An understanding of the Natural World and whats in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment.
—David Attenborough (b.1926) English Naturalist, Broadcaster
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
—Barack Obama (b.1961) American Head of State, Academic, Politician, Author
For if one link in nature’s chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish piecemeal.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
When you put your hand in a flowing stream, you touch the last that has gone before and the first of what is still to come.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
A country is known by the way it treats its animals.
—Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Head of State
It is unfair to blame man too fiercely for being pugnacious; he learned the habit from Nature.
—Christopher Morley (1890–1957) American Novelist, Essayist
If the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before.
—Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) English Theoretical Physicist, Cosmologist, Academic
I do not know what compassionate conservative means. Does it mean cutting kids out of after school programs, Does it mean drilling in the arctic wildlife refuge? Does it mean sending kids to Iraq without body armor that is state of the art?
—John Kerry (b.1943) American Politician, Diplomat
The earth laughs in flowers.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.
—Ansel Adams (1902–84) American Photographer
Execution is really the critical part of a successful strategy. Getting it done, getting it done right, getting it done better than the next person is far more important than dreaming up new visions of the future. All of the great companies in the world out-execute their competitors day in and day out in the marketplace, in their manufacturing plants, in their logistics, in their inventory turns—in just about everything they do. Rarely do great companies have a proprietary position that insulates them from the constant hand-to-hand combat of competition.
—Louis V. Gerstner Jr. (b.1942) American Businessman
And find that dark, too blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet, and dark wings.
—Wendell Berry (b.1934) American Poet, Novelist, Environmentalist
We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment.
—Margaret Mead (1901–78) American Anthropologist, Social Psychologist
What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on?
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
—Henry van Dyke Jr. (1852–1933) American Author, Educator, Clergyman
To keep every cog and every wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.
—Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American Ecologist, Conservationist
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
—Margaret Mead (1901–78) American Anthropologist, Social Psychologist
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.
—Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American Ecologist, Conservationist
It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
The ecologization of politics requires us to acknowledge the priority of human values and makes ecology part of education at an early age, molding a new, modern approach to nature and, at the same time, giving back to man a sense of being part of nature. No moral improvement of society is possible without that
—Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022) Soviet Head of State
Only in the last moment of human history has the delusion arisen that people can flourish apart from the rest of the living world.
—E. O. Wilson (1929–2021) American Sociobiologist
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Every animal knows more than you do.
—American Indian Proverb
To find new things, take the path you took yesterday.
—John Burroughs (1837–1921) American Naturalist, Writer
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.
—Rachel Carson (1907–64) American Naturalist, Science Writer