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| In the 1960s, when TV drama Mad Men is set, the tobacco industry argued that lung cancer was caused by a number of environmental factors, even though it knew there was a link with smoking. Photo: Everett Collection / Rex Feature |
8 August 2010
This exposé of the coterie of rightwing scientists hell-bent on destroying the cause of environmentalism is outstanding
This exposé of the coterie of rightwing scientists hell-bent on destroying the cause of environmentalism is outstanding
Rachel Carson is generally viewed as an environmental heroine, a courageous campaigner whose book, Silent Spring, alerted the world to the dangers of the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Hers was a success story, the tale of a woman who highlighted a serious problem – that the anti-mosquito agent DDT was building up in the food chain where it was killing millions of birds and animals – and who helped introduce a global ban on use of the chemical.
At least that is the common appreciation of Carson. However, a brief search of her name on the internet today produces an unexpected response. According to many websites, Carson – by all accounts a pleasant, amiable woman – was a mass murderer who killed more people than the Nazis. This dramatic claim is based on her campaign against DDT, which, it is alleged, has led to the deaths of countless Africans from malaria.
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At least that is the common appreciation of Carson. However, a brief search of her name on the internet today produces an unexpected response. According to many websites, Carson – by all accounts a pleasant, amiable woman – was a mass murderer who killed more people than the Nazis. This dramatic claim is based on her campaign against DDT, which, it is alleged, has led to the deaths of countless Africans from malaria.