In 1962, the dangerous long-range side-effects of DDT and other pesticides was the subject of a press-conference question to President John F. Kennedy. In his reply, he acknowledged Rachel Carson's ground-breaking environmental book on the subject (Silent Spring) and stated that the government was taking a closer look at this. Eventually, in 1972, DDT was banned in the U.S. DDT, Silent Spring, and the Rise of Environmentalism: Classic Texts, by Thomas R. Dunlap. - book suggestion.