Professional Entomology and the 44 Noisy Years Since Silent Spring : Part 1

When Rachel Carson’s seminal work, Silent Spring, appeared in September 1962, it “delivered a galvanic jolt to public consciousness” (Wilson 2002). Portions of the book had been serialized three months earlier in the New Yorker magazine, as had Carson’s two previous New York Times best-sellers, The Sea Around Us (Carson 1951) and The Edge of the Sea (Carson 1955). But Silent Spring roused a sense of urgency and alarm among its readership; it is credited with initiating the modern environmental movement (Graham 1970, Ehrlich 1978, Perkins 1982, Lear 1997) and promoting the establishment of what would eventually become the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Lewis 1985, Casida and Quistad 1998, Wilson 2002). Wilson (2002) further asserts that the impact of Silent Spring helped set the stage for the passage in 1973 of the Endangered Species Act, which he considers the “most important piece of conservation legislation” in U.S. history. Today, we may be hard pressed to fi nd a knowledgeable entomologist or toxicologist who would argue for a return to the widespread application of broad-spectrum, persistent pesticides. Yet Silent Spring elicited an array of adverse responses, from defensive posturing and denouncement, to vituperative tracts against its author and intimidating threats against its publisher. Carson’s detractors included not only the agricultural chemical and pesticide industries, but also the American Medical Association, the American Nutrition Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA–ARS), and prominent economic entomologists. The hindsight of more than 40 years allows us to ask several questions: What accounted for these responses, particularly those of entomologists? What criticisms were leveled against the book and its author, and were they valid? Why is Silent Spring now widely regarded as one of the most signifi cant books of the 20th century? And, in view of the revolutionary changes in the science of entomology as a result of the increased application of molecular biology (including the development of genetically modifi ed crops), what can we learn from this 44-year history to avoid a new era of polarization (Miller 2004)? To answer these questions, we must consider issues and perceptions surrounding pesticides and their use, before and immediately following the publication of Silent Spring. Although much has been written about this landmark book, no comprehensive analysis has been published that examines the gamut of entomologists’ perceptions of insecticides from the 1940s through the 1960s; the quality and scope of Carson’s source material for Silent Spring; the criticisms that Carson leveled against entomologists and their responses, compared with those from other scientifi c communities and interest groups; and the quantifi able changes in the entomological literature in the four decades since the book’s publication. In Part 1, we provide a historical context for Silent Spring, including pivotal events and perspectives from the DDT era, Carson’s credentials, and an analysis of her book. In Part 2, we examine the gamut of responses that Silent Spring provoked, including the offi cial response of the EntomologiCarol M. Anelli, Christian H. Krupke, and Renée Priya Prasad