well-to-do author and left government service, she built a house near boothbay harbor, maine and southport island overlooking the ocean. she loved this location, the marine life that was in the typos that the foot of the cliff she was on and this is her summer destination ever after. it is still there and i lived in it for a week when i was working on this book and actually wrote parts of one of the chapter in my book at rachel carson's desk, which is fair, just as it was the day she left. her family still is the cottage and fortunately they haven't tried to tragic accident. they maintain it, but they have it renovated it, so it looks just the way it did when she was there. take a look at rachel carson. [inaudible] up to now, 500,000 copies have been sold. "silent spring" has been called the most controversial book of the year. biologist rachel carson worked for years in preparation of "silent spring." what she wrote started a national quarrel. >> chemicals are recognized partners of radiation changing the very nature of the world, the very nature of his life. since mid-1940s, over 200 che

taken by her friends the freeman family who lived next door to her in maine on the shoreline of southportin 1955, of my favorite photographs of her. she looks very content in this picture and someone who was at home in that environment and at home in the world and at home in her role as an author, scientist and ultimately somebody who would change the way we think about things. that is a good place to stop and take any questions you have. >> anybody have any questions? >> why was the book called "silent spring"? >> why was the book called "silent spring"? that probably stems from the opening chapter in which she described a spring in which the birds are absent from the town and carson and her editor and her agent agonized over what to call the book as is often the case. there were a lot of titles they tried out over the course of a couple years when she was finishing the book and finally hit on the idea of -- that first chapter, "silent spring" and her agent suggested that would be a good title for the whole book and that is how it got -- that is how it got its name. >> my question was si

southport palo alto we are looking at showers coming through.ooking at a good rain fall coming down south of menlo park in the palo alto and east palo alto area looking at my would reign as well. farther east south of pleasanton and livermore and a shower therefore you producing some light rain. the east bay most of you all are drying out. a little isolated spot for a shower here and there. overall, things are quiet. >> here is a look at what we are expecting for today. a chance, a slight chance for a straight a thunderstorm. may bring hail because of the cold weather. it will be cold day. a few showers possible >> you will notice the colder air that will filter into day for tomorrow. >> temperatures 50 in downtown 49 in san mateo. 40 in hayward. upper '40's and vallejo. napa 49. half moon bay in the lore fifties. a report from weather watchers said they saw hail earlier this morning with the storms coming through. radar picture show the storm system is falling apart as it heads into the mountain spirit is bring out as know where we have a winte