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Silent spring at 50 : the false crises of Rachel Carson / edited by Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers, and Andrew Morriss.

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Cato Institute, c2012.

Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964. Silent spring.

Pesticides -- Environmental aspects.

Pesticides -- Toxicology.

Pesticides and wildlife.

Insect pests -- Biological control.

9781937184995 (hc.)

1937184994 (hc.)

vi, 364 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Silent spring at 50 -- The lady who started all this -- The intellectual groundwaters of Silent spring : rethinking Rachel Carson's place in the history of American environmental thought -- Silent spring as secular religion -- The selective silence of Silent spring : birds, pesticides, and alternatives to pesticides -- Rachel Carson's health scare -- The balance of nature and "the other road" : ecological paradigms and the management legacy of Silent spring -- Did Rachel Carson understand the importance of DDT in global public health programs? -- Agricultural revolutions and agency wars : how the 1950s laid the groundwork for Silent spring -- The false promise of federalization -- The precautionary principle : Silent spring's toxic legacy -- Risk over-simplified : the enduring and unfortunate legacy of Silent spring.

"Widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement when published 50 years ago, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring had a profound impact on our society. As an iconic work, the book has often been shielded from critical inquiry, but this landmark anniversary provides an excellent opportunity to reassess its legacy and influence. In Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson a team of national experts explores the book's historical context, the science it was built on, and the policy consequences of its core ideas. The conclusion makes it abundantly clear that the legacy of Silent Spring is highly problematic. While the book provided some clear benefits, a number of Carson's major arguments rested on what can only be described as deliberate ignorance. Despite her reputation as a careful writer widely praised for building her arguments on science and facts, Carson's best-seller contained significant errors and sins of omission. Much of what was presented as certainty then was slanted, and today we know much of it is simply wrong"--Provided by publisher.

Meiners, Roger E.

Desrochers, Pierre, 1969-

Morriss, Andrew P., 1960-

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