[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 100 (Friday, June 29, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RACHEL CARSON NATURE TRAIL DESIGNATION ACT OF 
                                  2012

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 29, 2012

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the Rachel Carson 
Nature Trail Designation Act of 2012 to recognize Rachel Carson, an 
environmental pioneer and inspiration for the development of 
environmental consciousness and the environmental movement, best known 
for her groundbreaking book Silent Spring. September marks the fiftieth 
anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, which has been 
translated into more than a dozen foreign languages. My bill designates 
a National Park Service trail in the District of Columbia in honor of 
Rachel Carson.
  Ms. Carson was born on May 27, 1907, on a farm in Springdale, 
Pennsylvania, graduated magna cum laude with a biology degree from the 
Pennsylvania College for Women (later Chatham College), and received a 
full scholarship that enabled her to obtain a master's degree in marine 
zoology from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. A world-renowned 
environmental scientist, writer, and educator, Ms. Carson worked as a 
writer, editor, and ultimately Editor-in-Chief for the U.S. Department 
of Fish and Wildlife Service's publications department.
  Ms. Carson lived in a city, not in the wilderness or in rural 
America. She accomplished much of her seminal professional work as a 
federal employee at the U.S. Department of the Interior in the 
District. She often used the Glover Archbold Park in the District as a 
site from which she drew observations about nature and the environment. 
She performed research on dangers of pesticides, and her findings were 
sustained by the Science Advisory Committee, created during President 
John F. Kennedy's administration. As a result, federal and state 
legislatures enacted pesticide legislation. Her work paved the way for 
groundbreaking environmental protection legislation throughout the 
world.
  Ms. Carson was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters 
and received many other honors. She died on April 14, 1964, in Silver 
Spring, Maryland, leaving a rich legacy that will continue to benefit 
present and future generations well beyond the fiftieth anniversary of 
Silent Spring.
  My bill serves to commemorate Rachel Carson for her tireless efforts 
to make the District of Columbia, the United States, and, indeed, the 
world a better and safer place for us all. The trail designated by the 
bill, located in the NPS's Glover Archbold Park in the District of 
Columbia, will be known as the ``Rachel Carson Nature Trail.'' The bill 
ensures that Rachel Carson's contributions, many of which resulted from 
observations in Glover Park, will be remembered and treasured for years 
to come.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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