Research Guides: Silent Spring: Home

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson; Linda Lear (Introduction by); Edward O. Wilson (Afterword by)
Call Number: 363.7 CAR
ISBN: 0618249060
Publication Date: 2002-10-22
Rachel Carson'sSilent Spring was first published in three serialized excerpts in theNew Yorker in June of 1962. The book appeared in September of that year and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson's passionate concern for the future of our planet reverberated powerfully throughout the world, and her eloquent book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement. It is without question one of the landmark books of the twentieth century.

Essential Question
How did Rachel Carson’s ability to interpret and synthesize evidence from research lead to changes in society's thinking about the long-term impact of pesticides?

Key Terminology

Agrochemical

Biocide

Biomagnification

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Chlorinated Hydrocarbons

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)

Irrecoverable

Lichen

Nitrates

Pesticide

Phosphates

Riparian

Book Study

Introduction:
Documentary: American experience. Rachel Carson's Silent spring
Newspaper Article from 1963 Pesticide Controversy is Reviewed

Chapters
Ch 1 Fable for Tomorrow
Ch 3 Elixirs of Death
Ch 6 Earh’s Green Mantle
Ch 9 Rivers of Death
Ch 10 Indiscriminately from the Skies

Labs/Activities
History of DDT
Biomagnification Lab

Greenhouse Gases Virtual Lab

Experiential Learning
Rio Bosque Wetlands Park- Water and soil sampling

Case Study
Silent Spring, 50 Years Later and the Environmental Movement