Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

 Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011 One of the All-TIME 100 Best Nonfiction Books

By Bryan Walsh. When Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was published in 1962, there was no Environmental Protection Agency, no Endangered Species Act, no Earth Day. Ecology was considered a second-class science, and most people thought of nature as something to defeat, not preserve. Corporations and governments alike had license to blanket the earth with toxic chemicals, all in the name of science and progress. And except for a few lone voices in the wilderness, we all thought this was normal. So much of that changed with Carson's book. The quietly relentless marine biologist showed conclusively that industrial chemicals were contaminating America — most notoriously the pesticide DDT. Carson's work would help lead to the ban of DDT in the U.S. as well as the creation of real legal protections for the environment. But its lasting impact was on the spirit of the American people: no longer would we passively accept being poisoned.

Read TIME's profile on Rachel Carson.   

Find this article at:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2088856_2089109_2089112,00.html

Mosquito resistance to bednets fuels malaria worries

www.reuters.com

LONDON (Reuters) - Mosquitoes can quickly develop resistance to insecticide-treated nets, a study from Senegal shows, raising fears that a leading method of preventing the disease may be less effective

Ann Beyke as “Rachel Carson: A Chautauqua Performance”

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?” Rachel Carson

August 1, 2011 from 2pm to 3:30pm, Del Webb Alegria   http://dce.unm.edu/osher.htm 

This lecture, FREE to Osher Members and residents of the Del Webb Community, will be held at Del Webb Alegria, in Bernalillo, NM 

For more information visit http://dce.unm.edu/osher.htm or call Maralie W. BeLonge at (505) 277-6179.

Rachel Carson was a marine biologist when few women dared even tread the water... Her lifelong love of nature and science led to research on how uncontrolled chemical use in our cities, towns and farming communities devastated wildlife and food sources. Silent Spring, her bestselling book on the topic, detailed this devastation and led to the eventual ban on the use of DDT in the United States. Carson’s work made environmentalism an integral part of our lives.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is an active and self-motivated group of people age 50+ who share curiosity and a love of learning. Keep yourself updated on current Osher events by becoming a fan of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on Face Book: http://www.facebook.com/UNMOSHER

Quote of the Day
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." - Aldo Leopold

Seen in Toxipedia Newsletter  8 1 2011