[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2305-S2306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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       SENATE RESOLUTION 142--HONORING THE LIFE OF RACHEL CARSON

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Casey, and Ms. Mikulski) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 142

       Whereas May 27, 2007, marked the centennial of the birth of 
     Rachel Carson, a longtime Maryland resident, a noted author, 
     and an environmental visionary;
       Whereas Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907, in 
     Springdale, of western Pennsylvania, where she learned to 
     love nature while exploring the Allegheny River with her 
     family and friends;
       Whereas Rachel Carson graduated magna cum laude from 
     Pennsylvania College for Women (now known as ``Chatham 
     University'') in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928, and went 
     on to earn her master's degree in zoology from The Johns 
     Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1932;
       Whereas Rachel Carson abandoned her pursuit of a doctorate 
     degree in 1935 when her father died so that she could provide 
     financial support for her aging mother by taking part-time 
     teaching positions at The Johns Hopkins University and the 
     University of Maryland as well as a position as a writer for 
     the United States Bureau of Fisheries (now known as the 
     ``United States Fish and Wildlife Service'');

[[Page S2306]]

       Whereas Rachel Carson continued her writing career with 
     feature columns in the Baltimore Sun on the marine life of 
     the Chesapeake Bay until she was employed full-time in the 
     Federal Government where she rose to become the editor-in-
     chief for all Fish and Wildlife Service publications;
       Whereas Rachel Carson's first book, ``Under the Sea-Wind'', 
     published in 1941, gave readers across the country a chance 
     to enjoy her poetic style and her careful use of scientific 
     information for the first time;
       Whereas Rachel Carson's second book, ``The Sea Around Us'', 
     earned the 1952 National Book Award and allowed her to fully 
     devote her time to her writing career;
       Whereas Rachel Carson's guide to seashore life, ``The Edge 
     of the Sea'', was published in 1955 and became another best 
     seller;
       Whereas in 1962, while a resident of Silver Spring, 
     Maryland, Rachel Carson wrote ``Silent Spring'', a book that 
     detailed how synthetic chemicals accumulate in water, soils, 
     fish, and animals, including birds;
       Whereas President John F. Kennedy convened an expert panel 
     of scientists that confirmed Rachel Carson's scientific 
     findings, leading to the domestic ban on the sale of the 
     chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (commonly known as 
     ``DDT'') in 1972, an action that many individuals credit with 
     saving the bald eagle from extinction;
       Whereas in 2015, there are more bald eagles in the 
     Chesapeake Bay Watershed than there were in the entire lower 
     48 States in 1972; and
       Whereas Rachel Carson passed away on April 14, 1964, at her 
     home in Silver Spring, Maryland, leaving behind a history of 
     tireless advocacy on behalf of the natural world, a legacy of 
     scientific rigor coupled with poetic sensibility, and a book 
     that helped launch the modern environmental movement: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate honors the life of Rachel Carson, 
     a scientist, writer, and pioneer of the environmental 
     movement.

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