Email Interview with Ms.

Sherrida Woodley- February 6th, 2015

Interviewer: How did Rachel Carson exhibit leadership?
Woodley: I think this was her unexpected "gift," both to herself and the
world. When she began writing for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, I
believe she realized she could take a rather dry subject and edit it into
something more meaningful. She was first and foremost a nature
writer, much like Thoreau. So when she took a subject, like the sea,
and looked at it from a fresh, wondrous perspective, it came across with
an ecological slant--how animals adapted to their environment, etc. In
my opinion, Silent Spring was her most objective work, and personally,
gave me the most to consider. She was a well-respected marine
biologist, first and foremost. However, by the time she wrote her last
book she was at a serious disadvantage as she took on the issue of
pesticide damage--she was a female, she had no Ph.D., and she had no
institutional support. Rachel Carson was on her own as an independent
writer with an elderly mother and an adopted nephew to support. This
set of circumstances was not always clearly understood or accepted,
and in order to stand by it, unflagging, even in the face of her own
illness, she had to be a born leader. Ultimately, her work and its
importance was felt throughout all English-speaking nations.
Interviewer: How have things she did affected the life we live now?
Woodley: Perhaps this is where her influence is strongest. Frankly, I
believe she slowed the pace of pesticides, at least for awhile almost to a
halt. DDT, long overused, even in this country, was removed from the
market, however, not because she called for a ban on it or any other
organophosphate pesticide. She was against its misuse and overuse,
understanding that insects became resistant to all chemical pesticides
after a certain period. DDT can be a very effective agent against
mosquitoes until they become resistant. It is manufactured in the U.S.
and exported, and is manufactured and used in China, North Korea and
some parts of India. It continues to be used in contained environments
such as small huts, tents and contained homes.

But the question remains, what is it doing to the environment within its
influence? Her warnings continued, especially throughout the postWWII years when men and women were trying to restore some
normalcy to their lives. But this was also when large corporations were
starting to build, and they weren't necessarily looking to protect the
environment. By then, Carson, who had passed away in 1964, was
considered an alarmist and easily dismissed in the 1970s and 1980s,
during which time more aggressive means of controlling agriculture
through fertilizers and a new generation of pesticides continued. As a
result, I believe we live in a world that's been compromised, where the
reality of environmental toxins is often downplayed or not mentioned at
all. Who could possibly understand all the chemicals involved in a
drain cleaner or aphid killer, unless they are a biochemist? But her
words still echo among those who remember her. . . what happens when
the birds no longer return? What happens when we face a silent spring?
Interviewer: Does she have a legacy and how so?
Woodley: A lot of this is explained above. I personally believe her
legacy is in you and in young people all over the world who look to her
work with fresh eyes and minds. The players are different now, their
names you have to discover for yourselves. But the intent is the same.
If one's perspective remains clouded, then one doesn't always question
the vital truth. Carson tried very hard to get to the core of the problem
in a relatively short, condensed book. For her time, she certainly
understood that the only way to reach future generations was to create a
piece of work that would capture human emotion among hardcore
statistics and chemical reactions. Not easily done. . . but she did it
quite well. After all, she's still considered one of the great writers of
the 20th century.
Interviewer: Why do you personally think she's important? Did she
provoke other scientists into action?
Woodley: This is where I'll mention her spirit. Rachel Carson was
raised in a part of Pennsylvania that withstood a lot of pollution as she
was growing up. She'd seen a nearby river nearly destroyed with

industrial toxins. She also had a mother who took strong interest in
teaching her youngest child all about the world of nature. Rachel and
her mother remained closely aligned until late in Carson's life. This
relationship, I believe, forced Carson to look inward, toward her core,
to discover who SHE was. Her mother, from what I've read, was
extremely strong minded, and this was probably partly responsible for
Carson's firm dedication to forming her own life skills. It made her
exceptionally single-purposed.
I remember seeing Rachel Carson on television late in her life. She
died before age 60, having been ravaged by cancer during the writing
of Silent Spring. She was exhausted, yet so proud and clearly amazed
at the positive support of President Kennedy and his administration.
She said little about her personal life, wasn't fond of having her picture
taken, and yet became a household word when I was about your age. I
never forgot her. When I began writing a novel toward the middle of
my own life, I realized how much she'd impacted me. I dedicated part
of the novel (Quick Fall of Light) to her because of it. Her legacy, for
me, was one that came about first as a warning, then as a symbol for
our times. From the time she wrote Silent Spring, the world was
informed as to what was happening and how it could eventually play
out. No one could any longer claim innocence. But they could claim
indifference. As a novelist, I wanted to challenge that in story form.
I do believe, had she lived long enough, Rachel might've written
another book, perhaps even a novel. She understood the power of
story, how it shapes lives through the imagination. It is what she
explored in her own works, as she described the sea and shoreline,
birds and eels. Rachel Carson sacrificed much of her own life to write
Silent Spring. Her sense of dedication has never left me, and I hope it
never leaves you. Thank you for allowing me to help you with this
project. Always remember that Rachel Carson believed in questioning
authority. She sought answers through proven scientific study, not
reliance on financial motives. Most of all she believed every person
has the power to change the Earth, to help bring us closer to a more
natural world, a world where humanity works within nature's complex
but impeccable plan.