Her fame is linked above all to the publication of the book ‘Silent Spring’ in 1962, which represented a genuine cultural and scientific revolution. In it, Carson highlighted a concept that may seem obvious to us today, but was by no means so at the time: humans are part of an ecosystem and, in order to survive, must live in harmony with it. In this regard, Carson condemned the use and devastating effects of the chemical pesticides employed at the time, in particular DDT, showing how these products contaminated the soil, water and food chain, putting human health and biodiversity at risk.
The book was a bolt from the blue and immediately sparked a heated public debate. Initially, it was met with great hostility from the chemical industry, which tried to discredit Carson, accusing her of alarmism and of wanting to hinder technological progress. However, ten years after the publication of Silent Spring, the use of DDT was in fact banned in the United States. Sadly, Carson did not live to see her battle won, as she died prematurely in 1964. Her research, however, undoubtedly helped to change the perception of the relationship between humankind and the environment and laid the foundations for the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), founded in 1970.
Her legacy continues to influence environmental policy around the world, and her book Silent Spring has, for some years now, been back among the top places in the bestseller lists in the West.
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)
Decidedly better known than Rachel Carson, Indira Gandhi was a highly charismatic political leader who in 1966 became the first (and so far only) woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of India. The daughter of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi grew up in a political environment and developed from a young age a strong sensitivity to social and ecological issues, regarded as fundamental to India’s progress.
During her ten years in office, she promoted numerous measures for the protection of natural resources and biodiversity.
Among her most significant initiatives was, for example, the launch of large-scale reforestation programmes to combat desertification and the loss of ecosystems. Gandhi’s belief was that protecting the environment and fighting poverty were two sides of the same coin. Protecting the environment would therefore mean improving human conditions, especially for the poorest sections of the population.
One of her most famous speeches, delivered at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, stressed precisely the need to combine economic development with environmental protection. On that occasion, Gandhi said: ‘Poverty is the greatest polluter’, highlighting how environmental issues are inseparable from social and economic ones.
Despite the controversies surrounding her government, Indira Gandhi remains a point of reference for those who maintain that development and sustainability need not be in conflict.
Laura Conti (1921-1993)
Like many of the other women at the forefront of the green movement, Laura Conti is perhaps not as well known as she should be.
Yet she can rightly be considered one of the founders of environmentalism in Italy. We all know Legambiente, right? Well, Conti was among the founders of the association!
Her life was not easy: a partisan during the Second World War, Conti went through the harrowing experience of deportation to the Bolzano concentration camp.
After the war, she became a doctor and at the same time devoted herself to politics, joining the Italian Communist Party. Her contribution to environmentalism began in the 1970s, when she denounced the disastrous consequences of the Seveso disaster, one of the worst industrial accidents ever to occur in Europe, which released a toxic cloud of dioxin into the air. Even today, in those areas, the population and the environment sadly continue to pay the price for what happened in 1976.
Conti did not limit herself to criticism, but worked actively to promote environmental safety laws and to secure justice for the victims of the disaster. Through her books and her political work, she raised public awareness of the importance of environmental protection.
Among her most important works is the book ‘Una lepre con la faccia di bambina’ (‘A Hare with a Child’s Face’), which deals precisely with the release of the toxic cloud. The story is, in fact, set in Seveso and its protagonists are two children, Marco and Sara, who from one day to the next find themselves having to face a disaster that will change their young lives for ever.
The role of young people and women in the fight for the environmental cause was a theme very dear to Conti, who in a famous 1983 article, published in l’Unità, observed: ‘there is much more support for the views of environmentalists among women than among men. I am not referring to the actions of organised movements and groups, but to the way of taking part in debates, to the observations raised, …’. If we think about how attentive young people are today, and how willing to fight for a cleaner planet and a better future, we can say that Conti was right.
Jane Goodall (1934 - present)
Jane Goodall is one of the most famous primatologists and anthropologists in the world, known for her extraordinary research on chimpanzees in Tanzania, which led her to discover that the species uses tools: an ability thought to be exclusive to human beings. This discovery revolutionised the perception of the boundary between humans and animals, and her observations changed the course of scientific research, profoundly influencing the environmental movement as well.
Jane Goodall herself, in fact, was on the front line for nature conservation and the protection of animal rights. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, a non-governmental organisation that still exists today and is present in 25 countries around the world, including Italy. Her programme Roots & Shoots involves, in particular, young people from all over the world in activities linked to environmental protection.
Goodall, now in her nineties, continues through her books, lectures and documentaries to inspire millions of people to take care of the planet and the living beings that inhabit it.
Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)
The first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2004, Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmentalist, women’s rights activist and politician. Born in the village of Ihithe, in the central province of Kenya, Maathai grew up in a rural community and developed a strong bond with nature from childhood. She studied biology in the United States and Germany, becoming the first woman in East Africa to earn a doctorate.
In 1977 she founded the Green Belt Movement, an organisation whose aim was to combat deforestation, promoting the reforestation of rural areas in order to improve the quality of life of her communities and ensure greater food security.
Over the years, the movement, made up mainly of women, has planted millions of trees in Kenya and in other African countries. Despite arrests and intimidation, Maathai always remained faithful to her
ideals, becoming a pioneer of sustainability in Africa and around the world, and going on to win the prestigious Nobel award.
Vandana Shiva (1952 - present)
Vandana Shiva is, to this day, one of the most influential voices in the fight against the agri-food multinationals. Born in 1952 in the city of Dehradun, India, Shiva graduated in particle physics before devoting herself to ecology and sustainable agriculture.
In 1982 she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, an institute that promotes organic farming and the conservation of natural resources. One of her main aims has been to defend the rights of farmers and local communities, encouraging the use of traditional seeds and the conservation of indigenous crops.
Shiva has written numerous books and articles on sustainable agriculture and social justice, helping to spread awareness of the need for an ethical approach that respects the environment, in India and around the world, to the point of being described by Time as an ‘environmental hero’.
Severn Cullis-Suzuki (1979 - present)
Severn Cullis-Suzuki is perhaps much less well known today than Greta Thunberg, yet she too, some years before Greta, had the courage, at just 12 years old, to speak in front of world leaders, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, asking them to make responsible decisions to guarantee a better future for coming generations.
The speech, known as ‘The speech that silenced the world for five minutes’, went viral and is still considered one of the most powerful moments in the history of environmental activism. Denouncing the destruction of the environment, the effects of pollution and social inequality, Cullis-Suzuki stressed the responsibility that adults have to leave a liveable planet to their children.
Since then, she has continued to work for the planet and for social justice. She studied evolutionary biology and anthropology at Yale University and has founded numerous environmental organisations, including the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), which aims to educate young people about green issues.
Severn Cullis-Suzuki is an example of how, regardless of age, all of us can make a difference and fight for a better world.
Greta Thunberg (2003 - present)
Greta Thunberg is, without doubt, one of the best-known climate activists today. Her ‘Fridays for Future’
have, in fact, inspired millions of young people around the world to take to the streets to demand concrete
measures against climate change. Many young Italians, too, have protested by striking from
school and demonstrating for the planet, following the example of their peer, although in recent times similar initiatives have somewhat dwindled.
To those who wonder, however, what has become of Greta Thunberg, we can answer that she continues to fight for
the green cause and to take part in many protests around the world, sometimes even being arrested. Recently, for example, she demonstrated in Tbilisi against COP 29 in Baku. So Greta is still there; perhaps she just makes less news.
In any case, she can be considered, without mincing words, one of the most influential environmental activists of the
21st century. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2003, Thunberg became famous in 2018, when she
began striking from school to protest against governments’ inaction in the face of the climate crisis.
Greta has spoken on several occasions before world leaders, including the European Parliament, the United
Nations and the World Economic Forum.
Her most famous speech is the one she gave at the United Nations Climate
Summit in 2019, in which she accused world leaders of not doing enough to tackle
the climate emergency: ‘How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.’ Thunberg has received numerous awards for her commitment, including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her determination and courage have, in fact, brought the climate crisis to the centre of global public debate.
She has become the symbol of a generation that does not want to passively accept the degradation of the
planet.
Recommended reading
- ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carson – A fundamental book for understanding the impact of pesticides
on the environment. - ‘Una lepre con la faccia di bambina’ by Laura Conti – The story of the Seveso disaster and its
consequences. - ‘La dolce ala dell’ecologia’ by Laura Conti, from l’Unità, 1 August 1983 – A fundamental article on the
role of young people and women in the ecological struggle. - ‘Unbowed: A Memoir’ by Wangari Maathai – The autobiography of the first African woman to win
the Nobel Peace Prize. - ‘Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey’ by Jane Goodall – A book that reflects on the importance
of nature conservation. - ‘Soil Not Oil’ by Vandana Shiva – An essay on sustainable agriculture and social justice.
- ‘Greta’s Story: The Schoolgirl Who Went on Strike to Save the Planet’ by Valentina Camerini –
The story of Greta Thunberg for young readers. - ‘Prime. Dieci scienziate per l’ambiente’ edited by Mirella Orsi and Sergio Ferraris – For
a closer look at the contribution of women scientists to the environmentalist cause. - ‘Le ragazze salveranno il mondo. Da Rachel Carson a Greta Thunberg: un secolo di lotta per
la difesa dell’ambiente’ by Annalisa Corrado – For a closer look at climate activism from a more political and cultural point
of view.
Web resources
- https://www.greentomeet.com/rachel-carson-grandi-discorsi-green/
- https://www.greentomeet.com/vandana-shiva/
- https://www.greentomeet.com/severn-cullis-suzuki/
- https://www.greentomeet.com/greta-thunberg-arrestata/
