Editing Silent Spring (section)

===Grassroots environmentalism and the EPA===
Carson's work had a powerful impact on the environmental movement. ''Silent Spring'' became a rallying point for the new social movement in the 1960s. According to environmental engineer and Carson scholar H. Patricia Hynes, "''Silent Spring'' altered the balance of power in the world. No one since would be able to sell [[pollution]] as the necessary underside of progress so easily or uncritically."<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|p=3}}</ref> Carson's work and the activism it inspired are partly responsible for the [[deep ecology]] movement and the strength of the grassroots environmental movement since the 1960s. It was also influential to the rise of [[ecofeminism]] and to many [[feminist]] scientists.<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|pp=8–9}}</ref> Carson's most direct legacy in the environmental movement was the campaign to ban the use of DDT in the United States, and related efforts to ban or limit its use throughout the world. The 1967 formation of the [[Environmental Defense Fund]] was the first major milestone in the campaign against DDT. The organization brought lawsuits against the government to "establish a citizen's right to a clean environment", and the arguments against DDT largely mirrored Carson's. By 1972, the Environmental Defense Fund and other activist groups had succeeded in securing a phase-out of DDT use in the United States, except in emergency cases.<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|pp=46–47}}</ref>

The creation of the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] by the [[Nixon Administration]] in 1970 addressed another concern that Carson had written about. Until then, the USDA was responsible both for regulating pesticides and promoting the concerns of the agriculture industry; Carson saw this as a [[conflict of interest]] (COI), since the agency was not responsible for effects on wildlife or other environmental concerns beyond farm policy. Fifteen years after its creation, one journalist described the EPA as "the extended shadow of ''Silent Spring''". Much of the agency's early work, such as enforcement of the 1972 [[Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act]], was directly related to Carson's work.<ref>{{harvnb|Hynes|1989|pp=47–48, 148–163}}</ref> Contrary to the position of the pesticide industry, the DDT phase-out action taken by the EPA (led by [[William Ruckelshaus]]) implied that there was no way to adequately regulate DDT use. Ruckelshaus' conclusion was that DDT could not be used safely.<ref>George M. Woodwell, Broken Eggshells, ''Science 84'', November.</ref> History professor Gary Kroll wrote, "Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring'' played a large role in articulating ecology as a 'subversive subject'{{mdash}}as a perspective that cuts against the grain of materialism, [[scientism]], and the technologically engineered control of nature."<ref>Gary Kroll, [http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/carsonindex/kroll.aspx "Rachel Carson-''Silent Spring''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715160311/http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/carsonindex/kroll.aspx |date=2007-07-15 }}: A Brief History of Ecology as a Subversive Subject". Onlineethics.org: National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved November 4, 2007.</ref>

In a 2013 interview, Ruckelshaus briefly recounted his decision to ban DDT except for emergency uses, noting that Carson's book featured DDT and for that reason the issue drew considerable public attention.<ref>EPA Alumni Association: EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus and some of his closest aides recall the DDT ban decision, [http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=16 Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011072603/http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=16 |date=2016-10-11 }}, [http://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/605EA9C8EF2DD115.pdf#page=13 Transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011224944/http://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/605EA9C8EF2DD115.pdf#page=13 |date=2016-10-11 }} (see pages 13, 14).</ref>

Former [[Vice President of the United States]] and environmentalist [[Al Gore]] wrote an introduction to the 1992 edition of ''Silent Spring''. He wrote: "''Silent Spring'' had a profound impact&nbsp;...&nbsp;Indeed, Rachel Carson was one of the reasons that I became so conscious of the environment and so involved with environmental issues &nbsp;...&nbsp; [she] has had as much or more effect on me than any, and perhaps than all of them together."<ref name="McLaughlin" />