Rachel Carson Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was an American marine biologist, conservationist, and author. After pursuing writing full-time, she was awarded the U.S. National Book Award and helped to inspire a reversal of national pesticide policy, leading to the ban f DTT and other pesticides. She was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter and is credited with beginning the environmental movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Read More Read Less