“Who has known the ocean? Neither you nor I, with our earth-bound senses, know the foam and surge of the tide that beats over the crab hiding under the seaweed of his tidepool home; or the lilt of the long, slow swells of mid-ocean, where shoals of wandering fish prey and are preyed upon, and the dolphin breaks the waves to breathe the upper atmosphere.”
Rachel Carson, “Undersea,” Atlantic Monthly, 1937
For centuries, mankind has desired to know the ocean and its creatures. Writers imagined what might exist in the deep waters and often told of monstrous sea creatures like giant lobsters, whales with sharp teeth, and enormous sea serpents. When technology allowed for ocean exploration through innovations like diving suits and submarines, people could finally explore under the water. Fascinated by the wonders of the sea, Rachel Carson wanted to make these wonders come alive for readers everywhere by combining scientific research with poetic writing.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1907, Rachel Carson grew up on a farm as the youngest of three children. From a young age, Carson had two passions: nature and writing. Her mother encouraged these passions, which would be important for the rest of her life. Carson spent much of her time observing and exploring the natural world. She wrote her first published story at 10 years old about a brave World War I aviator, combining fact with storytelling. An excellent student, Carson went on to attend college when women often did not do this. There, she discovered the wonder-filled world of biology and her life changed forever.
After graduation, Carson took a course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, experiencing the ocean for the first time at the age of 22. She finished her master’s degree in zoology and planned for a doctorate. She had to abandon further education, however, when she became the main provider and caretaker for her family. Carson needed a job and found one at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries.
Only the second woman hired full-time by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, Carson was responsible for making information about fish easy for everyone to understand. She wrote radio programs and brochures, soon writing a story describing the ocean world for a brochure. Her boss thought it too good for a brochure and said she should publish it in a magazine instead.
In 1937, the Atlantic Monthly accepted her story and launched Carson’s career as a writer. People liked the story so much that she expanded it into her first book, Under the Sea-Wind (1941). Unfortunately, with the U.S. entry into World War II, the book sold poorly.
Carson continued writing articles and was promoted many times in her job. She hoped to become a full-time writer, publishing a second book about the ocean called The Sea Around Us (1951). This time her book was a huge success, topping The New York Times Best Seller list for many weeks. People loved her writing and how she was able to make the ocean world come alive. Carson’s skill in combining scientific research with beautiful words allowed her to finally leave her job and focus on researching and writing full-time. She soon completed her third book on the sea, which was another hit.
Because of her passion for nature and the sea, Carson became concerned about the effect of pesticides on nature. After World War II, scientists developed several chemicals to help control insect populations. While pesticides were very helpful to farmers for lowering diseases caused by insects, Carson was alarmed by the effect of these pesticides, particularly DDT, on the environment. She was worried about the creatures affected by these chemicals and that insects would become stronger than the pesticides. Though Carson was then very sick with cancer, she thought this topic was so important that she had to share her research and findings with everyone. Silent Spring (1962) asked people to carefully consider the use of pesticides before spraying them without thinking. Her book was a tremendous success and is still important today.
Though Carson did not live to see much of the impact of her final book, Silent Spring changed the course of history and helped launch the environmental movement. It encouraged people to think about the implications of pesticides on nature. Her voice made science understandable to everyone and asked them to look at the world around them, take in the wonders, and think about the consequences of human actions on nature. Carson wanted everyone, even children, to learn and benefit from nature and thought the best way to do that was to protect the natural world.