Below is a collection of my favorite quotes related to humans and our relationship to Earth. If you have any quotes you would like to see included here, please contact me using the form to the left. Enjoy!
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. - Albert Einstein
Corruption doth appear on land and sea because of (the evil) which men’s hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return. - Quran 30:41
Everything on earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian Theory of Existence. - Morning Dove Salish
I don't understand why when we destroy something created by man we call it 'vandalism', but when we destroy something created by nature we call it 'progress.' - Ed Begley, Jr.
Once a photograph of the Earth, taken from outside, is available... a new idea as powerful as any in history will be let loose. - Fred Hoyle, 1948
If our elected representatives continue to make decisions based on shifting political winds, if special interests keep blocking meaningful reform, if captains of industry shrink from bold steps out of caution, then we'll get the mediocre energy system we deserve. - Amory Lovins
So apply your native intelligence, that amazing human gift that hasn't yet failed our species in its entire history, to this question: Shall we continue down the path we're on, toward economic stagnation, rising costs, unpleasant risks, social upheaval, and an ever more dangerous world, or shall we make a bold break and start laying the energy foundations of a world without waste, want, or war? - Amory Lovins
Environmental trade-offs never enter the average person's mind. - Spellman and Whiting (2006)
Do your little bit of good where you are. It's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. - Desmond Tutu
Climate change is happening, humans are causing it, and I think this is perhaps the most serious environmental issue facing us. - Bill Nye the Science Guy
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. - Nelson Mandela
Every breath is a sacrament, an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to generations yet to come. - David Suzuki
Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates. - Vandana Shiva
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit? Yes. Settle? Not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. ... To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve, and cherish, the pale blue dot; the only home we've ever known. - Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot
The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around. - Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Senator and founder of Earth Day
Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together. - Woodrow Wilson
What works in the real world is cooperation. - former President Bill Clinton during his speech at the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, NC
The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between how nature works and the way people think. - Gregory Bateson
The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change is service to a fellow human being. - Lee Iacocca
Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. - Ancient Indian Proverb
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. - Chief Seattle, 1854
When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money. - Cree Prophecy
I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow-man. - Sun Bear of the Chippewa Tribe