Fish and Wildlife Service

High School Student Creates Rachel Carson Documentary

Kristen Cronon is a high school junior in Winchester, Massachusetts, who describes herself as an environmentalist and naturalist. Rachel Carson has been her inspiration since the third grade. Cronon’s documentary, Taking a Stand in History: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring(Windows Media format file; will open in a new window), was premiered in the student category during the National Conservation Film Festival at in November 2006. Using archival footage and interviews with contemporary environmentalists and historians, Cronon in the film tells the story of Carson’s pioneering role in creating the modern environmental movement.

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The Research Behind the Documentary

Documentarian Kristen Cronon discusses the research sources used in the making of Taking a Stand in History: Rachel Caron’s "Silent Spring"

Primary Sources

Carson’s Writings, Speeches and TV Interview

Carson, Rachel. Address at Audubon Dinner. October 5, 1962.

In this speech Rachel talks about some of the attacks made by her various opponents and how she is “bearing them very well.” She also mentions positive feedback she has received from readers. She discusses many of the main points readers made in their letters, which was very helpful and interesting. In an early draft, I had planned on using a quote from this speech but decided I did not have enough space/ time.

Carson, Rachel. “Of Man and The Stream of Time.” Claremont, California: Scripps College Bulletin Volume XXXVI, July 1962.

This was a small piece of writing Rachel did about the interconnectedness of man and nature and how everything we do to one aspect of our environment affects every other part as well. She also discusses conservationists of the past, such as John Muir. The reading was interesting and made some of the same points as Silent Spring, except in a much more condensed manner, which made concepts even more accessible to me.

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin, 1962.

I couldn’t have done my project without this book, seeing as my entire project was based on it and its lasting impacts. I got several quotes from the book, and although I did not use any of them in my project, they were helpful because I gained a better understanding of Rachel’s main points from them.

Carson, Rachel. “Environmental Hazards: Control of Pesticides and Other Chemical Poisons.” (Statement of Rachel Carson Before the Subcommittee on Reorganization and International Organizations of the Committee on Government Operations.) June 4, 1963.

This is a speech Rachel gave before Congress outlining the reasons why pesticides and other pollutants needed to be controlled and limited and summarizing a plan for action. She used lots of specific examples of cases in which pollutants were seriously harming the environment. She proposed that the government conduct studies on pollutants’ effects on human health and the environment, restrict the use of these harmful chemicals, and test them more carefully before they are released to be used. This is one of her most famous speeches and was an extremely helpful primary source. I searched for a recording of it to put into my documentary but could not find one. However, I learned a lot from the speech and it definitely helped my project in the long run because her plan for action was clearly outlined, which made it very easy for me to digest.

“The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson.” CBS. April 3, 1963.

Out of all my sources, this was the most helpful. I got much of my film footage from this documentary- of pesticides being sprayed, wildlife suffering, politicians and scientists giving speeches. It was difficult to find this documentary and I had to send away for it from the Rachel Carson Council in Maryland. Although some of the footage is not of the best picture quality, I am extremely grateful that I was able to use this source. It was completely unbiased and displayed just as much information about the positive affects of pesticides as the negative.

New York Times Articles

Adams, Val. “‘C.B.S. Reports Plans a Show on Rachel Carson’s New Book.” NY Times, August 30, 1962: pg 42. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/18/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate to show just how frequently Carson’s message appeared in the news.

Atkinson, Brooks. “Critic at Large. “Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ is Called ‘The Rights of Man’ of Our Time.” NY Times, April 2, 1963: pg 44. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/18/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

Faust, Joan Lee. “Around the Garden: Will Spring Be Silent?” NY Times, October 7, 1962: pg x25. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 12/21/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate to show just how frequently Carson’s message appeared in the news.

“File on: Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring.’” NY Times, July 14, 1963: pg 169.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/20/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate to show just how frequently Carson’s message appeared in the news.

Galton, Lawrence. “The Great Debate over Pests- And Pesticides.” NY Times, April 14, 1963: pg 42. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/10/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

“Garden Successfully Without Poison Sprays: New book-$1.” (advertisement) NY Times, October 7, 1962: pg x24. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 12/18/05.

I used this article as an image when discussing immediate action taken by the public. This ad, which was published in the New York Times not long after Silent Spring came out, shows how there was already enough public concern for new gardening products without DDT.

Hunter, Marjorie. “U.S. Sets Up Panel to Review the Side Effects of Pesticides.” NY Times, August 31, 1963: pg 9. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/10/05.

I used this as an image when discussing how Kennedy set up a panel to review effects of pesticides.

Karlen, Barbara Madison. “Kids to the Rescue: Save the Earth.” NY Times, April 21, 1974: pg 496. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/10/05.

I used this article as an image when discussing how the environmental movement became an important part of popular culture.

Lee, John. “Silent Spring’ Is Now Noisy Summer.” NY Times, July 22, 1962: pg. 87. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/20/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

Milne, Lorus and Margery. “There’s Poison All Around Us Now.” NY Times, Sept 23, 1962: pg 24. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/10/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate. This article also was especially helpful information-wise. It was the book review for Silent Spring, and I was able to read about some of the most immediate reactions to the book right after it came out.

Osmundsen, John. “Man Against Nature: Our Synthetic Environment.” NY Times, May 19, 1963: pg BR28. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/18/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate to show just how frequently Carson’s message appeared in the news.

Parke, Richard. “Connecticut Urged to Establish Board to Control Pesticide Use.” NY Times, April 17, 1963: pg 43. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/10/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

“Pesticide Inquiry is Sought in House.” NY Times, May 3, 1963: pg 18. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/18/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

“Rachel Carson Honored.” NY Times, June 20, 1963: pg 30. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/20/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

“Report on ‘Silent Spring.’” NY Times, October 9, 1962: pg 39. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/18/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

Schmeck, Harold M Jr. “U.S. Panel Urges $2.5-Billion to Curb Pollution.” NY Times, June 13, 1967: pg 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 12/10/05.

I used this article as an image in my documentary to show how environmental issues became important political issues in the 60’s and 70’s after Carson raised awareness.

Sullivan, Walter. “Books of the Times.” NY Times, September 27, 1962: pg 35. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 12/10/05.

This was a page discussing best selling books- Silent Spring was at the top and the article even included a picture of Rachel. I used this as an image in my documentary when I mentioned how the book was a best seller for 86 weeks.

Toth, Robert. “Pesticide Study Found Difficult.” NY Times, December 7, 1962: pg 41. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/20/05.

I used a close-up of a quote from this article, “Poisons Work Subtly” in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

Toth, Robert. “Scientist Urge Wider Control over Pesticides.” NY Times, May 16, 1963: pg 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. 10/20/05.

I used this article as an image which I included in the flurry of newspaper articles about the pesticide debate.

Secondary Sources

Personal Interviews

Donahue, Brian. Personal interview. December 13, 2005.

Brian is a Professor of Environmental Studies at Brandeis University. In addition to knowing a ton about my topic and the history which came before and after, he was an organic farmer who knew about the advantages and harmful results of pesticides first hand. I have 43 minutes of video footage of my interview with him and used a good number of excerpts from the interview in my documentary.

Ladow, Beth. Personal interview. December 8, 2005.

Beth Ladow is an environmental historian and author who knew a lot about Carson and her lasting impacts on the environmental movement. She added a lot to my documentary with her insightful comments, the interesting, specific details she provided, and her lively personality.

Madison, Mark. Personal interview. December 28, 2005.

Mark Madison was the most helpful out of all the people I interviewed. He is an historian for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (where Rachel Carson worked for several years) and knew a lot of inside information about Carson’s personal life, in addition to her lasting impact. He also gave me some photos of Rachel from when she worked at the Fish and Wildlife Service. He was extremely friendly and helpful, and I have 34 minutes of footage of my interview with him.

Teitel, Martin. Personal interview. January 6, 2006.

Martin Teitel is an acclaimed author and the Executive Director of The Cedar Tree Foundation- an organization concerned with sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and environmental health. He knew a lot about Silent Spring and was alive in the 1960’s when DDT was popular. He discussed both important historical details of Silent Spring, the main points of Carson’s message, environmental concerns of today, and his own personal, vivid recollections of the pesticide debate. Unfortunately, I really did not have enough time in my movie to include any clips from this interview. I found that much of what he said I already had clips from other interviews in my movie about. However, he was still a very interesting and informative source.

Wild, Peter. Personal interview. January 1, 2006.

Peter Wild is the President of Boston Tree Preservation and Sustainable Growth Incorporated- an organization that encourages organic lawn care. Mr. Wild talked about how the organic movement grew from the environmental movement and how both were initially inspired by Rachel Carson. I originally had a clip of Mr. Wild talking about how Silent Spring inspired the organic movement, but had to cut it out because it made the documentary forty or so seconds too long and didn’t relate directly to my thesis.

Books

Brooks, Paul. The House of Life: Rachel Carson at Work. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1972

This was one of the more helpful books. It contained extensive information about Rachel’s research and personal life. It included some quotes from letters from her readers, some speeches she gave, and much more. I got a lot of my background information from this book.

Felder, Deborah, G. The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time. New York: Citadel Press Books, 1996

This was one of the very first books I looked at when starting my research. It gave me a general picture of Carson’s struggle and her main message in Silent Spring. This book helped me decide what direction to take my project.

Gartner, Carol B. Rachel Carson. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co, 1983

This was one of the first books I looked at when starting my research. It had a lot of interesting facts about Carson’s personal life but I did not focus on her personal life very much so it was not that helpful although I enjoyed reading excerpts from it.

Murphy, Priscilla Coit. What A Book Can Do: The Publication and Reception of Silent Spring. UMass Press, 2005

This book was all about various reactions to Silent Spring both before and after it was published. From this book, I learned about how prepared the public was to receive Carson’s message and the public’s reaction. I also learned about the endeavors of chemical companies and the agricultural industry to stop publication and to disprove Carson.

Pimentel, David and Hugh, Lehman. The Pesticide Question. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1993

This book contained a lot about environmental ethics and examined the ethics of pesticide use. I used several quotes from it in my research, although none of them made it into the final product. It didn’t focus on Carson all that much, so in that way it wasn’t the best source.

Winston, Mark L. Nature Wars. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997

This book examined the trend of men to dominate nature and discussed the impacts of Silent Spring in a couple chapters, although it was not focused on the issue entirely. It was not really that helpful because it was not as detailed as I would have liked when discussing my topic.

Other

2005. Waitakere City Council. 18 Dec. 2005 <http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/AbtCit/ec/clnprod/>.

I found an interesting image on this website which I used in my documentary.

25 Nov. 2005 <www.relentlesslyoptimistic.com/environmental/>.

I found an interesting image on this website which I used in my documentary.
Clothes Made From Scrap, Inc. 17 Dec. 2005 <http://www.clothesmadefromscrap.com/designs.htm>.

I found an interesting image on this website which I used in my documentary.

Cromer-Campbell, Tammy. Environmental Justice Now. 24 Nov. 2005 <www.cep.unt.edu/foto/9.html>.

I found a few interesting images on this website which I used in my documentary.

"DDT: Structure." 24 Nov. 2005 <http://www.chemtutor.com>.
I found an interesting image on this website which I used in my documentary.

Dearmon, Norris. "The GI Memorial House Museum." 5 Dec. 2005 <http://www.rootsweb.com/~nckha/GI_PICTURES.html>.

I found a few interesting images on this website which I used in my documentary.

Genova, Tom. "Television: the first 75 years." 19 Dec. 2005 <www.tvhistory.tv>.

I found a few interesting images on this website which I used in my documentary.

Machlin Dayton, N. The Hair Online Archives. <http://www.orlok.com/hair/holding/photographs/hair/EarthDay.html>.

I found a few interesting images on this website which I used in my documentary.

Mystic Chorale. Mystic Fusion. Rec. 18 Nov. 2001. Nick Page, 2001.

I used a song from this CD, "Cherokee Morning Song," in my end credits.

University of Michigan. 18 Dec. 2005 <http://www.recycle.umich.edu/grounds/recycle/>.

I found an interesting image on this website which I used in my documentary.
"US Department of Energy." 2 Jan. 2006 <http://www.mbe.doe.gov/.../1945_postscript.htm>.

I found a few interesting images on this website which I used in my documentary.

"Virginia Tech pesticide programs." 3 Dec. 2005 <https://www.vtpp.ext.vt.edu/index.php/html/main/pesticideuse1940.html>.

I found an interesting image on this website which I used in my documentary.

Yale Beineke Library. 24 Nov. 2005 <http://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke>.

I found a few interesting images on this website which I used in my documentary.

Film

Cold War: The Hot Conflicts. Videocassette. CNN, 2000.

I used this documentary to get my footage from the Vietnam War. The footage helped me prove my point about how the public was prepared to receive Carson's message after being exposed to news footage of the Civil Rights Movement, The Vietnam War, and the atom bomb.

Cronon, Kristen L. Digital images/ film footage.

All of the colored footage in the movie is my own. I also have one or two of my own photographs in there.

Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream. Videocassette. MPI Home Video, 1986.

I used this documentary to get footage of Civil Rights protestors. The footage helped me prove my point about how the public was prepared to receive Carson's message after being exposed to news footage of the Civil Rights Movement, The Vietnam War, and the atom bomb.

“Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.” Peace River Films. PBS. 1993

This was an interesting documentary that taught me a lot that I had not heard before about Carson’s opposition. I learned about Dr. White Stevens and his main points in defending pesticides, which was very helpful.

Last updated: May 18, 2007

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