Discussion Questions: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
- What are the benefits and risks associated with the use of DDT?
- Why was the broad use of DDT accepted by society in the 1950s? Who benefited from the use of DDT in large quantities? Why do you think Rachel Carson's message was not well received by some people at the time her book appeared?
- Poisons have three ways of entering the human body: through the lungs by breathing, through the skin by absorption, and through the digestive tract by eating. Knowing this, what is your reaction to some of the scenes you saw in the video?
- Discuss Rachel Carson's idea that humans have "a fundamental right to a healthy environment."
