PRINTER'S NO. 3486
No. 485 Session of 2000
INTRODUCED BY VAN HORNE AND DERMODY, MAY 4, 2000
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MAY 4, 2000
A RESOLUTION
1 Proclaiming May 27, 2000, as "Rachel Carson Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Rachel Carson, writer, scientist and ecologist, was
4 born May 27, 1907, in Springdale, Pennsylvania, the youngest of
5 three children who credited her mother for introducing her to
6 her lifelong love of nature; and
7 WHEREAS, She was graduated magna cum laude in 1929 from the
8 Pennsylvania College for Women, now known as Chatham College;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, She was hired by the United States Bureau of
11 Fisheries to write radio scripts during the Great Depression;
12 and
13 WHEREAS, During this time, she also wrote feature articles on
14 natural history for the Baltimore Sun newspaper; and
15 WHEREAS, In 1936, the Bureau of Fisheries appointed her as a
16 full-time junior aquatic biologist; and
17 WHEREAS, In 1946 she was promoted to information specialist,
1 and in 1949 she became chief editor of publications for the
2 United States Fish and Wildlife Services; and
3 WHEREAS, Her first published work appeared in the Atlantic
4 Monthly in 1937 and was titled "Undersea"; and
5 WHEREAS, She published her first book in 1941, titled "Under
6 the Sea-Wind"; and
7 WHEREAS, In 1952 she wrote her award-winning study of the
8 ocean, titled "The Sea Around Us"; and
9 WHEREAS, That same year she resigned from government service
10 to devote her time to writing and teaching people about the
11 wonder and beauty of the living world; and
12 WHEREAS, Her landmark book, published in 1962 and titled
13 "Silent Spring," argued against the overuse of pesticides and
14 manmade chemicals; and
15 WHEREAS, The book "Silent Spring" is credited with starting
16 the environmental movement; and
17 WHEREAS, Rachel Carson was quoted: "It is a wholesome and
18 necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the
19 contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and
20 humility"; and
21 WHEREAS, Her birthplace and childhood home in Springdale,
22 Pennsylvania, is being preserved and restored by the Rachel
23 Carson Homestead Association and is being used as an educational
24 resource for future generations of Pennsylvanians; and
25 WHEREAS, The Rachel Carson Homestead Association is marking
26 the 93rd anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson with a free
27 public event on May 20, 2000; therefore be it
28 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives proclaim May 27,
29 2000, as "Rachel Carson Day" in Pennsylvania.
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