[pf] More from Rachel Carson

by Molly Williams

22 December 2000 00:12 UTC

(again from NYT obituary:
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/05/reviews/carson-obit.html)

The more things change.... 

"Miss Carson’s position had been summarized this way: 
“Chemicals are the sinister and little-recognized partners of radiation
in changing the very nature of the world--the very nature of life. 

“Since the mid-nineteen forties, over 200 basic chemicals have been
created for use
in killing insects, weeds, rodents and other organisms described in the
modern
vernacular as pests, and they are sold under several thousand different
brand names. 

“The sprays, dusts and aerosols are now applied almost universally to
farms,
gardens, forests and homes--non-selective chemicals that have the power
to kill
every insect, the good and the bad, to still the song of birds and the
leaping of fish in the streams--to coat the leaves with a deadly film
and to linger on in soil--all this, though the intended target may be
only a few weeds or insects. 

“Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poison
on the
surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should
not be called
‘insecticides’ but ‘biocides.’” 

The chemical industry was quick to dispute this. 

Dr. Robert White-Stevens, a spokesman for the industry, said: 
“The major claims of Miss Rachel Carson’s book, ‘Silent Spring,’ are
gross
distortions of the actual facts, completely unsupported by scientific,
experimental
evidence, and general practical experience in the field. Her suggestion
that pesticides are in fact biocides destroying all life is obviously
absurd in the light of the fact that without selective biologicals these
compounds would be completely useless. 

“The real threat, then, to the survival of man is not chemical but
biological, in the
shape of hordes of insects that can denude our forests, sweep over our
crop lands,
ravage our food supply and leave in their wake a train of destitution
and hunger,
conveying to an undernourished population the major diseases scourges of
mankind.”

The Monsanto company, one of the nation’s largest chemical concerns,
used parody
as a weapon in the counterattack against Miss Carson. Without mentioning
her book,
the company adopted her poetic style in an article labeled “The Desolate
Year,”
which began: “Quietly, then, the desolate year began. . .” and wove its
own
apocalyptic word picture--but one that showed insects stripping the
countryside and
winning. 

As the chemical industry continued to make her a target for criticism,
Miss Carson
remained calm. 

“We must have insect control,” she reiterated. “I do not favor turning
nature over to
insects. I favor the sparing, selective and intelligent use of
chemicals. It is the
indiscriminate, blanket spraying that I oppose.” 

Actually, chemical pest control has been practiced to some extent for
centuries.
However it was not until 1942 that DDT, a synthetic compound, was
introduced in
the wake of experiments that included those with poison gas. Its
long-term poisonous
potency was augmented by its ability to kill some insects upon contact
and without
being ingested. This opened a new era in pest control and led to the
development of
additional new synthetic poisons far more effective even than DDT. 

As the pesticide controversy grew into a national quarrel, support was
quick in going
to the side of Miss Carson. 

Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, an ardent naturalist,
declared, “We need
a Bill of Rights against the 20th century poisoners of the human race.” 

Earlier, an editorial in The New York Times had said: 
“If her series [then running in part in The New Yorker publication of
the book] helps
arouse public concern to immunize Government agencies against the
blandishments of
the hucksters and enforces adequate controls, the author will be as
deserving of the
Noble Prize as was the inventor of DDT.” 

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