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© Shell Education #50162—Leveled Texts for Science: Life Science

109

Rachel CarsonRachel Carson loved nature. She was

one of the first people to work to protect the environment. When she was young, she wanted to be a writer. Then she went to college. She took a biology class. She fell in love with the subject. It changed her life. She made new plans. She switched to studying science instead of writing.

Carson went on to earn a degree in zoology. This was a big thing for a woman then. It was rare for a woman to be a scientist. That’s what Carson did. She was also the first woman to pass the civil service test. This let her work for the U.S. government. She was hired at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was one of the first women to work there.

Pesticides

At her job, Carson studied the oceans. She studied the use of pesticides. They are a kind of chemical. They are used to kill pests. Could they hurt other living things, too? Carson thought that they might harm life in the ocean.

A man named Paul Muller made the chemical called DDT. It was used as a pesticide. It seemed great for farming. It killed the pests. It was strong. It lasted a long time. However, this is what made it dangerous. DDT stayed in soil and water. It stayed in plants and animals. DDT stayed toxic for many years after it was used.

Carson studied DDT. She and others found out how bad it was. She knew she had to warn the public. They had to know about the danger.

Carson went back to her dream of writing. Silent Spring was her first book. Some think that it is the most important book of the past 100 years. It told about pesticides. It told about DDT.

Carson taught people to look at the world in a new way. Carson wanted others to know three things. Humans are only one part of nature. They are not the rulers of it. They should help care for the planet.

#50162—Leveled Texts for Science: Life Science © Shell Education

110

Silent Spring

The title of Carson’s book may seem strange. It has to do with the noises of spring. New life comes to be in the spring. Bees buzz. Birds chirp. Frogs ribbit. The world comes alive. But what would the world be like if the spring were silent? What if the new life never came? What if humans did so much damage there were no life and no noises?

Carson’s book made some people mad. Some sold the chemicals. They made a lot of money. Farmers were angry about her book, too. They wanted to use pesticides. The pesticide helped them grow bigger crops. Angry people said and wrote nasty things about her. But Silent Spring made people look into the use of DDT. People saw the danger. They were hurting the planet. They were hurting themselves.

This started the environmental movement. People used to think of the world of nature. Then they would think of the world of humans. They thought of them as two things. Carson’s book made people see that they were the same. Humans could harm the world of nature. They would also harm their own world.

Comprehension QuestionList three important things Rachel Carson did.


111

Rachel CarsonRachel Carson was one of the founders of

the environmental movement. When she was young, she wanted to be a writer. Then she went to college. She took a biology class. It sparked her interest and changed her life. She made new plans. She began to study science instead of writing.

Carson went on to earn a master’s degree in zoology. This was a big thing for a woman in 1932. It was rare for a woman to be a scientist. That’s exactly what Carson did. She was also the first woman to pass the civil service test. This let a person work for the U.S. government. Rachel Carson was hired at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was one of the first women to work there.

Pesticides

At her job, Carson studied the oceans. She studied the use of pesticides. Pesticides are a kind of chemical. They are used to kill pests. Could they hurt other living things, too? Carson thought that pesticides harmed life in the ocean.

A man named Paul Muller made the chemical called DDT. It was used as a pesticide. It seemed great for farming. It killed the pests. It was strong. It lasted a long time. However, this is what made it dangerous. DDT stayed in soil and water. It stayed in plants and animals. DDT stayed toxic for many years after it was used.

Carson studied DDT. She and others found out how bad it was. She knew she had to warn

the public. They had to know about the danger. Carson went back to her dream of writing. Silent Spring was her first book. Some think that it is the most important book of the past century. She started writing it in 1958. It was published in 1962. It told about the effects of pesticides. It told about DDT.

Carson taught people to look at the world in a new way. Carson wanted others to help care for the planet. She wanted to show how humans are only one part of nature. They are not the rulers of it.


112

Silent Spring

The title of Carson’s book has to do with the normal noises of springtime. New life comes to be in the spring. Bees buzz, birds chirp, frogs ribbit, and the world comes alive. But what would the world be like if the spring were silent? What if we did so much damage to the planet that the new life never came?

Carson’s book made many people very upset. Some people were making a lot of money. They sold the chemicals. Farmers were angry about her book. They wanted to use pesticides. They helped them grow bigger crops. Angry people said and wrote terrible things about her. Despite the attacks, Silent Spring made the people look into the use of DDT. People saw the danger in pesticides. They were hurting the planet. They were hurting themselves.

This started the environmental movement. People used to see the world of nature and the world of humans as two things. Carson’s book made people see that they were the same. Humans could harm the world of nature. They would also harm their own world.

Comprehension QuestionWhat did Rachel Carson show the world? How?


113

Rachel CarsonRachel Carson was one of the foundational

figures in environmental activism. When she was young, she wanted to be a writer. Then, while studying in college, Carson took a biology class. It sparked her interest and changed her life. She decided to make new plans. She began to study science instead of writing.

Carson went on to earn a master’s degree in zoology. This was a big accomplishment for a woman in 1932. It was rare for a woman to become a scientist, but that’s exactly what Carson did. She also became the first woman ever to pass the civil service test. This test lets a person work for the U.S. government. Rachel Carson was hired as one of the first female scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Pesticides

While working there, Carson became worried about the oceans. She studied the use of pesticides. They are chemicals used to kill bugs and insects. Pesticides could kill pests. Could they also hurt other living things? Carson suspected that pesticides harmed ocean animals.

A scientist named Paul Muller developed the chemical known as DDT as a pesticide. At first, it seemed great for farming. It killed the pests. It was strong and long lasting. However, this is what made it so toxic to the environment. It stayed in soil and water. It stayed in plant and animal tissue. This made it dangerous for many years after it was used.

Carson worked with others to study the effects of DDT. She knew she had to warn the public. They had to know about the dangers of DDT. Carson went back to her dream of writing. Silent Spring was Rachel Carson’s most important book. It is also considered by some to be the most influential book of the past 100 years. She started writing it in 1958, and it was published in 1962. It discussed the effects of DDT and other pesticides.

Carson taught people to look at the natural world in a new way. Carson wanted others to help care for the planet. She wanted to teach people that they are only one part of nature and not the rulers of it.


114

Silent Spring

The title of Carson’s book has to do with the normal noises of springtime. New life comes to be in the spring. Bees buzz, birds chirp, frogs ribbit, and the world comes alive. But what would the world be like if the spring were silent? What if we did so much damage to the planet that the new life never came?

Carson’s book made many people very upset. Some people were making a lot of money selling the chemicals. Farmers were angry about her book. They needed chemicals to grow bigger crops. People were so angry that they said and wrote terrible things about her. Despite the attacks, Silent Spring made the government look into the use of DDT. Carson got people to see the dangerous effects of pesticides. They were hurting the planet and humans.

This started the modern environmental movement. People used to see the world of nature and the world of humans as separate things. Carson’s book made people see that they were connected. If humans harmed the world of nature, then they were also harming their own world.

Comprehension QuestionHow did Rachel Carson spread her message?


115

Rachel CarsonRachel Carson was one of the foundational

figures in environmental activism. Carson originally wanted to be a writer, but then she took a biology class in college. It sparked her interest and changed her life. She decided to make new plans. She began to study science instead of writing.

Carson earned a master’s degree in zoology. This was a significant accomplishment for a woman in 1932. It was rare for a woman to become a scientist, but that’s exactly what Carson did. She also became the first woman ever to pass the civil service test. This test lets a person work for the U.S. government. She became one of the first female scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Pesticides

While working for the government, Carson became worried about the oceans. She studied the use of chemical pesticides. They are chemicals used to kill bugs and insects. But if pesticides can kill pests, couldn’t they also hurt other living things? Carson suspected that pesticides harmed ocean animals.

A scientist named Paul Muller developed the chemical known as DDT as a pesticide. At first, it seemed great for farming: it killed pests and was strong and long lasting. However, this is what made it so toxic to the environment. It stayed in soil and water and it stayed in plant and animal tissue. This made it dangerous for many years after it was used.

Carson worked with others to discover the effects of DDT. She knew she had to warn the public about the dangers of DDT. Carson went back to her dream

of writing. Silent Spring was her most important book. It is also considered by some to be the most influential book of the past 100 years. She started writing it in 1958, and it was published in 1962. It discussed the effects of DDT and other pesticides.

Carson taught people to look at the natural world in a new way. She suggested that humans are only one part of nature and not the rulers over it. Carson wanted people to help care for the planet.


116

Silent Spring

The title of Carson’s book has to do with the normal noises of springtime. New life “springs” into action during this season. Bees buzz, birds chirp, frogs ribbit, and the world comes alive. Carson posed the question: what would the world be like if the spring were silent? What if humanity did so much damage to the planet that the new life never came?

Carson’s book made many people very upset. Some businessmen were making significant profit selling the chemicals. Farmers were angry about her book because they needed chemicals to grow bigger crops. People were so angry that they maligned her name and reputation. Despite the attacks, Silent Spring made the government look into the use of DDT. Carson showed them the dangerous effects of pesticides. They realized they were hurting the planet and even other humans.

This was the beginning of the modern environmental movement. People used to see the natural world and the human world as separate things. Carson’s book made people see the connection between the two. If humans harmed the natural world, then they were also harming the human world.

Comprehension QuestionDescribe Rachel Carson’s role in the environmental movement.

rachel carson - snappagescloud2.snappages.com/79258967fce1e562b26c0d769c431067eb94… · rachel...

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