Ya - that is absolutely ridiculous that Silent Spring is on that list. I have read/heard conservative criticisms of the book that she was nothing more than a "tabloid journalist" who sought only to sensationalize the negative aspects of the pesticide industry, and that this propaganda led to an untenable system of regulation that places American pesticide manufacturers at a great competitive disadvantage in relation to foreign companies who are not subject to such rigorous regulatory standards.
Of course, this argument sounds all logical and reasonable, until you consider that it is the same tired, reactionary point-of-view that has been used to argue against every form of social regulation of business behavior. If you run with this logic, then regulations prohibiting business from everything from pollution to racial and gender discrimination to the use of child labor are unreasonable because they put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage against foreign companies who are not subject to such standards.
The thing I don't get from these conservative commentators is, without regulation, how is society supposed to stop the negative externalities of business activities, such as pollution, discrimination and unfair labor practices. I am always suspicious when a commentator rails on against regulation without addressing the fact that regulation exists in many cases because there are real problems like pollution, discrimination and child labor.
