#rachelcarson

[righttotruth]

Rachel Carson: The Woman Who Gave Nature a Voice

On 27 May, let us remember one of the most influential environmental thinkers of the twentieth century — Rachel Carson. More than a scientist, Carson was a writer, conservationist, and visionary who changed how humanity understands its relationship with nature. At a time when industrial progress was celebrated without question, she courageously warned that human actions were damaging the natural world in dangerous and irreversible ways.

Today, as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and ecological crises dominate global conversations, Rachel Carson’s ideas feel more relevant than ever.

Read: https://righttotruth.in/2026/05/27/rachel-carson-the-woman-who-gave-nature-a-voice/

[nonfiction-addiction]

The Book That Saved a Species

Originally posted in the Nonfiction Addiction community.

In 1962, marine biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, exposing the dangers of pesticides like DDT.

Her work didn’t just stir debate — it led to a nationwide ban on DDT in the U.S. and sparked the modern environmental movement.

The result? The bald eagle, which was on the brink of extinction, made a comeback.

One nonfiction book quite literally changed the course of nature.

What’s a book you’ve read that made you see the world differently?

[mbari-blog]

"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be." —Rachel Carson⁠⁠

Today we celebrate biologist, author, and environmentalist Rachel Carson's birthday. Carson's book Silent Spring, published in 1962, is widely credited for launching the environmental movement in the United States.

MBARI's research vessel Rachel Carson, named for the famous environmentalist, started her life as an oil field supply vessel operating in the Gulf of Mexico. Following a 22-day transit from La Rose, Louisiana to Alameda, California, and extensive refitting, she was christened by Julie Packard on July 21, 2012, at MBARI’s Open House celebration. The R/V Rachel Carson is MBARI’s coastal vessel, capable of supporting operations of ROV Ventana, multiple Dorado class AUVs, moorings, and many other oceanographic instruments. ⁠ ⁠ The R/V Rachel Carson will support MBARI science and ocean engineering efforts for many years to come.

[sheilammyers]

What Would Rachel Do?

Get off Social Media

As famous as she was from winning the National Book Award for The Sea Around Us, Rachel was averse to public speaking and aggrandizement, much to the chagrin of her agent. When The Edge of the Sea hit the New York Times Bestseller list in the fall of 1955, she had numerous requests to speak at public events and declined most of them. 

She was a solid "NO" to the numerous requests from magazines to run a profile on her as well. Rachel didn't see her author life as a brand and didn't seek the attention. I'm not sure if she was afraid of the scrutiny she would receive by allowing the press into her personal life, or her natural shyness, but it doesn't mean she wasn't focused on the success of her work.

Indeed, The Edge of the Sea and another book about life at the sea, albeit, a non-scientific and philosophical take, Anne Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea exchanged places on the top ten list throughout 1955-56 on various news outlets. Rachel takes note of it in letters to her friend, Dorothy. 

"...I truly-even now-don't expect The Edge (The Edge of the Sea) ever to reach #1 spot, but I'd be happy that it is Mrs. Lindbergh's book and not something sensational or trashy."

Trashy included the book about a woman who under hypnosis discovers she'd lived another life decades earlier. After years of being at the top ten, Rachel doesn't hold back on her disdain for losing rank to Bridey Murphy (1956) which hit #1 on Chicago Tribune in 1956. "I think this silly Bridey Murphy thing is going to scoot right up and crowd Mrs. Lindbergh...The Edge by the way is No. 6- up one." And then weeks later,  "That wretched Bridey Murphy thing has displaced Mrs. Lindbergh! That is really a blow. "

Rachel didn't have to deal with today's social media spotlight that casts rays well beyond the reach of newspapers or magazines of her time. And she wasn't in a position to write anything with a pseudonym like Elena Ferrante, you don't get the chance to write a biography of the sea, and a scathing indictment against the chemical industry anonymously. Yet, her detachment from public scrutiny allowed her to write one of her most challenging work of all--Silent Spring (1962).  And then all hell broke loose. 

With that in mind, I've gotten to 7k words in this novel set in Maine that has Rachel as a 'macguffin' in the story. And I'm thinking with the holidays coming, this might be time to shut down my own social media, and detach myself from that public for a few weeks so I can keep writing. 

Happy Holidays everyone! See you in the New Year. 

Sources: William Souder. On a Farther Shore. The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson. 2012. 

​Always, Rachel. The Letters of Rachel Carson And Dorothy Freeman. 1952-1964. Edited by Martha Freeman.

[scientificphilosopher]

We are storytelling machines. As a species, we are addicted to seeing the world in beginnings, middles, and ends. Terry Pratchett captured this nicely when he wrote, “The anthropologists got it wrong when they named our species 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴 (‘wise man’). In any case it’s an arrogant and bigheaded thing to say, wisdom being one of our least evident features. In reality, we are 𝘗𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴, the storytelling chimpanzee.”⁣ ⁣ Our insistence on slicing up reality into convenient narratives has its upsides. It makes us powerful storytellers, it helps us quickly make sense of complex information. It has helped us survive. But this simplification process also compels us to miss some important facts about reality. When we’re committed to the idea that our lives are meant to have a tidy narrative arc, then we are left with an entitled sense of indignance when things don’t work out how they’re ‘supposed to.’ It causes us to miss the fact that reality is a dynamic, jumbled mess of ever-changing stuff, complex and muddy beyond imagination. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. A messy, arbitrary reality conflicts with how we’re predisposed to see and understand the world—as a story that makes sense. This means that it takes hard work and training to even begin to see nature—and our place within it—in all its chaotic, helter-skelter glory.

[goodbearblind]

"Fino a che punto gli esseri umani hanno il diritto di spingersi nel loro dominio sui non umani? Hanno il diritto di ridurre la vita a una pura esistenza che non è vita? Hanno il diritto di porre fine a queste esistenze infelici con metodi che sono arbitrariamente crudeli? La mia risposta è un categorico no. Credo che l’essere umano non sarà mai in pace con i suoi simili finché non accoglierà l’etica schweitzeriana che implica la considerazione della dignità di tutte le creature viventi – una reale venerazione per la vita." (Rachel Carson) -I Filosofi e la questione animale- . . #rachelcarson https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4azYNK99f/?igshid=gzxez69v1eaf

[aberenbak]

“The winds, the sea, and the moving tides are what they are. If there is wonder and beauty and majesty in them, science will discover these qualities... If there is poetry in my book about the sea, it is not because I deliberately put it there, but because no one could write truthfully about the sea and leave out the poetry.”   ― Rachel Carson  

[thinkthisthru]

The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we will have of destruction

Rachel Carson