![]() ![]() Because of this controversy, Silent Spring became the centerpiece of a national debate, sold more than 600,000 copies in its first year, and succeeded in reaching the mainstream audience that Carson had intended. Carson’s work brought her criticism from leaders in the sciences, agribusiness, and the chemical industry. In addition to indicting businesses that produced DDT, Silent Spring critiqued the government for its failure to consider the consequences of spreading DDT from farms to neighborhoods across America. By creating this fable, Carson hoped American readers could begin to visualize the effects of DDT. One spring, “some evil spell” seeped into the community, silencing birds and bees, leaving flocks of chicken dead, cattle and sheep ill, and even humans and their children sick. ![]() Silent Spring begins with a bucolic description of an American town. In 1962, scientist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring to alert the public to the dangers of DDT, a pesticide that was widely used to control mosquito populations. Use this primary source with the Rachel Carson and Silent Spring Narrative to discuss the environmental movement and the creation of Earth Day. ![]()
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