Silent Spring's effects on the chemical industry  Since Silent
Spring  05 May 2009 16:10  [Source: ICB]  The rise of green
consciousness really kicked off during the 1960s in the US. Now
it is a global force with which the industry has gradually
learned to cooperate  David Ord/London  WHILE THERE may be some
mileage in claiming that the green movement has its earliest
origins at least as far back as the 1830s, environmental
activism as we know it today found its trigger in Rachel
Carson's Silent Spring.  Carson's 1962 best-seller drew
attention to the damage to the environment she believed was
being caused by pesticides. Documenting the effect of
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) on wildlife, particularly
birds, Carson also attacked the way in which the claims made by
the chemical industry were accepted uncritically by public
officials.  The chemical sector's reaction to the book was
explosive, with the industry attempting to savage Carson's
scientific credentials and threatening lawsuits. Almost fifty ye