Rachel Carson was concerned about what was happenig to the
environment. So in her book
Silent Sping,
she warned that some chemicals were poisoning the air, the water,
the earth, and all its creatures. She imagined a time when spring
would not bring the rebirth of flowers, trees, and the songs of
birds. The book became a bestseller, and Ms. Carson was in great
demand as a speaker. People listened to her because what she said
made sense, and because she was a scientist who knew her
facts.
Rachel Carson was primarily interested in the world of sea and
shore, so she
became a
marine biologst for the government. She studied and recorded facts
about the sea' s plant and animal life, their special
characteristics, and the nature of their environments. In 1951, she
wrote The Sea Around
Us,
which brought her honors, fame, and respect around the
world.
Ms. Carson then devoted herself full-time to research and writing.
One thing much on her mind was
the effect of modern technology on the natural environment. One
day, a distressed friend
wrote her to say that a plane spraying(喷洒) DDT had flown over her
yard, and the next day several birds lay dead. Carson decided to
act.
For four years she studied the use of pesticides(杀虫剂) in the United States,
and then she wrote Silent Spring.