What is Rachel Carson?
{{Infobox Writer | name = Rachel Louise Carson | image = Rachel-Carson.jpg | imagesize = 200px | caption = Rachel Carson, 1940 <br />[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|Fish & Wildlife Service]] employee photo | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{birth date|1907|5|27|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Springdale, Pennsylvania|Springdale]], [[Pennsylvania]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1964|4|14|1907|5|27|mf=y}} | death_place = [[Silver Spring, Maryland|Silver Spring]], [[Maryland]] | occupation = [[marine biology|marine biologist]], writer | nationality = American | period = 1937–1964 | genre = [[nature writing]] | subject = [[marine biology]], [[ecology]], [[pesticides]] | movement = | notableworks = ''[[Silent Spring]]'' | influences = | influenced = }} '''Rachel Louise Carson''' (born May 27, 1907 – died April 14, 1964) was an American [[marine biology|marine biologist]] and [[nature]] writer. Carson worked for 15 years as a [[biologist]], [[scientist]] and [[editor]] in the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Bureau of Fisheries]] and then the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]. Her books were very important in helping the [[environmentalism|environmental movement]] grow. She was famous for writing ''[[Silent Spring]]''. She also wrote a set of three books about the ocean and what lives in and around it. ''Silent Spring'' caught the attention of many Americans. Before this not many worried about environmental problems and [[conservation biology|conservation]]. The book looked at problems with [[DDT]] and other pesticides (chemicals that kill pests, like mosquitoes and flies). It was thought these pesticides were safe, but they were actually causing many birds to die. DDT stayed in insects and fish which were eaten by birds. The birds then laid eggs with thin shells that would break. Some birds, like the [[Bald Eagle]] almost disappeared from the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Eagle Recovery|url=http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/