(Washington, DC)- Rep. Jason Altmire's (PA-4) legislation to rename the Springdale Post Office in honor of Springdale native and scientist Rachel Carson passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today.  Rachel Carson is best known for her writing on natural history, environmental research and the promotion of policies to protect public health.  Her most famous work, Silent Spring, published in 1962, inspired widespread public concerns about the use of pesticides and led to the ban of DDT.  Through Silent Spring, Carson brought conservation to the forefront of public discourse, and she is credited with beginning the modern environmental movement.

"Throughout western Pennsylvania this year, we are celebrating Rachel Carson's life - 100 years after her birth - and the role she played in renewing our nation's appreciation of nature and making communities across the country better and safer places to live," said Rep. Altmire.  "This vote brings us one step closer to honoring Rachel Carson's lifelong commitment to the environment by renaming the facility at 896 Pittsburgh Street in Springdale as the Rachel Carson Post Office."  H.R. 1434 now moves to the Senate for consideration.  Altmire said he hopes that the bill will be signed into law prior to the anniversary of Carson's 100th birthday on May 27, 2007.

Born in Springdale, Rachel Carson graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Women (now Chatham College) in 1929 and received a master's degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University.  During a 15-year career with the federal government, Carson worked as a scientist, writer and editor for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Carson was the second woman in the history of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to hold a full-time professional position. 

Carson resigned from federal service in 1952 to focus on her writing, authoring four books including Silent Spring and The Sea Around Us, a John Burroughs Medal and National Book Award winner.  Throughout the 1960's, Carson became an outspoken advocate for the careful and responsible use of pesticides.  Carson died in 1964 at the age of 56 after a long battle with breast cancer.  In 1980, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  In 1999, TIME Magazine named Rachel Carson as one of the 20th Century's one hundred most important people.