... , Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring,[1] caught the nation's attention as it pointed out what was happening to the environment by our continued use of DDT and other pesticides. The following year, President Kennedy and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson led a cross-country tour to further highlight the environmental crisis. Speech after speech warned that air and water pollution, species extinction, and pesticide poisoning were threats to our nation's future. But the president later complained to the senator ...