tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post4604370331301182649..comments2023-08-20T02:55:42.721-05:00Comments on Welcome to the Rachel Carson Centennial Blog: Opening Remarks by Moderator Tom DunlapNCTC Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16160333822375645632noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-84477895548676145102007-04-09T08:21:00.000-05:002007-04-09T08:21:00.000-05:00i have written an undergraduate essay on why envir...i have written an undergraduate essay on why environmentalists believe silent spring to be one of the most important books of the twentieth century and i thoroughly enjoyed reading about her. the Linda Lear biography is very good as it shows her dedication and perseverance despite her terminal cancer and her heroic battles against the evils of big agro-chemical business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-72907998687762087592007-04-05T18:23:00.000-05:002007-04-05T18:23:00.000-05:00On reading the opening paragraph of chapter 2, I w...On reading the opening paragraph of chapter 2, I was struck by the dead-on pertinence to today's situation. The first thing that came to mind when I read the words "...man--acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world," was global warming. I don't know how far Rachel Carson's vision of a world changed by humans' interaction with the environment went, but it seems to me that this Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-70607556834831266722007-04-05T13:17:00.000-05:002007-04-05T13:17:00.000-05:00Thanks for the important comment about the power o...Thanks for the important comment about the power of Carson's language. It did indeed contribute to her case, and even her worst enemies admitted she wrote very well. That skill developed over a career and al life. She wrote for magazines literally from the time she was a child; learned an entirely different vocabulary as a practicing scientist; gained a lot of practice in translating science intoTom Dunlaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11662272171713716177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-72751821175033479142007-04-04T18:45:00.000-05:002007-04-04T18:45:00.000-05:00One thing I’d like to call attention to is how lan...One thing I’d like to call attention to is how language can be powerful. In the case of Silent Spring, for example, the two words in this book’s title seem simple and plain, and they are, and just the stark simplicity makes them powerful. There is genius in the two-word title of Rachel Carson’s book. These two words, when put together, are capable of evoking a startling image – a seemingly Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-48423723806777384772007-04-04T13:42:00.000-05:002007-04-04T13:42:00.000-05:00You two seem to be the extremes--re-reading after ...You two seem to be the extremes--re-reading after many years and reading for the first time--and I hope you will address each other as the month goes along. <BR/><BR/>Asking what Carson would have thought about current events is one of those questions historians rule out automatically as "not an historical question" because we cannot know what "might have been." However, the club reading is not Tom Dunlaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11662272171713716177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-3530713061943078222007-04-03T19:21:00.000-05:002007-04-03T19:21:00.000-05:00I picked up my copy of Silent Spring today. I have...I picked up my copy of Silent Spring today. I have read Linda Lear's biography of Rachel Carson and although I think I know the message of Silent Spring, I am looking forward to reading Carson's own words.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35546240.post-63659744207883898522007-04-03T18:22:00.000-05:002007-04-03T18:22:00.000-05:00Thanks for the summary of each chapter. I am real...Thanks for the summary of each chapter. I am really looking forward to re-reading this after 35 years. It is startling how we have lived with these realities for so many years. What would Rachel think of our world and the extent of our global warming issues? Would she be surprised by the cancer rate? The loss of habitat for all creatures and especially our migratory birds? Would she be surprisedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com