evidence: If a civilization is judged by the wisdom of its ways, the 21st century owes considerable gratitude to one woman, Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring, published in 1962, revolutionized how people understand their relationship with the natural environment. Specifically, Silent Spring explained how indiscriminate application of agricultural chemicals, pesticides, and other modern chemicals polluted our streams, damaged bird and animal populations, and caused severe medical problems for humans. But her treatise did much more. Silent Spring introduced a paradigm shift in how chemists practice their discipline and how society at large relates to science. [...] "At a time when humans largely believed themselves to be apart from nature and destined to control it, Carson argued passionately that nature is, in fact, a network of interconnections and interdependencies and that humans are a part of that network and threaten its cohesion at their own peril. ...What is mainstream today was heretical in 1962, and I think this part of Carson’s argument is what earned her such enmity when Silent Spring was published." Carson, who died in 1964, inspired a new paradigm of thinking—where humanity is not the center of life on earth, but part of nature. The legacy of Silent Spring continues today in the scientific community’s increased focus on environmentally friendly practices and the public’s heightened support for sustainability in all areas of our lives.