A Battle for the Earth
When
she was ten years old, Rachel Carson knew she wanted to
write. But why wait until she grew up? Her favorite magazine
printed stories by children. She would send one in. If only
she had a story to tell . . .
The year was 1918. The United States was at war. Rachel’s brother, Robert, had joined the army a year earlier. When he sent letters home, Rachel’s mother read them aloud. One letter told of a pilot whose plane had been shot.
Was this a story Rachel could write about? She listened carefully. One wing had been damaged. The plane would crash unless the pilot acted quickly. He climbed out and inched along the wing. The pilot held on like an acrobat and balanced the plane again. His copilot landed it safely.
This was it. Rachel had an exciting story to tell. She wrote about that pilot in her own words, then sent in her story. Five months later, she opened St. Nicholas magazine and felt a thrill. Her name appeared under the title “A Battle in the Clouds.”
Rachel kept writing. St. Nicholas printed more of her work. Her poems and essays won awards at school.
At college, Rachel studied English. But in her third year, she focused more on science. As a young girl, Rachel had loved the wildlife and plants in the fields around her home. Now, in her science classes, she enjoyed studying those animals and plants.
Rachel became a biologist, a scientist who studies life and living creatures. She wrote about what she learned. Her three books about the sea became best sellers. Rachel was able to combine her love of science with her love of writing.
In 1958, Rachel received an alarming letter from a friend. A poison had been sprayed to kill pest insects, but many birds died, too. That pesticide, or pest killer, was known as DDT. Just as her brother’s letter had once inspired her to write a story, Rachel again had a story to tell.
First, Rachel collected facts from scientists around the world. She learned that DDT and other pesticides had helped to control some harmful insects that carry diseases. However, they had also killed harmless insects, fish, and birds. Even our national bird, the bald eagle, was dying out. Pesticides were polluting the earth and poisoning humans, too.
Rachel wrote a new book called Silent Spring. She said that people must be more careful with pesticides, or else there would be no birds left to sing in springtime. She wanted scientists to seek less harmful ways of controlling pests.
When Silent Spring came out in 1962, many people did not believe what Rachel had written. She waged a battle of words to convince them—a battle for the earth. She showed courage, like the war hero whose story she had written long ago.
Rachel appeared on television. She spoke in front of many groups of people, including lawmakers. In time Rachel gained support from people around the world. They shared her concern for cleaning up the earth. Laws were passed to stop the use of DDT, and people joined groups to protect the environment.
Rachel Carson died in 1964. Today she is remembered as a great environmentalist, a person who searches for ways to protect nature in an ever more crowded world.
