Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic engagement

generationOn

Home / Teachers / Civic Environmentalist: Rachel Carson (12th Grade)

Civic Environmentalist: Rachel Carson (12th Grade)

Lesson 1:

From Unit Civic Environmentalist: Rachel Carson (12th Grade)

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

9th-12th Grade

Subjects:

Language Arts, Library / Technology, Science and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Carson, Rachel; Compare/Contrast; Presentations; Response to Text/Others
PHIL:	4 lesson genOn; Advocacy; Environmental Stewardship; Good Character; Philanthropic Act
SCI:	Cause/Effect; Conservation; Ecology; Environment
SOC:	Choices/Consequences; Disaster: Human-Made; Environment; Health; Personal Virtue; Point of View; Values

Focus Question(s):

What is each person's responsibility for environmental stewardship?

NOTE: Prior to this lesson, use the Blue Sky Activity in which students envision a better world. If you already have a Blue Sky display, revisit it before beginning this lesson.

Purpose:

Learners will understand and demonstrate their knowledge of the concept of civic environmentalism and the impact that one woman had on the world and our environment. The learners will understand how her advocacy is an example of civic environmentalism and how they can become civic environmentalists.

Duration:

One Fifty-Minute Class Period

Objectives:

The learner will:

demonstrate a knowledge of the concept civic environmentalism.

know and understand why Rachel Carson is known as an environmentalist.

design a personal plan/role to care for the environment.

Materials:

Student copies of Attachment One: Civic Environmentalism
Student copies of Attachment Two: Rachel Carson
Student copies of Attachment Three: Action Plan

Handout 1: Civic Environmentalism
Handout 2: Rachel Carson
Handout 3: Action Plan

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:

Ask the learners what type of litter they think might be considered the number one, most often found, piece of litter in our environment and record their responses for all to see. Have the learners ‘debate’ their offerings and then inform them that the goal is to come to a consensus as to the top two or three pieces of litter found in our environment. (The top three are: cigarette wrappers/butts, beverage containers, fast food containers/napkins/straws)

Having arrived at a consensus, have the learners share some of their ideas how as a society working together, we might be able to reduce the quantity of this type of litter.

Share with the learners that people who attempt to find these types of solutions are often referred to as civic environmentalists.

Distribute Attachment One: Civic Environmentalism. Arrange students in groups of four and have them quickly read and be prepared to summarize their reading for the whole group: Group I – Historic Roots; Group II- Importance; Group III-Ties to the Philanthropic Sector; Group IV- Key Related Ideas. Ask the learners to read and discuss their assigned section of the handout. They should select a reporter to record and share a summary.

Have each group present to the entire class a 1-2 minute summary of their group’s assignment. Discuss the definitions, making sure that the learners understand and can identify the terms and their meaning.

Distribute Attachment Two: Rachel Carson and tell the learners to read the information found on this handout.

Assign students to four groups and each group develop a rationale as to whether or not Rachel Carson fits the description of a civic environmentalist and why. Have them decide whether or not her name should be added to the Civic Environmentalists “Important people related to the Topic” found in Attachment One complete with rationale.

Have each group make a presentation supporting the group’s stance and rationale. Encourage students to compare and contrast these rationales for strength of presentation.

Individually, have each learner develop an “action plan” (Attachment Three) that identifies an environmental problem, the causes for the problem, the goal/solution in dealing with this problem and steps that they are considering taking as they play the role of a “civic environmentalist” during Earth Day. The completed Attachment Three for each student can be posted in the room and a class “walk about” done for the students to see each other’s plans.

Assessment:

Learner involvement in class discussion
Learner involvement in group work
Depth and relevance of the learner’s “action plan.”

Learning Link(s): (click to view)

Have an idea for a Learning Link?

Submit your idea here.

If your Link is accepted for publication on the Web site you will be credited with your name, school, and city.

These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

Read: Affectionately called the "Tree Woman" or "The Tree Mother of Africa” this 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner has now planted over 30 million trees across Kenya. Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya. Not only would she eventually become the first African woman to win the Noble Peace prize, earlier she also became the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree and to serve as the head of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy as an associate professor! It was during the time of her teaching that she became active in the National Council of Women of Kenya. As its chairperson she introduced the idea of planting trees with women’s groups in order to conserve the environment and improve their quality of life. A 1989 United Nations report noted that only 9 trees were being replanted in Africa for every 100 that were cut down. This deforestation was causing serious problems. Soil runoff, water pollution, difficulty finding firewood, lack of animal nutrition, these were just a few of the concerns. Through Maathai’s efforts the Green Belt Movement was established. This is a grassroots environmental non-governmental organization. The Green Belt Movement is a holistic movement. It organizes poor rural women in Kenya. These women plant trees, which will help combat deforestation. This will in turn restore their main source of fuel for cooking, and as well as stopping soil erosion. Since Maathai started this movement in 1977, over 30,000 women have been trained in forestry, food-processing, beekeeping, and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources.

Discuss: Wangari Muta Maathai broke away from the stereotypical role for a woman in her home town. In what ways might our Earth Day event also be a way of breaking away from a stereotypical role for us as teenagers? The Green Belt Movement is considered a holistic approach to reforestation. So much more happens than “just planting trees”. You might say that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In what ways might our Earth Day event be a “holistic” one? What could be some of the long range impacts of our event?

Read: When we think of noise pollution, we think of its impact on us as human beings. But Dave Cornman, of Nature Sounds Society, challenges us to think about its impact on wildlife. He says, “As human beings continue their encroachment upon the last remaining pieces of untouched wilderness, wildlife populations around the globe continue to diminish in size.” The impacts of human encroachment and environmental pollution are evident wherever research biologists perform their studies. These impacts feature a loss of habitat and territory as well as a loss of food supply. Behavioral changes in mating and migration patterns are affected. Changes in interspecies relationships, an altered predator-prey balance and an increased competition for food and shelter add to the list of negative impacts attributed to noise. The bottom line is human-induced noise pollution is one of many factors contributing to the depletion of wildlife populations.

Discuss: There seems to be plenty of evidence that noise negatively affects our environment. When we refer to our environment do we usually think in terms of the animals and the plant life that are so much a part of it and with whom we share it? In what ways might our planned Earth Day event impact the plants and animals in our environment? Rachel Carson writes in her book Silent Spring, “The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery, not over nature but of ourselves”? How does this quote from Rachel Carson reflect what we are trying to accomplish during our Earth Day event?

Read: It was meteorologist, Edward Lorenz who first fully described what has come to be known as the “Butterfly Effect”. His speech at the American Association of Science was entitled: Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set- Off a Tornado in Texas? It explained that a very small change in one system can have profound effects in another system. Tiny, local actions can have widespread far-off complex consequences. That theory has also been used to explain the essence of chaos theory. An example of these theories is evident in the deforestation that was prevalent in Tibet under the fifty years of communist China rule. This deforestation led to soil erosion in the high Himalayas, which in turn has resulted in devastating floods in China, India, and Bangladesh, that has disrupted weather patterns across Asia. Some experts even hold that this deforestation has affected weather throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere. So what’s the “big deal”? All this happened just because some people chose to cut down a few trees that perhaps shouldn’t have been cut down?

Discuss: We can all probably recall a time when we have heard or said, “It’s no big deal” when, in fact, it was or turned out to be one. How might what we have learned about the “Butterfly Effect” and chaos theory apply to our Earth Day efforts to affect positive changes in our environment? How can we use these two explanations of “small things can have big effects” when it comes to convincing our peers that what we do for our Earth Day event is a “big deal”?

Read: “If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we will no longer argue about the importance of wilderness protection, the question of saving endangered species, or how human communities must base their economic futures – not on short-term exploitation – but on long-term, sustainable development.” This quote was shared by Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day, who passed away in July 2005 at the age of 89. He believed strongly that education is the key to changing people's attitudes about the environment. He devoted his entire life to the challenge of convincing people that everyone had a responsibility to sustain life in all its forms.

Discuss: What might lead someone like Gaylord Nelson or even you and I to want to devote some of our time and effort to protecting our environment? Why might this not seem to be an important a concern for so many of our age group? How can we educate them about the importance of protecting our environment? How is our Earth Day event intending to demonstrate our effort to be responsible for sustaining life in all its forms?

Read: We are all probably familiar with billboards. These large outdoor advertising structures are usually found along major highways and expressways, as well as along city and country streets and roads. Typically, they are distinctively visual and provide larger than life ads mostly for the benefit of vehicular traffic. They are erected by companies who sell the advertising space to businesses and organizations wishing to promote their sales and services to a wider audience. The Washington Post Writers Group recently published an article entitled Billboards vs A Greener America. The article reported, "Critics charge that the new signs, like the 500,000-plus old-style billboards dotting U.S. highways coast to coast, not only blight the landscape but represent private exploitation of roadways that are funded by the public.” The advent of the big new digital signs is also kicking off an intense debate about their negative impact on the environment as well as safety issues. For example, South Carolina Department of Transportation ordered the removal of 45 trees because they were inside the 300-foot highway “view window” the billboard lobby had urged the state to mandate. Indeed, at least 28 states have laws that can force the cutting of trees owned by the public on public land if they obscure drivers' clear view of billboards. How “un-green,” one wonders, can policy get?

Discuss: Pat Brown, in Ogilvy on Advertising 1985, is quoted, “When a man throws an empty cigarette package from an automobile, he is liable to a fine of $50 or more. When a man throws up a billboard across a view, he is richly rewarded.” How might Pat Brown’s quote be another way of stating what the Washington Post Writers Group published in their article Billboards vs. A Greener America? As we anticipate being involved in our Earth Day event, what roadblocks might we encounter? In what ways might we be able to un-blight the landscape and provide a clearer view for anyone who passes by?

Read: In 2007 millions of young people participated in National & Global Youth Service Day. It is the largest service event in the world. Kids tutored young children, engaged in disaster relief, registered new voters, educated their communities about good nutrition, distributed HIV/AIDs prevention materials and met many more community needs through their service.

In Newark, New Jersey 42,000 students left school early to conduct a special project around their school where they collected the litter and began a drive to plant one million flowers! Anna, from Eureka, California helped twenty homeless youth gain valuable skills by working with the Raven Garden project to plant an edible flower garden for humming birds and butterflies.

In Belleville, Illinois youth from a local school decorated grocery bags with environmentally friendly messages and then went on to plant a community garden. The list of opportunities seems limitless. In a letter to those who participated in this day’s event, President Bush reminded everyone that, “We enjoy great liberty and prosperity in our Nation and with those blessings comes a responsibility to give back…” he continues, …and making a difference in our world.”

Discuss: How does our Earth Day event look like the National and Global Youth Service Day we just heard about? How does it look it different? Why do the lists of opportunities help always appear limitless? As we think about President Bush’s comment, how will our Earth Day event show that we are “giving back” and “making a difference”?
http://ysa.org/portals/0/pdf%20documents/NGYSD2007_Highlights.pdf

Read: The Environmental Working Group (EWG) brings us information that can help keep safe and healthy food options on our farms, in our grocery stores, and on our dinner tables. The goal of this organization is to alert the public, as well as send Congress a loud and clear message, that it is time to invest in more organic research, technical support, and marketing. The EWG is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health. It works to protect the environment by reducing pollution in our air and water. As a part of these efforts, between 2000 and 2005, the organization has conducted over 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce. Ranking 44 produce items based on the amount of pesticides found in them, the EWG ranked as “worst for pesticides” non-organically raised peaches and apples. They found that non-organically raised avocados and onions ranked “best“. Realizing that most people would rather eat a peach or apple than an avocado or onion, the EWG is advocating that all produce be raised using organic means and methods without the use of pesticides.

Discuss: Our Earth Day event gives us opportunities to advocate as well as to provide hands-on involvement in making our environment a better place in which to live. How might knowing that non-profit organizations, like EWG, are working behind the scenes to make our world safer and healthier encourage us in our Earth Day effort? Are there businesses, organizations, and/or government agencies to which we could appeal for support for our Earth Day event? In what ways might our planned event help make our school and community a safer and healthier place?
www.ewg.org/solutions

Read: Eight year old Bindi Irwin is continuing the work of her father. She is the daughter of the late “Crocodile Hunter”. Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray while filming one of his popular television documentaries. Bindi told her audience during the launch of her new show, Bindi: The Jungle Girl that she is proud to continue her father’s work. And to be a part of the educational and conservation movement by showing kids that conservation and helping wildlife is a “stack of fun”. The series airs on the Discovery Kids Channel in the United States and the Australian Broadcasting Corp. in Australia. “I think he would have said “Crikey mate” and been really proud to see how Bindi is taking over,” said Bindi’s mom.

Discuss: Some might look at this story about Bindi and say that looking after the environment is kids stuff, appropriate for eight year olds but a little beneath eighteen year olds. In what ways might we be able to counteract this argument? As we prepare to take part in our Earth Day event, in what ways might we be continuing the work of those conservationists that have preceded us? How might we promote this opportunity among our peers by appealing to their sense of pride?

Read: Deforestation is conversion of forested areas to non-forest land. This non-forest land then becomes crop land, pasture land, urban development sites, parking lots or wasteland. Generally the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. Reduced biodiversity means the loss of the variety of life at all levels. In many countries, massive deforestation is ongoing. It also appears to be re-shaping climate as well as geography. A 2005 United Nations’ report reads, DEFORESTATION CONTINUING AT ALARMING RATE! This 2005 report prepared for the United Nations Forum revealed that despite substantial progress in the forming and implementing of national forest policies, deforestation continues at an alarming rate. In the 1990s it was estimated that 35 million forest acres were disappearing per year. Since only 12.7 million acres are regained through re-forestation either through natural expansion or through the replanting of a forest on previously un-forested land, we continue to lose our forests at a rate of approximately 22.3 million acres per year! Meanwhile, as of 2007, the world population has reached 6.7 billion. In line with population projections, this figure continues to grow at rates that were unprecedented before the 20th century.

Discuss: Given what we know about how photosynthesis and the Oxygen Cycle (Simply stated, plant life breathes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen so that humans and other animal life can breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.) What conclusion might one draw from these statistics? How important is it that maintains its biodiversity? How might our Earth Day event help sustain, and enhance life on this planet?
www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/envdev851.doc.htm

Read: Alyeska is an Aleut (an indigenous tribe of Alaska) word meaning “mainland”. It is also the name given to a group of oil companies that own the 800-mile-long Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). The first oil flowed through the pipeline in June 1977. It is still one of the largest oil pipeline systems in the world. TAPS runs from Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska south to Valdez. Valdez is the northernmost ice-free port in North America. The pipeline was designed to weather the harsh environment. It cuts through mountain ranges, earthquake faults, and passes over 500 rivers and streams. While an above ground “eye sore” to some, it is a valuable source of needed oil and oil byproducts for many. In an effort to remain as environmentally friendly as possible the pipeline includes more than 550 crossing areas for caribou, moose, and other wildlife. One spokesperson from TAPS said of its construction, “The pipeline is an excellent example of cooperation between humankind and the rest of nature.”

Discuss: What might motivate a major cooperation, given the expense of building an environmentally friendly structure such as TAPS, choose to do so? What responsibilities, if any, do corporations and businesses have to our environment? Why is it important that all humankind cooperate with nature? In what ways might our Earth Day event be an example of cooperation between humankind and nature?

Cross-Curriculum Extensions:

Discuss the plans, select one or more and carry out the plan(s) as a group or in small groups as their participation in The Earth Day event.

Reflection: (click to view)

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event. Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE:
Tell the students that they have been asked to write a newspaper article that will tell the story of their involvement in this recent service project. Since newspaper articles are usually brief and inform their readers by answering the questions Who? What? When? Where? Why? Their article also should be brief and include answers to these five questions. When completed have the students place a symbol on their article that they will recognize as their own when the articles are returned to them. Collect the articles and randomly redistribute them so students will be able to read other student’s work. Depending on time, continue this process until each student has been able to read at least three other articles. Conclude with a brief sharing of students’ thoughts and ideas.

ACTIVITY TWO:
Review the recent service project and have students share their impressions of what took place. Assign students to groups of two and provide each group with a variety of old newspapers. Ask the groups to scan the newspapers looking specifically for articles that speak to a social/societal problem and how this problem was addressed by an individual or a group of individuals. Have them cut out as many of these types of articles from the newspapers as the designated time permits. Have them then select one article from among those they have identified, which they feel most closely represents the intent of this recent service project. Collect these articles, one from each group, and randomly reassign them to other groups so that no one group has its original article. Each group is to look for the similarities and differences they see between the article they have been given and the intent of this recent service project and share these similarities and differences with rest of the groups.

ACTIVITY THREE:
Provide each student with a variety of magazines and/or newspapers and instruct the class that they are to locate at least three company logos or slogans. Give each student a copy of the worksheet (below) and instruct them to cut out and attach the three logos or slogans that they have identified to their worksheet. After a discussion as to why companies might develop and use logos and/or slogans, have the students complete the worksheet. Then have each student briefly share the logo or slogan he/she has selected and why? Distribute a piece of white construction paper to each student. Tell the class that now the challenge is for each of them to come up with their own logo or slogan to be used in promoting this same service project next year and draw/write it on the white construction paper. Once completed, collect and display all of the logos or slogans, without student names. (NOTE: If the actual intent is to come up with a logo or slogan for use to promote this service project next year, voting for a classroom favorite might be appropriate.)

Name__________________

My three logos and/or slogans:

The logo or slogan I selected as having the most public appeal (from among the three logos I have identified) is circled above.

I think this logo or slogan would have more public appeal because….

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Have students consider this scenario. During this service project, if you had been given a digital camera with which to take three pictures for a motivational presentation, which three pictures would you have taken, and why?

Photo #1 (Describe the photo)

Why would you choose this photo to include in a motivational presentation?

Photo #2 (Describe the photo)

Why would you choose this photo to include in a motivational presentation?

Photo #3 (Describe the photo)

Why would you choose this photo to include in a motivational presentation?

Now have each student select their one photo from among the three taken “that will be added to the class album.” Have them share that photo with the class along with the reason for why they selected it as their favorite. After everyone has an opportunity to share, engage the students in a discussion about similarities and difference in the photos selected as favorites and the reasons for selecting it.

Bibliographical References:

Lesson Developed By:

Dennis VanHaitsma
Curriculum Consultant
Learning to Give

Lisa Mencer
Muskegon Public Schools
Muskegon High School
Muskegon, MI 49441

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Civic Environmentalism

Civic Environmentalism
By Sarah Conolly Hokenmaier

Definition

Civic environmentalism is a type of social action where citizens come together to solve environmental problems as a means to improve their communities. The goal is to ensure a sustainable community for future generations through participation in democratic processes.

A sustainable community is achieved when communities can meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own and are environmentally, economically and socially sound. It addresses issues as interconnected parts to a whole, rather than as individual components (Knopman, Susman and Landy 1999).

Citizen participation is a key component to civic environmentalism. To solve environmental problems, all interested parties have to discuss options together in situations such as town meetings (Montague 2001). This allows ordinary people to get involved, share their local knowledge and let their voices be heard. It also allows environmental issues unique to a local area to be addressed by those most affected by the environmental issue.

Limited government is the major difference between civic environmentalism and other environmental initiatives. This American tradition defines the limits of government regulation (Landy and Rubin 2001). Civic environmentalism embraces this idea, encourages citizens to take ownership of their environment and not to expect the government to solve environmental problems on its own.

Community planning is a tool of civic environmentalism. This is a process by which the community identifies their issues and assets, decides what they want in the future and how they will succeed (Nonprofit Good Practice Guide). Citizens, businesses, nonprofits and local governments can complete this planning process together, addressing environmental issues such as urban sprawl and pollution. This process allows citizens to engage in social action, while working with their community to solve environmental problems.

Historic Roots

Civic Environmentalism is a recent movement that developed when environmental protection efforts of the past were no longer effective. The National Environmental Protection Act of 1970, along with other legislation such as the Clean Water Act of 1972, spurred interest in the environmental movement. However, there was no room for citizen involvement in this hierarchical method of regulation. By the 1980s, federal mandates for citizen participation accompanied most environmental laws, but outcomes were still poor due to a lack of experience with such participation (Sirianni and Friedland 1995). Additionally, laws of this era were focused on specific problems of the Industrial Revolution. These laws were somewhat successful in dealing with problems of that time, but did not address more recent concerns such as non-point source pollution, invasive species and endangered species on private land (Knopman, Susman and Landy 1999).

During the 1990s civic environmentalism began to emerge. The participation of citizens in policy issues was not a new idea. In fact, social thinker of the mid 1800s, Alexis de Tocqueville, argued that civil participation was the very foundation for a healthy democratic society (Shanin 2003). However, such participation by citizens had never been fully instituted into the environmental movement. When civic environmentalism began to develop, nonprofit organizations appealed to everyday citizens and a vibrant grassroots community started to come to life (Salamon 1999). Coalitions were formed to urge citizens to become involved in their local communities and work within them to solve problems, instead of relying on the past model where federal legislation dictated the management of environmental issues.
Today, civic environmentalism is in a state of emergence, but it has begun to be more widely implemented throughout the country. To fulfill its potential and achieve success, it will need the support of local, state and federal governments. Active programs that encourage, cooperate and assist communities with civic environmentalism will help to achieve success (Landy and Rubin 2001).

Importance

Civic environmentalism holds the promise to be a significant vehicle for engaging communities with environmental issues. This is an important method for healing the environment and for developing thriving communities with active citizens.
Hopefully, this new method of environmental action will be more productive than earlier forms, and will be able to improve the current environmental situation, especially issues that are uniquely local in scope such as non-point pollution and regional ecosystem protection (lbid.). National and state regulations for these problems will not lead to workable solutions. A more localized approach is necessary. For this reason, civic environmentalism has sparked hope for finding solutions to these new challenges.

Along with being a viable solution for improving environmental quality, civic environmentalism spurs the building of communities. It will increase individual awareness and allow ordinary people to escape the feeling of being overwhelmed by huge problems they cannot control, and actually help to solve local issues that matter to them (Shanin 2003). It is hoped that this will help move the U.S. toward a system of real democratic participation, which has generally been limited to "paying taxes and occasionally voting" (Montague 2001, 1).

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

Civic environmentalism exists, in part, because of philanthropy. Dollars from the philanthropic sector to foundations and nonprofit environmental organizations have allowed them to motivate citizens towards environmental issues.

As an example, the Sand County Foundation, an organization in Wisconsin, uses philanthropic donations to find solutions to environmental problems by combining social forces with land ethics. In 2001, the Snake River was deteriorating due to old dams, which were on privately owned property. Instead of lobbying for an overarching law that might not apply to other situations, the Sand County Foundation worked with the landowners, other environmental organizations as well as local, state, and federal governments to buy the dams and remove them. This solution proved successful in restoring the river. It was also successful for the community which found a way to work together to solve a problem locally (Landy and Rubin 2001). This example is an early success story for civic environmentalism and one that could not have come to pass without the philanthropic sector.

Key Related Ideas

Ecological place is a concept related to civic environmentalism. It is the idea that people are attached to their place or immediate habitat, which is a portion of the greater environment. The feelings of ownership attached to their place are what bring community members together and motivates them to become democratically involved to make their place a sustainable community (Shanin 2003).

Environmental education goes hand in hand with civic environmentalism. Its goal is to educate youth about environmental issues so they will grow up respecting their place in nature, being able to make informed decisions about protecting the natural environment (Environmental Protection Agency). With proper environmental education, citizens may feel more comfortable and interested in civic environmentalism, since they will have basic knowledge of the issues being addressed.

Environmental justice is also closely related to civic environmentalism. It is the idea that everyone, regardless of race, income, ethnicity or gender, deserves a healthy environment within which to work and play (Montague 2001). For example, factories emitting pollution should not be placed only in low-income areas, nor should the people living in those areas be denied the opportunity to become involved in that decision. Civic environmentalism strives to include everyone in environmental decisions, thus promoting environmental justice.

Important People Related to the Topic

Because civic environmentalism is still developing, its main contributors have been individuals who have conceptualized it in literature as a new way to approach environmental issues.

John Dewitt: Dewitt is the director of the Environmental Studies program at Bowdoin College. He has authored many books and publications on civic environmentalism which have helped shape the movement.
Archon Fung and Charles Sabel: Fung and Sabel authored a book called Beyond Backyard Environmentalism. This publication focuses on the successes of self-organization and cooperation gained by citizens when engaging in civic environmentalism. It has been a key piece of literature discussing the gains to civic life because of this movement.
Debra Knopman: Knopman is the associate director of the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit organization working to improve policy and decision-making. She was formerly the director of the Center for Innovation and the Environment at the Progressive Policy Institute, and has published several articles and reports highlighting civic environmentalism as a new policy solution to environmental problems.
Marc Landy: Landy is a professor of political science at Boston College, and a part of the Civic Environmentalism Working Group at the George C. Marshall Institute. His many publications on the topic, along with his work at the Marshall Institute have been and continue to inspire this developing area.
William Shutkin: Shutkin, the president of New Ecology, Inc., is a leading voice for civic environmentalism. His publications have encouraged the furthering of this movement and his work with local, state, and national organizations and governments have helped to bring these ideas into reality.

This paper was developed by a student taking a Philanthropic Studies course taught at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. It is offered by Learning To Give and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Handout 2Print Handout 2

Rachel Carson

Carson, Rachel
By Elizabeth J. Greene
Graduate Student, Indiana University at Bloomington
The Notion entertained by some, that the Blacks are inferior to the Whites in their capacities, is a vulgar prejudice.
-Anthony Benezet

Biographical Highlights

Dr. Wilhelm C. Hueper of the National Cancer Institute described Rachel Carson (1907-1964) as "a sincere, unusually well-informed scientist possessing not only an unusual degree of social responsibility but also having the courage and ability to express and fight for her convictions and principles" (Brooks 1972, 255). However, others have depicted her as "a literary artist whose subject was science, a perfectionist both in the clear communication of facts and ideas, and in the use of sounds, rhythms, images, and form" (Gartner 1983, 2). Although many might consider the two illustrations incompatible, Carson herself believed that the goals of a scientist and writer were one and the same, "the aim of science is to discover and illuminate truth. And that, I take it, is the aim of literature. . ." (Brooks 1972, 128).

Over the course of her lifetime, Carson wrote many articles and best-selling books including Under the Sea-Wind (1941), The Sea Around Us (1951), The Edge of the Sea (1955), and the controversial Silent Spring (1962). She made science accessible to the public through her clear but precise writing and stimulated interest in the natural world through her vivid, expressive prose. She rallied for conservation efforts and fought for education about and reduction of environmental hazards, the most well-known of which was her expose of DDT and related pesticides.

Over the course of her lifetime, Carson was the recipient of many awards including the Schweitzer Medal of the Animal Welfare Institute. She was honored by the National Audubon Society, the American Geographical Society, the American Association of University Women, and the National Wildlife Federation. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1963 and was posthumously awarded the President's Medal of Freedom in 1980.

Historic Roots

Born on 27 May 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania, to Maria Frazier (McLean) and Robert Warden Carson, Rachel Louise Carson was the youngest of three children. As eight years separated her from her youngest sibling, her childhood experience was similar to that of an only child. Her mother, who was not employed outside of the home, was very protective of Carson and often kept her out of school for fear of contagious illness. Carson spent her time at home, reading, writing, and observing wildlife in the rural countryside surrounding the Carson homestead. This helped her progress in her education in spite of her frequent absences from school.

When she was ten, Carson's story called "A Battle in the Clouds" was printed in St. Nicholas , a children's literary magazine where William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, e.e. cummings, Edna St. Millay, and E.B. White were first published. Having three other stories published that year and winning awards that resulted in cash prizes led Carson to thinking of writing as a possible profession. She was encouraged by her teachers at Parnassus High School and by her mother. Carson's promise earned a scholarship for her to attend the nearby Pennsylvania College for Women in Pittsburgh (now Chatham College).

In her second year of college, Carson enrolled in a biology class to fulfill her science requirement. There she met Mary Scott Skinker, a demanding but enthusiastic professor, who became Carson's inspiration. Skinker revived Carson's love of nature and fostered her interest in the subject so much that in 1927 Carson changed her major from English to biology. In 1929, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude. Before beginning graduate study in zoology at Johns Hopkins University, Carson won a place to study at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where she saw the ocean for the first time, a subject on which would Carson would later write three books and many articles.

She received her master's degree in 1932 and began working for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, first writing radio scripts for a temporary project on marine life in 1935 and then working in a permanent position as a junior aquatic biologist a year later. During this time, Carson wrote and edited many government documents and pamphlets educating the public. Following the request to write an introduction for a booklet based on her marine radio scripts, Carson submitted her writing to her supervisor Elmer Higgins. Higgins replied that it was too good for a government brochure and suggested that she send it to the Atlantic Monthly, the top literary magazine of the day. In time, Carson did and the article was published in September 1937 with the title of "Undersea" and would become the basis for her first book, Under the Sea Wind. The book was published in 1941 and initially received positive reviews, but due to political events, specifically the attack on Pearl Harbor that occurred a month later, the sales and success of the book were drastically diminished.

Due to the war, Carson's involvement in government work increased, resulting in limited time and energy to devote to her creative writing over the next few years. However, her position at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries offered her many opportunities to travel and observe different wildlife populations and environments. She made trips to the Florida Everglades, Chincoteague Island off the coast of Maryland, the National Bison Range refuge in Montana, and the fisheries on the Columbia River in Oregon, while also exploring areas closer to home with friends on the weekends. In the summer of 1946, Carson first rented a cabin on the Sheepscot River near Boothbay, Maine. She fell in love with the area and it became a refuge where Carson found peace and rejuvenation. She returned every summer and dreamed of buying part of the coast to set aside for a wildlife sanctuary. Although the dream was never realized during her lifetime, the Coastal Maine Wildlife Refuge was renamed for Carson in 1969.

In 1948, Carson began working on her second book, The Sea Around Us . For her research, she undertook a brief diving excursion in Florida, as well as a ten-day fishing trip to the Georges Bank on the Albatross III. She finished her manuscript in July 1950 and handed it to her publisher, the Oxford Press. Several chapters were sold to magazines such as the Yale Review, Science Digest, and the New Yorker, in advance of the book release. On July 2, 1951, The Sea Around Us was released to the public and three weeks later, it appeared in fifth place on the New York Times Bestseller List. It remained on the list for eighty-six weeks and Oxford Press could not keep up with the printing demand for the popular book. By the year's end, it won the prestigious National Book Award for Nonfiction and the Burroughs Medal for excellence in nature writing.

With the success of The Sea Around Us and winning the Guggenheim Fellowship, Carson was financially secure. This enabled her to resign from her government position and devote all her time to writing her next book, later called The Edge of the Sea (published in 1955). In 1957, Carson wrote the article "Help Your Child to Wonder" for the Woman's Home Companion, which was partly inspired by her grandnephew, Roger, who she and her mother had adopted upon the death of Carson's niece. Her intent was to expand it into a book, but the project was never completed. It was published posthumously in book form called The Sense of Wonder.

In 1958, Olga Owens Huckins from Duxbury, Massachusetts, wrote Carson, asking for assistance with her problematic situation. The Huckinses had a private bird sanctuary that had been destroyed when the state sprayed fuel oil and DDT to rid the area of mosquitoes. Carson had been concerned about pesticides since her work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As Carson searched for the answer to Huckins's question, she became alarmed and realized that she needed to act. She decided to compose articles and books about DDT and other toxic pesticides for Houghton Mifflin and The New Yorker. This material became the basis for the work known as Silent Spring. The book, published in 1962, was a scathing attack on the agricultural industry for their false reports and on the medical community and related governmental agencies for their complacency. It generated much controversy but, in 1963, President John F. Kennedy's Science Advisory Committee released their findings that supported Carson's research. In 1964, in Silver Spring, Maryland, Carson died of heart failure and cancer.

Importance

Rachel Carson's work challenged the dominant American ideology of man's struggle against nature that originated during the initial settlements of the country. The pre- Silent Spring era, as described by historian Thomas Dunlap, was a time in which "Americans assumed that science was good, that chemicals were necessary, that their use would be governed by experts, that these experts could be trusted, and that the side-effects of chemical use would be negligible" (Hynes 1989, 47). After the Depression and World War II, the United States emerged with unassailable confidence of the government, developing technology, and the capitalist market economy. In spite of the fear brought on by the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik and the nuclear arms race in the 1950s, the self-important culture remained. In addition, DDT was hailed as the success story of World War II. During the war, the chemical helped to exterminate lice and insect-borne disease, and saved much-needed food crops. When the war ended, the United States sought to become the top food supplier and the Department of Agriculture saw DDT as a means to achieve that end.

Carson's works challenged these institutions and the assumptions they encouraged. She deplored the "culture of American abundance" as incurred by the capitalist economy whose expanding nature led to the destruction of many wildlife habitats (Lear 1997, 137). In an essay for Outdoor Life magazine, Carson wrote,

Because it is more comfortable to believe in pleasant things, most of us continue today to believe that in our country there will always be plenty. . . This is the comfortable dream of the average American. But it is a fallacious dream. It is a dangerous dream. . . Only so long as we are vigilant to cherish and safeguard [our resources] against waste, against over exploitation, and against destruction will our country continue strong and free. (Ibid.)

She also admonished against the American desire for a quick fix:

. . . one great trouble — I suppose it is the fault of the American public as a whole - is this desire for the quick and easy way of doing something, without any consideration of the consequences. Even if the consequences are strongly implied or known, there is still a great temptation to go ahead and get the job done and let the future take care of itself. Maybe we will come up with a pill to take care of it, or something like that! (Ibid., 358)

However, in spite of her controversial criticism of American culture, Carson could not be easily dismissed. The impact of Silent Spring was colossal. In Books that Changed America, Robert B. Downs wrote that Silent Spring was "comparable in its impact on public consciousness, and demand for instant action, to Tom Paine's Common Sense, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle " (McCay 1993, 63). This occurred in part due to the controversy caused by challenging the powerful institutions of the chemical industry, the associated governmental departments, and the medical community.

Carson's appeal also occurred due to her masterful literary skills. Her ability to write eloquently and persuasively and to articulate scientific research in language that the public could understand had a profound effect on the burgeoning environmental movement. The work connected regional concerns about pesticide use (such as the fire ant program in the South, the Long Island court trial, and the Cranberry Scare) to display a growing national problem. Carson understood that the timing was crucial: "I am pressing ahead just as fast as I can, driven by the knowledge that the book is desperately needed. Unquestionably, what it has to say will come as news to 99 out of 100 people" (Lear 1997, 347). Indeed, the message had far-reaching effects including President John F. Kennedy, who cited Carson's book in calling the President's Science Advisory Committee to look into pesticides. When the report supported Carson's claims, the tide of indiscriminate use of pesticides had turned.

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

Carson's philanthropic contributions result from her devotion to creating, in the words of Albert Schweitzer, a "reverence for life", for human, plant, animal, and even insect life. While some may question this ideology by presenting examples of conflict between these forms of life, Carson believed that a balance was achievable and that all deserved respect and protection.

One of Carson's friendships was with Judge Curtis Bok, son of publisher and philanthropist Edward W. Bok. The elder Bok was founder of The American Foundation whose mission was to create public gardens and sanctuaries for rare and endangered birds and plants. In working with Bok and the American Foundation, as well as The Nature Conservancy, Carson saw the importance of individual involvement in conservation and the possibilities of fulfilling her dream of a Maine wildlife refuge in Southport, a project Carson called the Lost Woods.

Carson felt that it was necessary to write Silent Spring because she believed that humans had an inviolable right to live in a world free from pollution and chemical poisons. Widespread spraying of DDT and related pesticides contaminated the air, the water, and the food supply. The contamination that resulted, killed fish, birds, and other wildlife, as well as domestic pets, and the cumulative effect on humans was not known.

In addition, Carson was concerned because the pesticides were used indiscriminately, often killing off all insect populations besides the one targeted. In the case of surviving insects, the practice created a new pesticide-resistant race. While personally against all pesticides, she never advocated such in her writing, as many of her critics claimed. Instead, she argued that not enough research had been done on the long-term effects of the chemical exposure, that alternatives had not been fully explored, and that the dangers of spraying had not been properly communicated to the public.

In addition, Carson strove to create the feelings of wonder and awe in her works that she and many of her readers had experienced firsthand in witnessing many natural phenomena. Carson felt that this was important in order to relieve stress and tension evoked by human society. She believed her works addressed the need to understand where humans fit in the cosmos and the evolution of time, a need which had been generated by the arms race, the McCarthy-era search for Communists, and the impending threat of war in Korea. By understanding the place of humans in the ecosystem and the larger environmental and evolutionary forces at work, one could see the insignificance of human stressors and problems brought on by civilization. In her article "Help Your Child to Wonder," Carson (1957) wrote, "if I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world would be a sense of wonder so indestructible against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength."

Key Related Ideas

Carson is the person most responsible for introducing the public to the concept of ecology (Brooks 1972, xi; Hynes 1989, 8). In her works, the theme underlying her writing regardless of the specific subject matter is the interconnectedness of all living creatures to each other and to their environment. Carson also explored a second meaning of ecology, the study of the detrimental effects of modern civilization on the environment, with the viewpoint of prevention or reversal through conservation. Carson expressed a concern for the effects of civilization and the power that humans have to advertently and inadvertently destroy various forms of life on earth and the natural resources needed to sustain life. Unless humans understood the impact of their actions on the environment, the natural world would be permanently altered for the rest of time. She also articulated the importance of conservation, or the controlled use and systematic protection of natural resources such as forests, soil and water systems. She realized the irreplaceable nature of the earth and was devoted to preserving areas of beauty for future generations.

This paper was developed by a student taking a Philanthropic Studies course taught at Indiana University at Bloomington. It is offered by Learning To Give and Indiana University at Bloomington.