Rachel Carson is heralded by many as the mother of the environmental movement

Carson received many posthumous awards, including
the Presidential Medal of Honor and was ranked by Time
Magazine as one of the most influential scientists and thinkers
of the 20th century, although some did not agree. Without
a doubt her treatise was necessary at the time, but it is now
recognised that some of her arguments may have have overstated
and based on incomplete data.

Currently, it is not clear what role, if any, 
pesticide exposure plays in honey bee health
declines in the United States and around the world.

Much of that for which Rachel Carson campaigned has
become common regulatory practice and forms part of the
diverse components of all chemical discovery programmes.

Today, consideration of the risk to the environment is a
primary consideration of crop protection product development,
with vetting through rigorous regulatory review processes.

More recently much
effort has been spent in attempts to facilitate more effective
communication between speciality crop growers, pesticide
applicators and those who steward the surrounding habitat.

Excerpted for review purposes only from:	
Rattner, B. A. (2013). On the 50th Anniversary of Silent Spring. 
Outlooks on Pest Management, 24(2), 79-80.

Comment: Note the emphasis on *effective communication*. Communication in the general sense may mean to get a message across, so that advertising, propaganda, coercion, etc. all are legitimate types of "communication". However, in an issue with multiple players and divergent interests, it cannot be simply a matter of getting one's message out. 

There has to be listening, comprehension, and the creative act of forging a compromise. This is where most groups fail: witness the US Congress, the Israel/Palestine conflict, the battle between consumers & Big Ag, etc.  Many assume that if they have gotten their message across, there nothing more to be done. 

Reaching a consensus is NOT the overriding goal of these exchanges, the goal is usually to prevail, to win, to defeat the opposition. There may be few scenarios where everyone comes away a winner, but there is a vast number of scenarios where everyone loses.

Pete

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