Thesis
A growing number of environmental problems arose after World War II, when many American industries--both old and new--underwent unprecedented growth.During the 1950s and 1960s an expanding group of scientists voiced their concerns about pesticide poisoning, pollution, overpopulation, and nuclear fallout. The book Silent Spring (1962), by the biologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), drew attention to the fact that harmful chemicals such as the insecticide DDT travel up the food chain to significantly affect human and animal health. During the widespread social unrest of the 1960s, environmental abuse was a prominent issue that prompted widespread protest. The Environmental Movement was rejuvenated as a result of the heightened activism of the period.