Dispelling the ‘Bitter Fog’: fighting chemical defoliation in the American West

Little doubt remains about the influence of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in changing the consciousness of not just Americans, but citizens around the world, regarding the relationship between human beings and the natural world. Less has been done about the specific ways Carson's book inspired individual activists to continue challenging pesticide policy within the United States in the decades after the book's publication. The stories of three western women fighting the use of Agent Orange herbicides – the phenoxy herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T – illustrate the influence and mixed success of environmental activism after Silent Spring.

► I examine the influence of Rachel Carson and Silent Spring.
► I examine postwar pesticide policy.
► I examine western women in the United States environmental activism.
► I examine the phenoxy herbicides and public health.