Today is the 60th Anniversary of Rachel Carson's Book 'Silent Spring'

[buster]

She was attacked and vilified by the chemical industry that manufactured DDT (big surprise) but her science was sound, and her book changed the way we see the world. She died not long after, but she is remembered for what she did.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Spring

[ssfc72]

Thanks for the Link, Buster. A very interesting wikipedia article.

[fox]

I read that book in high school. It greatly influenced me and led me to pursue a career in environmental science.

[Jason]

I haven't read the book but it's impossible not to be familiar with DDT. I had posted a comment earlier about how she might have been wrong about DDT but I deleted it after doing some more reading on one of my favourite skeptical science websites. While the article does note that she inflated the dangers of DDT, the science was there and it's important to note that she never called for an outright ban of DDT, just that other alternatives needed to be looked at. But that doesn't take away from its inherent dangers.

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/zika-virus-microcephaly-and-calls-to-bring-back-ddt/