Rachel Carson Response

Rachel Carson Response
　
If I somehow miraculously made a discovery like Rachel Carson I would immediately pat myself on the back for all my effort and hard work and then I would try to get the word out about my findings before I was tragically and mysteriously run off the road (I just watched Silk Wood).
Mass media outlets have changed with the introduction of the internet meaning now more than ever people can have immediate news coverage, entertainment, messaging tools etc... right at their fingertips. The internet has also brought the ability for anyone to have a platform. With sites such as YouTube as well as many networking sites the individual is no longer a passive recipient to the messages from mass media but rather the individual is part of an active audience that can use media to contribute and create meaningful experiences. In an April 2007 documentary interview with Bill Moyer's he said "What encourages me is the Internet. Freedom begins the moment you realize someone else has been writing your story and it's time you took the pen from his hand and started writing it yourself" ("Bill Moyers," 2007). Today's forms of mass communication allow anyone to take the pen and write their own story.
Through the gift of eloquent poetic writing Rachel Carson was able to make her research accessible to the public. Silent Spring was able to reach so many because Rachel Carson had the ability to make her research understandable as well as enable the public to realize that there was an environmental tragedy that was occurring because of the use of harmful pesticides. Silent Spring enabled the reader to understand the necessity of environmental protection and to also see that further negative environmental impacts from pesticide use could be preventable.
Today's forms of mass communication would mean that I could better reach the populace. Rachel Carson was able to get the word out because her writing style enabled book sales. Today's forms of mass communication are instantaneous and there are many venues available beyond book sales for a voice to be heard. If I made a discovery like Rachel Carson's I would use the internet as a tool to promote awareness of my discovery. I would send out an invitation to news media to further get the word out. I would use established agencies and organizations (like the EPA) that are relevant to my discovery and that already have legitimacy and weight not only in the media but the political scene as well to reach even more people. I may even create a YouTube video that either involved rapping about my discovery, talking about my discovery while showing funny looking cats, or better yet showing funny looking cats rapping about my discovery.