Chapter 9
Peace and Quiet
Awards and invitations to speak flooded in. Although Rachel was still shy about speaking in public, she wanted to reach as many people as possible. She agreed to be on TV since millions of people would get to hear her and listen to what she had to say. On April 3, 1963, CBS Reports broadcast a one-hour TV program called “The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson.”
CBS wanted people to hear Rachel’s message, even though chemical companies urged CBS not to broadcast the program and had even threatened to cancel their advertising. The show was seen by over ten million people. It reached many who hadn’t read Rachel’s book and weren’t aware of the pollution and pesticide issues.
Even the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, had read Rachel’s work. He also heard about the people who disagreed with her. President Kennedy asked some scientists to do a special report that would help them decide who was right. On May 15, 1963, the president’s special committee report was released.
The report said that Rachel’s facts were correct. Because of that report, new laws were passed that limited chemical pollution and the use of pesticides. The government also followed Rachel’s suggestions about how to find other ways to control insects that damaged crops.
Rachel was becoming more and more famous, but she was also getting weaker because of her cancer. In the summer of 1963, Rachel decided she needed a break from all the attention. She went to her house in Maine to spend time with her friends. She wanted to listen to the sound of the sea and watch the creatures along the shore. Being close to the ocean reminded her of exactly why she had dedicated her life to looking after nature.
Even though Rachel had escaped to Maine, she did her best to speak to as many people as she could. Invitations poured in from around the world. But her cancer continued to spread. During one speech, Rachel was so weak that she had to speak from the podium while sitting in a wheelchair.
Rachel returned to Maryland early in 1964. She was tired, but she was proud and excited that her book had captured people’s attention. People in the United States and around the world were talking about the danger of pollution and pesticides. Laws were being passed that would slow down the damage that people were doing to the world. The years of hard work had paid off. The shy girl from Springdale, Pennsylvania, had made a difference.
On April 14, 1964, Rachel Carson died at her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was only fifty-six years old.
Since Silent Spring was published, it has become one of the most talked-about books in modern history. Rachel Carson opened the world’s eyes to environmental issues that were too important to ignore.
