had a good reputation among students which turned out to be well-deserved. I was inexperienced as a public speaker and felt it would be prudent to overcome the fear I had of it.

The way the class was constructed required both research and presentation. One...more

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03/26/09

Amaury Sautour rated it:

bookshelves: social---environment

Read in April, 2009

Written in 1962, Silent Spring warns us about the ominous effects of pesticides and insecticides on the environment, and maybe eventually us - mankind. Definitely a book that one must read as everyone should be aware of the disastrous effects of unwise chemical uses.

It's true, in 40 years, scientists have come to learn the principle of cause and effect, effect sometimes being actually effectS, plural, for an effect can be a cause to another effect (infected insects are eaten by birds...more

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10/27/08

Michael rated it:

We are knuckleheads. Forty-plus years after its published, much of what she exposes still applies. Yes, DDT is illegal in the US but in the fall of 2008 the Sacramento Bee says "vote no on 2" (an end to extreme animal cruelty) because it would be bad for business!

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03/25/09

Joelle rated it:

By the "mother of the modern environmentalist movement, Silent Spring scared chemical companies so much they slandered Carson and blackmailed the New Yorker (in which it was originally published in serial form) in the hopes of shutting down the presses. Luckily neither Carson nor her publishers backed down.
What surprised me so much about this book is that I expected it to be some radical treatise on how people need to vanish from the earth. Instead, CArson says that unless we take...more

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03/02/09

Adeline rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Rachel Carson's work Silent Spring is widely considered to be one of the most influential science books of the twentieth century, topping lists from The New York Times' Bestsellers to Discover Magazine's 25 Greatest Science Books of All Time. Much like the revolution sparked by Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Carson's work sparked a revolution of a different kind; a revolution against the use of poisons in our daily lives. It is fascinating and hugely disturbing to read Carson's work, and I am...more
Rachel Carson's work Silent Spring is widely considered to be one of the most influential science books of the twentieth century, topping lists from The New York Times' Bestsellers to Discover Magazine's 25 Greatest Science Books of All Time. Much like the revolution sparked by Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Carson's work sparked a revolution of a different kind; a revolution against the use of poisons in our daily lives. It is fascinating and hugely disturbing to read Carson's work, and I am so thankful to have been born in a world without the use of DDT. The most troubling and recurring theme throughout the book is just how insidious DDT and other chemicals are; not only do they kill plants and animals, but they lodge in the fat tissues and gonads of nearly every animal that comes into contact with them. The destructiveness of chemical pesticides and insecticides is not limited to the species for which it was intended or even the particular area where it is applied; it travels through the food web and through the water cycle to cover cast expanses.
The far reaching effect of chemicals is evidenced by Carson through a myriad of examples, each as troubling as the next. The example that struck me as most disturbing was of the obese man who, after losing weight, became poisoned by all the chemicals that had been stored in his fat cells. The second example which really struck me was that of the Eskimos who left their isolated homes to be treated at a hospital in the city. While they had previously been totally free from man made toxic chemicals, after visiting the city and consuming hospital food, they were poisoned. Perhaps these examples stand out because they show how directly humans are affected by poisons, but the effects on animals are no less troubling. Because humans are at the top of the food chain, we must be concerned with every single living thing that accumulates poisons, because they will ultimately contribute to our food supply in some way.
Carson's work is particularly powerful because it presents the issue of chemical use as “not only scientific but moral” (99). Carson asks her readers and society at large “whether a civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized” (99). This is certainly a thought provoking question, and one that is hard to ignore. It seems clear that any civilization which chooses to indiscriminately dump toxins – agents of death – on its own citizens and food cannot be considered civilized. The detrimental effects of DDT and other poisons was well documented by citizens and scientists alike, and yet the government seemed to turn a blind eye. Even as new generations of birds and other wildlife failed to reappear, household pets dies, and workers in contact with poisons displayed sicknesses and died, spraying of crops and towns continued. This does not seem like the behavior of a civilized government.
It must have been quite terrifying to read Silent Spring when it first came out and know that DDT was totally legal. It was frightening enough to read it now, knowing as I do that we still use many toxins indiscriminately. But to read it and have the very real fear that your own community might be sprayed with DDT and to know that other communities were suffering ill effects must have been enraging. This is probably why the book was so influential; it got detailed information about the horrors of pesticides into the hands of the average American.
Even living in a society that was so recently touched by DDT is troubling. Carson's book definitely raised questions in my mind about the health problems of my parents. For example, my mother had colon cancer, and when they finally found it, the surgeon said she had had a tumor for around ten years. Could this have been spurred on by her ingestion of chemicals? Secondly, she has Multiple Sclerosis. There is still much controversy about how Multiple Sclerosis occurs and chooses its victims; could my mother's have been brought on by some sort of neuro-toxin?
Surely many people who lived through the era of DDT use have similar concerns about their own health problems. Knowing what we do about bio-magnification and the food chain, it is certain that many people have been exposed to DDT and have been poisoned by it. This is disturbing, particularly in a world where radiation and poor food quality are growing concerns. Why add chemical poisoning to the mix of issues?
Unfortunately, it seems as though the chemical manufacturers are in charge of what happens to our environment. Yes, thanks in Part to Rachel Carson, there are stricter rules regarding what can be dumped or sprayed on our surroundings. But nonetheless, big chemical manufacturers are still very much an influence with our government and we still use many pesticides and household chemicals. This knowledge is troubling, particularly after reading Carson, but she remains an inspiration to improve the way we treat our world.

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05/09/09

Ndrw rated it:

(review of isbn 0395075068)

Read in January, 2003

This amazing breakthrough in ecological thinking is more important today than ever before. It is extremely clear and delightful prose that fearlessly probes the reality of our destruction of our own habitat. Carson does a wonderful job here showing how our "solutions" to "problems" often create far worse problems than we began with. Among the books many revolutionary observations is this: nothing nature exists alone: everything is connected. Heeding Carson's alarming call to ...more

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01/24/09

John rated it:

(review of isbn 061825305X)

bookshelves: library-request

Read in February, 2009

Carson's classic condemnation of the overuse of chemicals to control the environment and the unintended consequences of various -cides has worn a little with time but remains valuable reading. Some of her recommendations are troubling - using biological methods, including the introduction of non-native organisms to control non-native pests - but are included as compromises. Carson's goal was to alert the public to the present dangers as much as it was to reduce the use of pesticides and herbic...more

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05/05/09

ProgressiveBookClub rated it:

The following is Linda Lear's introduction to Silent Spring.

Headlines in the New York Times in July 1962 captured the national sentiment: “Silent Spring is now noisy summer.” In the few months between the New Yorker’s serialization of Silent Spring in June and its publication in book form that September, Rachel Carson’s alarm touched off a national debate on the use of chemical pesticides, the responsibility of science, and the limits of technological progress. When Carson di...more

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08/18/08

Angela rated it:

Reading Silent Spring is not a walk in the park; you need to have dedication and determination to read this complex book. This book may not be a pleasurable read, but it is without doubt a book that will spark your interest to take care of the world and everything on it. I would recommend it for college students and adults because most teenagers would find Carson’s statistical style “boring”. In the more recently published Silent Spring books, there is an introduction by Al Gore. I hig...more Reading Silent Spring is not a walk in the park; you need to have dedication and determination to read this complex book. This book may not be a pleasurable read, but it is without doubt a book that will spark your interest to take care of the world and everything on it. I would recommend it for college students and adults because most teenagers would find Carson’s statistical style “boring”. In the more recently published Silent Spring books, there is an introduction by Al Gore. I highly suggest reading it because he tells how this story changed the world and the people that reside in it. The first chapter, “A Fable for Tomorrow” is an exceptional beginning because she describes a perfect town, but as the chapter progresses it quickly becomes a ghost town because of the hazardous effects of pesticides. Rachel Carson has now become one of my role models because her book contributed to the start of the environmentalist movement in the late 20th century.
Rachel Carson could not tolerate the way the human race was affecting the planet. She did not like our disregard for the plants and animals that live on it. She thought people should know the truths behind pesticides, insecticides and herbicides; so she wrote Silent Spring. I enjoyed reading all of the research she compiled and all the data she collected from other scientists. It was cumbersome to digest, but through her data you learn just how strongly Ms. Carson feels about this problem. She follows her heart, exposes the dangers of pesticides and demands a course of action.
Rachel Carson writes in the first person, explaining to people what they do not know and what they do not want to know about pesticides. She warns that we may think we are only affecting one plant or one insect, but really we are hurting the entire ecosystem. Through the author’s style, we are made aware that humans and animals are born already poisoned by harmful pesticides. Rachel Carson discloses this information to enlist you as part of her team to stop this problem. Humans need to consider their environment before themselves. As keepers of the planet, we have a responsibility to protect nature. Foresight and intelligence must be used to find alternatives to insecticides that make natural species morph or die. In reality we are also using these deadly, dangerous poisons to hurt the ones we love.
The conflicts in this book are person vs. society and person vs. nature. The first conflict involves Rachel Carson (and others against pesticides like DDT) vs. people who are for and use these poisons. The second conflict would be pesticide users vs. weeds and insects they want to eliminate. The author is definitely successful at conveying her foreboding about pesticides, she uses the broken record technique, but she changes the supporting details. I really believe this technique focuses our attention on the main idea.
I have always admired the dedication of strong individuals and believed that the sharing of information can lead to great accomplishments. Rachel Carson wrote this story to improve the lives of others and encourage them to make a difference too. Her message stirred my desire to protect the environment. Silent Spring is certainly worth reading because it makes it clear that killing insects and weeds with pesticides has consequences. Before I read this book, I had no idea that we were contaminating our world without monitoring the dangerous side effects of pesticides.
Reading Silent Spring whets my interest for more Rachel Carson. Now I am looking for more of her books to learn more about humans interaction with nature. This book alerted me that pesticides are only a band-aid solution and can cause dangerous repercussions. Protection of the environment has always been near and dear to my heart. One day I hope to make as big a difference as Rachel Carson and so will you after you read Silent Spring.
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