The Words of Rachel Carson, Environmentalist

With the publication of Silent Spring in 1962, author Rachel Carson raised important questions about the impact that human beings have on nature. The book was widely read and made Ms. Carson an internationally recognized advocate for the environment.On a recent walk along Rio Grande Trail in Aspen, Colorado, I came upon a rock embedded on a hillside that had been inscribed with a quote from Ms. Carson. Thought provoking and moving, the words provide a simple reminder of the gifts nature offers to each and everyone of us.The quote reads:

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature, the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. —Rachel Carson