Rachel Carson

From an early age Rachel Carson could be faund looking at birds, bugs, and fish. She was born in 1907 and grew up on a Pennsylvania farm. She got her master’s in zoology at Johns Hopkins University, but when her father died, Rachel decided against getting a doctorate so she could instead support her family. She became the second woman to work at US Bureau of Fisheries, writing radio scripts abut sea creatures. When she wasn’t at her government job she did personal writing about wildlife. Rachel’s poetic writing allowed her reach people in all walks of life. Her first book, ,Under the Sea Wind, got little attention ,but her next book , The Sea Around US, became a sensation! She won the National Book, the Award and quit her job to write The Edge of the sea. In 1950’s the US government and private industry started to blindly overuse the pesticide DDT. We now know that DDT is highly toxic and that large doses can cause liver damage and seizures. DDT was being used everywhere , from the bug spray you’d use at picnics to all of our crops-but it killed more then just pests. Rachel Carson died in 1964.