The One-Straw Revolution
Masanobu Fukuoka (1913-2008) was a farmer and philosopher who was born and raised on the Japanese island of Shikoku. He is famous for his natural farming methods and his work towards revegetation of desert and desertified lands. He created a new way of farming called "do-nothing" farming which, though it sounds simple, was rather complex to implement.
Fukuoka wrote many Japanese books, scientific papers and other publications, and was featured in television documentaries and interviews from the 1970s onwards. He influenced people not only about farming methods but also inspired individuals to start a movement towards promoting natural foods and lifestyles. He was one of the early people who understood the value of observing nature's principles.
Fukuoka studied plant pathology and was trained as a microbiologist and agricultural scientist. He spent several years working as an agricultural customs inspector in Yokohama. While working there, at the age of 25, he was treated for severe pneumonia and while in hospital had an inspiration that changed his life. He decided to quit his job, return to his home village and put his ideas into practice by applying them to agriculture.
From 1938, Fukuoka began to practise and experiment with new techniques on organic citrus orchards. He used used his practical knowledge to develop the idea of "Natural Farming". For instance, he stopped pruning an area of citrus trees, which caused the trees to become affected by insects and tangled branches. He stated that the experience taught him the difference between nature and non-intervention. In his own words, "To put it very briefly, my theory is that human knowledge and actions have destroyed nature, and thus, if we abandon them and leave nature to nature, nature will recover on its own. This does not, however, mean nonintervention."
Over the next 65 years till the age of 95, he worked to develop a system of natural farming that demonstrated the insight he was given as a young man, believing that it could be of great benefit to the world. 
He did not plough his fields, used no agricultural chemicals or prepared fertilizers, did not flood his rice fields as farmers have done in Asia for centuries, and yet his yields equalled or surpassed the most productive farms in Japan.
Fukuoka's system is based on the realisation that living organisms shape an ecosystem in a complex way. He saw farming not just as a means of producing food but as an aesthetic and spiritual approach to life, the ultimate goal of which was "the cultivation and perfection of human beings".
The five principles of Natural Farming are that:
. plowing or tilling are unnecessary, as is the use of powered machines;
. prepared fertilizers and compost are unnecessary;
. only minimal weed suppression with minimal disturbance;
. applications of pesticides or herbicides are unnecessary;
. pruning of fruit trees is unnecessary.
Many people found it difficult to apply his techniques; there are repeated crop failures and it takes a lot of time to adapt the land to makes these principles work. But even today, Fukuoka's family farm is run on the same principles by his children and has a high yield of fruit, grains and vegetables.
In 1975 Fukuoka wrote The One-Straw Revolution, a best-selling book that described his life’s journey, his philosophy, and farming techniques. This book has been translated into more than 25 languages and helped make Fukuoka a leader in the worldwide sustainable agriculture movement. He continued farming until shortly before his death in 2008, at the age of 95.
After The One-Straw Revolution was published in English, Fukuoka travelled to many countries. He went to the U.S. and Europe; he visited Somalia and Ehiopia in Africa, where he showed how to re-vegetate dry and arid deserts. In 1988, he lectured at the Indian Science Congress, state agricultural universities and other venues in India. He returned to India many times and also visited Southeast Asia including Phillipines, and China.
He spent a lot of time and effort in revitalising the deserts of the world using his natural farming techniques. This work is described in detail in Sowing Seeds in the Desert (published in 2012). Fukuoka is also the author of The Natural Way of Farming and The Road Back to Nature. In 1988 he received the Desikottam Award from Viswa-Bharati University in Santiniketan. In the same year, he was given the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service in the Phiilipines; this is often referred to as the “Nobel of Asia,” for Public Service.

Silent Spring

Silent Spring is an environmental science book written by Rachel Carson in 1962. It was one of the first books that not only documented the ill effects of the over-use of pesticides but also highlighted the influences of the powerful chemical industry in such use. It traced the effects of the pesticide DDT on birds in the area.
The book began with a “fable for tomorrow” – a true story using many examples drawn from many real communities where the use of DDT had caused damage to wildlife, birds, bees, agricultural animals, domestic pets, and even humans.
The book first appeared in serial form and Carson used it as an introduction to a very scientifically complicated and already controversial subject. Serialized in three parts in The New Yorker, it was read by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the summer of 1962. Silent Spring was published in August and became an instant best-seller and the most talked about book in decades.
Carson spent more than six years documenting her analysis that humans were misusing powerful, persistent, chemical pesticides before knowing the full extent of their potential harm. She was passionately concerned with the future of the planet and all life on Earth. In the book and in many talks, she calls for humans to act responsibly, carefully, and as stewards of the living earth.
As her research progressed many scientists also started gathering data on the effects of pesticides both on the environment and on people. She also pointed out that pests could develop resistance to many pesticides, which is exactly what is happening today. Many people from the powerful and influential chemical industry lobbied against her and produced many scientists who opposed her findings, but she did not back out. As many scientists came out in support, a very important finding was made by Wilhelm Hueper of the National Cancer Institute, who classified many pesticides as carcinogens (cancer-causing).
It was for the first time that it was realised that use of pesticides especially by spraying could affect birds, the environment and the people living nearby. One of the most important outcomes was the realisation that the government needed to be involved in a big way. For instance, individuals and groups could question what their governments allowed others to put into the environment.
With her book, Carson set the seeds of social revolution. She identified human hubris (excessive arrogance or pride) and financial self-interest (of big companies) as the crux of the problem. She asked if we could master ourselves and our appetites to live as though we humans are an equal part of the earth’s systems and not the master of them.
Carson expected criticism, but she was personally vilified by the chemical industry and its allies in and out of government. She spent her last years courageously defending the truth of her conclusions until her untimely death from cancer in 1964. When she was viewed on TV, her quiet and persuasive remarks were in strong contrast to the wild accusations of her detractors and soon people came to believe her and her findings. In 1963, Carson testified before U.S. President John F. Kennedy's Science Advisory Committee, which issued its report on May 15, 1963, largely backing Carson's scientific claims. 
Her work not only inspired private individuals to begin an environmental movement but also a social and ecological movement with sustainability at its core. In 1970 the U.S. government also started the Environmental Protection Agency, indicating that governments also acknowledged the importance of regulating and protecting matters of environmental concern.
The naturalist Sir David Attenborough has stated that Silent Spring was probably the book that had changed the scientific world the most, after the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

Adapted from
http://www.rachelcarson.org/,
http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/,
and Wikipedia articles.