Rachel Carson Awards 2019: Remembering and learning from Rachel Carson

Abstract

In 1962, a very brave and determined woman scientist wrote the book, first serialized in the New Yorker magazine, that triggered a global environmental movement. Silent Spring gored the chemical industry bringing threats of lawsuits to Carson and became a best seller. Carson, who died of cancer just two years later, is acknowledged worldwide for warning the world of pesticide dangers. Her earlier books Under the Sea-Wind, The Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the Sea, as much poetry as deep environmental awareness, also gained new readers. Her work introduced many to the word “ecology.” To honor – and to remind us of – the importance of communicating science that impacts our daily natural environment, the Society of Environmental Journalists initiated an annual Rachel Carson Book Award in 2008. AEEC has regularly reported on the winning books. This year’s winners are especially strong and deserve attention. I was interested in how available the 2018 entries were and indeed what attention had been paid to them. I was pleased to find the three honorary mention titles on display at a local Barnes and Noble Bookstore, but wondered why there was no sign of the winning book, The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy by Anna Clark, a noted journalist. The winning book, described by the jurors as a “superior act of journalism,” tells the story, still in the news, of an unnatural environmental disaster in Flint, Michigan and warns that lead poisoning is a threat nationwide. Fighting back against toxins, which often show up first in “redlined” lowincome neighborhoods as in Flint, requires a community effort and serious media coverage. Clark details this one city’s fight, but makes it clear that chemicals continue to be a topic of urgent concern in all communities. Just as Rachel Carson foretold, we need to demand attention to our health and safety. This book is not relevant to only one city. The Poisoned City belongs on bookshelves everywhere. SEJ noted that the award submissions this year were especially strong. Determining only one winner was a challenge. Fortunately, the award allows for honorary mentions. These three – the ones I found easily on