The Essay

First published in 1962, Silent Spring was Rachel Carson's warning about the long-term effects of pesticides, a call-to-arms that is widely regarded as the starting point for modern environmentalism. But in many ways Carson was only building on the work of those who'd gone before her. Five writers, scientists and environmental campaigners reflect on the figures whose ideas preceded Silent Spring and laid the foundations of the contemporary green movement. In the first essay, Indian eco-activist Vandana Shiva considers the Chipko protest of 1730 when 363 Bishnoi people in Rajasthan were massacred for protecting a forest of sacred Khejri trees.