[Sosfbay-discuss] Rachel Carson, heroine of green movement, 100th year May 27th celebration

[JamBoi]

We could adopt a new standard in the green movement:
when faced with a tough decision we could ask
ourselves What Would Rachel Do?  Happy Memorial Day!

Green for life!

Drew Johnson
Calfornia

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2584181.ece

Biologist Rachel Carson: Heroine of the green movement

Rachel Carson was a shy biologist who, with one book,
changed history. Paul Vallely celebrates the centenary
of the woman who first warned the world of the perils
of environmental pollution
Published: 26 May 2007

She was the mother of environmentalism, and in 1962
she published what turned out to be the founding text
of modern ecology: Silent Spring. Its title was meant
to evoke a time - not far in the future - when the
season of new growth would be one in which, to quote
Keats, "no birds sing", because they had all died from
pesticide poisoning. It was a work which was to be
listed - alongside The Wealth of Nations, Das Kapital
and The Origin of the Species - as a book which
changed the course of history.

Its subject was the use of the chemical DDT which, in
the 1950s, was being sprayed recklessly around the
American and European countryside to control pests as
minor as the spruce budworm. No thought was being
given to its ecological impact. In 1962, "the
environment" had not been invented.

Its author, Rachel Carson, was born 100 years ago
tomorrow. She was an American marine biologist who, as
a child, spent hours with her mother absorbed in the
ponds, fields and forests around her home on a small
family farm in Pennsylvania. She worked at the US
Bureau of Fisheries as an aquatic biologist where she
worked as a government official until a trilogy of
books on the sea brought her a good income and modest
literary stardom.

<snip>

For all see:
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2584181.ece
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2007/05/27/maine_to_mark_100th_anniversary_of_environmental_pioneers_birth/

Maine to mark 100th anniversary of environmental
pioneer's birth

May 27, 2007

PORTLAND, Maine --Maine is among at least a dozen
states that plan to commemorate the 100th anniversary
of the birth of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson,
best-known for her landmark book, "Silent Spring."

A centennial celebration will be held early next month
at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in
Wells.

Carson, who had a summer cottage on Southport Island,
died of breast cancer in 1964, two years after "Silent
Spring" was published. The book focused on the misuse
of pesticides, most notably DDT, and their impact on
public health and the environment.

"She really challenged the status quo of the time,
which was 'better living through chemistry.' She was
challenging that," said Gail Carlson, a visiting
professor in environmental studies at Colby College
who has been teaching Carson's book for several years.

Many of Carlson's students had never heard of Carson.
And while "Silent Spring" may seem obsolete today,
Carlson said its message is timeless.

"You can never be too young to be inspired by her...
More people should know her full story, so they could
maybe be reminded about what a pioneer she really
was," Carlson said.

After several years of inquiry sparked largely by
"Silent Spring," general use of DDT in the United
States was banned 35 years ago. Carson, often credited
with launching the modern-day environmental movement,
left behind a legacy that still inspires generations
of environmentalists, scientists and women.

In 1999, Carson was named by Time magazine as one of
the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
This year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where
Carson was employed for more than 15 years, created an
online book club that is a forum for people to discuss
works by and about Carson.

The refuge in Maine that will commemorate the 100th
anniversary of Carson's birth was established in 1966
and named for Carson in 1970. Her early books,
including "The Edge of the Sea," were largely inspired
by Maine's coast.

"Maine became her laboratory for the writing that she
did," said Martha Freeman, granddaughter of Dorothy
Freeman, a close friend to Carson.

It was through her grandmother that Martha Freeman,
now director of the State Planning Office, got to know
Carson.

Carson would often take Freeman, her brother and
Carson's adopted son, Roger, to explore tidal pools
and examine findings under the microscope. They also
would take walks in the woods.

"It was fun to be with her," Freeman said. "She was a
quiet, gentle person."

------

Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

___________________

JamBoi: Jammy, The Sacred Cow Slayer
The Green Parties' #1 Blogger
http://dailyJam.blogspot.com

"To the brave belong all things"
Celt's invading Etrusca reply to nervous Romans around 400BC

"Live humbly, laugh often and love unconditionally" (anon)


       
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