Enviromental Quotes

Unless we announce disasters no one will listen. ~ John T. Houghton

Many of us worry about the situation of the world ... We need to remain calm, to see clearly. Meditation is a means to be aware, and to try to help. ~ Nhat Hanh

Someone who does not draw strength from himself and who is incapable of finding the meaning of his life within himself will ... seek the map to his own orientation somewhere outside himself-in some ideology, organization, or society, and then, however active he may appear to be, he is merely waiting, depending. He waits to see what others will do, or what roles they will assign to him, and he depends on them-and if they don't do anything or if they botch things, he succumbs to disillusion, despair, and ultimately, resignation. ~ Vaclav Havel

What if a small group of these world leaders were to conclude the principal risk to the earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? In order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn't the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn't it our responsibility to bring this about? ~ Maurice Strong

You can't move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn't mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

You must stick to your conviction, but be ready to abandon your assumptions. ~ Denis Waitley

We must be fully committed, but we must also be aware at the same time that we might possibly be wrong. People who claim to be absolutely convinced that their stand is the only right one ... is a dead giveaway of unconscious doubt. Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt, but in spite of doubt. ~ Rollo May

Honest hope has an edge. It's messy. It requires that we let go of all pat answers, all preconceived formulas, all confidence that our sailing will be smooth. It's not a resting point. Honest hope is movement. ~ Frances Moore Lappe

None of us can predict when the causes we support will capture the public imagination, and our once-lonely quests become popular crusades. ~ Paul Rogat Loeb

In times of danger large groups rise to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, courage and sacrifice ... Mankind will be refashioned and history rewritten when this law is understood and obeyed. ~ Helen Keller

Right now over 70 percent of the world population is convinced that something serious has to be done about the dangers facing the planet ... Most of humanity wants to know how to make the change. It's one of those tipping-point times where things can change unbelievably fast ... ~ Paul Ray

I am in favor of [actions] that have authenticity, roots, originality, verve, balance, taste, communicativeness, challenge, relevance to their time-in short, things that make sense. ~ Vaclav Havel

Man is not imprisoned by habit. Great changes in him can be wrought by crisis - once that crisis can be recognized and understood. ~ Norman Cousins

Opinion is the great, indeed the only coordinating force in our system. ~ Woodrow Wilson

We are the makers of our own state and ... individuals who realize the fact need not, ought not, to wait for collective action. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Lasting change happens when people see for themselves that a different way of life is more fulfilling than their present one. ~ Eknath Easwaran

The big threat to the planet is people: there are too many, doing too well economically and burning too much oil. ~ James Lovelock

Keep your hands open, and all the sands of the desert can pass through them. Close them, and all you can feel is a bit of grit. ~ Taisen Deshimaru

Whoever wants his judgment to be believed, should express it coolly and dispassionately; for all vehemence springs from the will. And so the judgment might be attributed to the will and not to knowledge, which by its nature is cold. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

We must always base our commitment in the center of our own being, or else no commitment will be ultimately authentic. ~ Rollo May

But we have only begun to love the earth. We have only begun to imagine the fullness of life. How could we tire of hope?-so much is in bud. ~ Denise Levertov