We’re glad the legacy of Rachel Carson is being extended through the work of an LSU researcher best known for his writing about the geography of New Orleans.
Carson, who died in 1964, is best known as the author of “Silent Spring,” a groundbreaking book about how the use of pesticides was harming the American ecosystem. The book caused an international sensation and has been widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement.
Craig Colten, an LSU geographer, has been selected as a fellow at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany. The presence of the center in Germany is a testament to the international stature of the American Carson, whose “Silent Spring” remains in print nearly half a century after its initial publication.
Each year, the Rachel Carson Center gathers about a dozen leading scholars from around the world to consider various topics related to the connection between nature and society.
Colten has recently been studying water resources in the American South. He hopes to use his fellowship to advance that project, and perhaps also consider water resources and their use in other parts of the world.
Carson is the subject of a wonderful new biography by William Souder, who wrote a memorable book a few years ago about a Louisiana favorite, John James Audubon. Souder’s new book about Carson, “On a Farther Shore,” is a timely reminder of Carson’s contributions to environmental science, a subject of particular urgency for Louisiana residents as they face the legacy of oil spills, coastal erosion and other ecological challenges.
We’re gratified that Carson’s spirit of inquiry continues in Colten, and we congratulate him on his fellowship.
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