Watt sponsoring bill to name span after Carson
Allegheny County Council may name Pittsburgh's Ninth Street Bridge after scientist, author and Springdale native Rachel Carson.
Councilwoman Eileen Watt, R-District 7, of Cheswick, is co-sponsoring the bill.
"Rachel Carson is our local girl," Watt said. "She grew up in the district that I represent in Springdale. She had a lot to overcome with the prejudice of people taking women seriously."
Carson graduated from what now is Chatham College in 1929 and earned a master's of arts degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.
Her 1962 book, "Silent Spring," revealed the harmful effects of DDT and other pesticides. It also launched the modern environmental movement. Carson died in 1964, and eight years later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT because of health concerns.
The Rachel Carson Homestead Association in Springdale was started to preserve Carson's birthplace, and the association offers educational programs, too. Fiona Fisher, the association's interim executive director, said she's happy to see the county considering Carson for this honor.
"Those bridges are called 'the three sisters' -- it'd be nice to have one named after a woman," Fisher said laughing. "It's nice to see the region may embrace its most famous daughter by doing something like this."
The other two Pittsburgh "sister" spans are the Roberto Clemente and Andy Warhol bridges.
The bill, also sponsored by Councilman-at-large Dave Fawcett, R-Oakmont, was passed on to the public works committee and will come back to council for a vote, hopefully soon, Watt said. She's not sure about the timeline, but she said the initial response was positive.
"The e-mails are just coming in, asking council members to support naming the Ninth Street Bridge after her," Watt said. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I think this will be a really great honor in the Allegheny Valley to have a bridge named after our local girl."
Watt said the bill needs eight votes on council to pass.
Additional Information:
Support requested
Fiona Fisher, interim executive director of the Rachel Carson Homestead Association, asks anyone wishing to support the bill to e-mail Allegheny County Council at: mailto:council@county.allegheny.pa.us .
Rachel Carson's legacy
Rachel Carson's work is renowned worldwide.
The state Department of Environmental Resources headquarters in Harrisburg is in a building named for her.
In 1999, she was chosen as one of Time magazine's 'Top 20 Most Influential Scientists and Thinkers of the 20th Century' and one of the five featured on its cover. U.S. News and World Report chose Carson as one of '25 Americans Who Shaped the Modern Era.' Carson also was chosen as one of the '20 Greatest Innovators of the Century' by American Heritage Magazine.
'Silent Spring' was ranked as the fifth most important book of the 20th century, and also was fifth on The Modern Library's 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Century.
Life Magazine went a step further. In a special edition, Life called publication of 'Silent Spring' one of the 100 most important events of the past millennium.
