Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson. This presentation shows the situation when Carson wrote the book and the effect after the book published.

1. Rachel Carson & her Silent
Spring
Ramchandra Saha (C015931)
Fawaz Abdul Latheef (C015911)
UM-DAE Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences
Mumbai - 400098

2. Overview
• Rachel Carson
• View towards Pesticides before Silent Spring
• Issues and Complaints on Pesticides
• Silent Spring
• Consequences of Silent Spring

3. Rachel Carson
(May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964)
• Born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, U.S
• Graduate in Biology from Pennsylvania
College and MA in Marine Zoology from
Johns Hopkins University.
• Marine Biologist, Author, Environmentalist.
• Under the Sea Wind(1941), The Sea
Around Us(1951), The Edge of the
Sea(1955), Silent Spring (1962)
• National Book Award for Non-Fiction, Gold
Medal of the New York Zoological Society.
• Elected a fellow of Royal Society of
Literature

4. View towards Chemicals Before Silent Spring
Agriculture & Human Health
Damage Caused by Pests in
Agriculture
Compete against 3000 different
species of Insects
Malaria – 115000 cases of malaria
in 1935
None after 1940

5. View towards Chemicals Before Silent Spring

6. View towards Chemicals Before Silent Spring

7. View towards Chemicals Before Silent Spring
Agriculture & Human Health
Damage Caused by Pests in
Agriculture
Compete against 3000 different
species of Insects
Malaria – 115000 cases of malaria
in 1935
None after 1940
Official Support (World War II,
1945)

8. Issues and Complaints
• Fox Death – 1959
• Heaps of Death Bird –
1960
• Owl Death
• Fish Death
• Pheasants
Voice raised in US
Congress and debate
Happens - 1960

9. Silent Spring
• Non-Selective Chemical
• Not much information about Hazards, Failure, inefficiency
• Absence of Advance investigation on Soil, Water, Wildlife and Man
himself.
• Effect in Food Chain, Affecting Ecology
• Official negotiation of Animal death
• Resistance towards insecticides
• Sickness and death of Farmers, Spray men.
• Children are exposed to chemicals from birth.
• Possibility of Undetected disease like Cancer, Leukaemia, Genetic Damage

10. Immediate Opposition
DuPond(DDT, 2,4 D), Velsicol Chemical company(Chlordane, Heptachlor)
Dr Robert White Steven(American cyanamid)
• Unsupported by Scientific Experiment, Evidence and General Experience in
the Field.
• Biological Selectivity
• “If we follow Ms Carson We will return to Dark Ages”
• Claimed that there are many scientific error, misquotation, and
misinterpretation in Silent Spring.
“She is probably a communist ”, US Secretary of Agriculture.
Time Magazine agreed that Ms Carson’s Book is an Emotional and
Inaccurate output.

11. Silent Spring
• Book of the Month Club Selection
• Naturalist and Supreme Court Justice
William o Douglas “The most
important Chronicle of this country
for the human race”
• Most of the magazines reviewed the
work of Carson and supported her.
• Reviewed by Federal Council of S & T
and Panel of President Science
Committee.

12. Survey Report
Survey is done by Public Health Service; Animal, Fish and Wildlife
Research Centre :
1. 150 persons die per year as a result of acute poisoning of
Pesticides.
2. Farmer death, Fish death, Bird death, reduce in Wild animal
3. DDT is found in Cow’s milk
4. Reduction in no of eggs of Bird, Duck and reduction in fertility of
eggs
Response of Chemical Industry to the Survey Report

13. Investigator Report on Pesticides Problem
• Pesticides found to be unsafe to human
• Some pesticides caused Cancer in Lab animal
• No meaningful conclusion
• Long range damage of Pesticides either it can do Genetic Damage,
contribute to Cancer, leukaemia – No Answer
Due to lack of more advanced research lot of questions are unanswered
Duration of Water Contamination
Extent of Contamination of Ground Water
Effect of long term use of Pesticides
Critical Concentration of pest in human body etc.

14. Impact of Silent Spring
• Environmental defense fund 1967
• This awareness led to the creation of the EPA
• USDA
• Her work led to major reform in Pesticides Policy
• DDT was banned in United State and other industrialized
Country in the Early 1970s
• She initiated Environmental Awareness that led to the modern
Environmental movement

15. Feedback on Silent Spring
• Most Controversial Book of the Year
• “A Book which changed the Way People looked at the
World”, Antony Rouse, Spectator
• ‘She was the originator of ecological concern’, Sunday
Telegram

16. Acknowledgement
Sudhir Panse Sir – For giving us the opportunity to Present on
Book “Silent Spring” written by Rachel Carson.
Rishabh Nain – We are very thankful to Rishabh Nain for
lending us the Book, which helped a lot.

17. References
• “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson
• Wikipedia

18. Thank You