Welcome to our collection of insightful quotes by environmentalists. Environmentalists, whether scientists, activists, or writers, play a crucial role in advocating for the protection and preservation of our planet. Their words inspire action, provoke thought, and remind us of the importance of caring for our environment.
In a world facing escalating environmental challenges such as climate change, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity, the wisdom and passion of environmentalists offer guidance and motivation for individuals and communities to make positive changes. From luminaries like Rachel Carson and David Attenborough to contemporary voices like Greta Thunberg and Vandana Shiva, these individuals have dedicated their lives to raising awareness about environmental issues and advocating for sustainable solutions.
Below, you’ll find a curated selection of quotes from environmentalists that illuminate their perspectives, insights, and calls to action. These quotes can be copied, placed on images, or enhanced with stylish fonts to share and spread their messages of environmental stewardship and conservation.
The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them. Paul Hawken
O, how glorious would it be to set my heel upon the Pole and turn myself 360 degrees in a second! Joseph Banks
Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. Aldo Leopold
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness. John Muir
A forest of these trees is a spectacle too much for one man to see. David Douglas
I speak French, and I grew up with French, so my English is Franglais. Corneille Ewango
They took their meals together; and it was remarked on such occasions, when the friendship of animals is put to a hard test, that they never quarrelled or disputed the possession of a favourite fruit with each other. Henry Walter Bates
I began observing, making paintings of my surroundings, taking a vow of silence, listening, composing music, writing, and making time for formal education. Then I started telling stories. John Francis
I see the world in black and white, and I don’t like compromising. Greta Thunburg
Along the borders to Ethiopia and Somalia, anarchy reigns, the police and military have retreated quite some distance. Richard Leakey
Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them. Paul Hawken
You may be able to fool the voters, but not the atmosphere. Donella Meadows
I did a salad, but I didn’t do a garden. Roberto Burle Marx
The poor monkey, quietly seated on the ground, seemed to be in sore trouble at this display of anger. Henry Walter Bates
Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come. Greta Thunburg
To reduce the risk of a global environmental catastrophe, and to avoid reversing the course of human progress, the world must urgently bend the curve of global emissions away from fossil fuels. Johan Rockstrom
Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we’ll soon be in trouble. Roger Tory Peterson
My daughter is a real migraine sufferer; the minute she has a handful of Haribo sweets, she gets a headache. There’s a connection between what the liver can’t break down with what goes on to trigger a headache. You just have to be aware. Sheherazade Goldsmith
Industry is fortune’s right hand, and frugality its left. John Ray
I say I am a Planetwalker. Then I have to explain that a Planetwalker is anyone who walks the planet as a lifestyle choice, as part of an education in the spirit and hope of using the journey to benefit the world. John Francis
On the recollection of so many and great favours and blessings, I now, with a high sense of gratitude, presume to offer up my sincere thanks to the Almighty, the Creator and Preserver. William Bartram
A garden is a complex of aesthetic and plastic intentions; and the plant is, to a landscape artist, not only a plant – rare, unusual, ordinary or doomed to disappearance – but it is also a color, a shape, a volume or an arabesque in itself. Roberto Burle Marx
We need to save the Arctic not because of the polar bears, and not because it is the most beautiful place in the world, but because our very survival depends upon it. Lewis Gordon Pugh
Coral reefs represent some of the world’s most spectacular beauty spots, but they are also the foundation of marine life: without them many of the sea’s most exquisite species will not survive. Sheherazade Goldsmith
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. John Muir
The joy of viewing land, the hope of in a few days ranging through the long wished-for spot and the pleasure of again resuming my wonted employment may be readily calculated. David Douglas
Who knows but that England may revive in New South Wales when it has sunk in Europe. Joseph Banks
Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. John Ray
Good words cool more than cold water. John Ray
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
The more we pour the big machines, the fuel, the pesticides, the herbicides, the fertilizer and chemicals into farming, the more we knock out the mechanism that made it all work in the first place. David R. Brower
Any waste stream in our society can be turned into a revenue stream. It’s turning the lemons in our society into lemonade. Billy Parish
Globalisation has powered economic growth in developing countries such as China. Global logistics, low domestic production costs, and strong consumer demand have let the country develop strong export-based manufacturing, making the country the workshop of the world. Ma Jun
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. John Muir
First I shall name the eagle, of which there are three species: the great grey eagle is the largest, of great strength and high flight; he chiefly preys on fawns and other young quadrupeds. William Bartram
Within 10 years it will be impossible to travel to the North Pole by dog team. There will be too much open water. Will Steger
I don’t think there’s any way we can save the polar bears. Will Steger
Around 17 to 20 years, I became, myself, a poacher. And I wanted to do it, because – I believed – to continue my studies. I wanted to go to university, but my father was poor, my uncle even. So, I did it. And for three to four years, I went to university. For three times, I applied to biomedical science, to be a doctor. I didn’t succeed. Corneille Ewango
I am a rolling stone, never in one place for very long. Roz Savage
The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. We must stop the emissions of greenhouse gases. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth. Greta Thunburg
Climate change is the Everest of all problems, the thorniest challenge facing humankind. Lewis Gordon Pugh
I do what I do because it is the right thing to do. I am a warrior, and it is the way of the warrior to fight superior odds. Paul Watson
There is an urgent need to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, dramatically reduce wasted energy, and significantly shift our power supplies from oil, coal, and natural gas to wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources. Bill McKibben
Even the government understands that the environmental challenge is so big that no single agency can handle it. It needs collaboration among all the stakeholders – companies, governments, NGOs and the public. Public accountability will be the ultimate driving force. Ma Jun
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights describes the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society. It follows that any choice and decision with regard to the size of the family must irrevocably rest with the family itself, and cannot be made by anyone else. Garrett Hardin
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. Luther Burbank
Bring diversity back to agriculture. That’s what made it work in the first place. David R. Brower
If we wipe out the fish, the oceans are going to die. If the oceans die, we die. We can’t live on this planet with a dead ocean. Paul Watson
Whenever anyone challenges anything, the powers that be try to paint them as extremists or radicals or whatever. And I think that’s actually nonsense. Bill McKibben
Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude. Joseph Wood Krutch
Biodiversity can’t be maintained by protecting a few species in a zoo, or by preserving greenbelts or national parks. To function properly, nature needs more room than that. It can maintain itself, however, without human expense, without zookeepers, park rangers, foresters or gene banks. All it needs is to be left alone. Donella Meadows
We don’t need bigger cars or fancier clothes. We need self-respect, identity, community, love, variety, beauty, challenge and a purpose in living that is greater than material accumulation. Donella Meadows
We fight, even against insurmountable odds, because sometimes we win. Billy Parish
Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many different ailments, but I have never heard of one who suffered from insomnia. Joseph Wood Krutch
A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero. Garrett Hardin
Birds have wings; they’re free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy. Roger Tory Peterson
The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love. Luther Burbank
The value of biodiversity is that it makes our ecosystems more resilient, which is a prerequisite for stable societies; its wanton destruction is akin to setting fire to our lifeboat. Johan Rockstrom
My advice is don’t keep asking yourself if you can do something. Just get out there and do it. You can really surprise yourself. Roz Savage
Earlier, 100,000 elephants lived in Kenya and we didn’t have any noteworthy problem with it. The problem that we have is not that there are now more elephants. Richard Leakey
