Rachel Carson Fish & Wildlife Service Employee Photo

This Earth Day, PBS will air a docudrama called A Sense of Wonder which is about the life and work of Rachel Carson.

Rachel was an American marine biologist and writer whose is credited with advancing the global environmental movement!

From A Sense of Wonder:

Rachel Carson has been called the “patron saint” of the modern environmental movement. The Atlantic has listed her as one of the 40 most influential figures in American history. As Al Gore wrote, “without [Silent Spring], the environmental movement might have been long delayed or never developed at all.”

Without a doubt, many experts agree that Rachel’s work was instrumental and ahead of its time! Below is a great introduction to her life and work. Notice how much she got paid every week!

From the IBRRC:

Carson wrote Silent Spring the groundbreaking environmental book documenting the effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson’s thesis was that the chemical DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in reproductive problems and death.

Birds are still recovering from the effects of pesticides such as DDT. It was just recently that California Condors began nesting at the Pinnacles National Monument for the first time in 100 years!

I really like the title of the docudrama: A Sense of Wonder! It was made a couple of years ago. Kaiulani Lee plays the part of Rachel Carson. Here’s what Bill Moyers from PBS had to say about Kaiulani Lee:

I was deeply moved by Kaiulani Lee’s incarnation of Rachel Carson in A Sense of Wonder. You cannot watch Kaiulani Lee without reflecting on universal themes – life, death, the power of place, courage in growing old and in speaking the truth. You cannot walk away unmoved.”

PBS is replaying it this Earth Day. Be sure to check your local listings. Here’s the trailer for it!

Here’s a little more information about Rachel from A Sense of Wonder:

In 1962 came Carson’s seminal work, Silent Spring, which alerted the world to the dangers of chemical pesticides and launched our modern environmental movement. Controversy swirled around the book as the chemical industry tried to suppress publication with a lawsuit. The controversy grew as the book became a bestseller and Carson, “that hysterical woman,” had her science belittled and her politics questioned by those who felt their interests threatened. Carson, terminally ill with breast cancer, refused to be cowed.

In 1963 Miss Carson testified before Congress, speaking out in an effort to protect human health and the environment from the cascade of poisons unleashed by the chemical industry. Less then a year later, on April 14th, 1964, Carson died.

But her legacy lives on. She was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U. S. gov. can award a civilian. Her determined labors led directly to the passage of such important laws as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws remain the pillars of U.S. environmental law today.

I just love these segments from old television programs! The one below is about Rachel Carson.

You can also buy her book Silent Spring on Amazaon.

If you’ve seen the docudrama or have read Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, let us know what you think in the comments!

[Sense of Wonder via IBRRC]