Popular culture exploded with cartoons, articles, and songs about Rachel Carson. Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, made cartoons showing his admiration for Carson.
SHORT-TERM IMPACT
Public Recognition
Carson had gained popularity from her previous books, so Silent Spring reached a wide public audience.
"Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT,
I don't care about spots on my apples,
Leave me the birds and the bees,
Please"
~ "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell
Rachel Carson portrayed as a role model in Peanuts comic by Charles Schulz, 1963, Environment & Society Portal
Peanuts comic by Charles Schulz referencing Rachel Carson, 1962, Environment & Society Portal
The President's Science Advisory Committee
President John F. Kennedy asked the PSAC to investigate Silent Spring’s claims. On May 15, 1963, the PSAC produced the report “Use of Pesticides," which acknowledged the dangers of pesticides and their persistence in the environment.
"Precisely because pesticide chemicals are designed to kill or metabolically upset some living target organism, they are potentially dangerous to other living organisms. Most of them are highly toxic in concentrated amounts, and in unfortunate instances they have caused illness and death of people and wildlife."
~ "Use of Pesticides" Report
President John F. Kennedy, 1961, NY Daily News Archive
"Use of Pesticides" report, 1963, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Museum