Final answer:
Rachel Carson's significant contribution to the environmental movement was authoring 'Silent Spring,' which addressed the adverse effects of pesticides and sparked the modern environmental movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rachel Carson's contributions to the environmental movement are notable and diverse, but among the options provided, the correct one is Option 1: Authoring "Silent Spring". This influential book, published in 1962, took aim at the chemical industry for its use of dangerous pesticides, such as DDT, that were having deleterious effects on the environment and public health. Carson's work did much to raise awareness of environmental issues and has been credited with helping to launch the modern environmental movement.
While Rachel Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she did not win the Nobel Prize in Literature, nor did she invent the light bulb or discover penicillin. Her book, Silent Spring, is widely regarded as a significant milestone in American environmentalism, sparking public interest and significant political action for environmental protection.