http://nhpr.org en http://nhpr.org/post/silent-spring <p>Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson&#39;s book, &quot;Silent Spring&quot;, woke the world up to the perils of chemicals that promised food crops free of disease and insects, and time outdoors free of mosquitoes.&nbsp;The book is credited with starting the modern environmental movement.&nbsp;It was the birdwatchers that first alerted the scientists about robins literally falling from the sky soon after DDT was sprayed, as well as longer-term declines in birds higher on the food chain. Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:00 +0000 Chris Martin and Francie Von Mertens 5236 at http://nhpr.org Silent Spring