“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”
John Muir
EcologyConnection
Environmental Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · ENVIRONMENTAL
Environmental Quotes
Read 200 of the best environmental quotes about nature, conservation, pollution and protecting the planet, from John Muir, Thoreau, Roosevelt and more.
“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
John Muir
MountainsWilderness
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
John Muir
NatureGratitude
“God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools - only Uncle Sam can do that.”
John Muir
ForestsConservation
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.”
John Muir
WildernessWellbeing
“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 alike.”
John Muir
National ParksHealing
“Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.”
John Muir
ActivismProtecting Nature
“In Wildness is the preservation of the World.”
Henry David Thoreau
WildernessPreservation
“Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.”
Henry David Thoreau
PollutionHuman Impact
“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness.”
Henry David Thoreau
WildnessFreedom
“Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees.”
Henry David Thoreau
WildlifeRespect For Life
“We can never have enough of nature.”
Henry David Thoreau
NatureLove
“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
NatureSpirit
“In the woods, we return to reason and faith.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
ForestsPeace
“Man has too long forgotten that the earth was given to him for usufruct alone, not for consumption, still less for profligate waste.”
George Perkins Marsh
StewardshipWaste
“Man is everywhere a disturbing agent. Wherever he plants his foot, the harmonies of nature are turned to discords.”
George Perkins Marsh
Human ImpactBalance
“Conservation means the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time.”
Gifford Pinchot
ConservationSustainability
“The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for that future.”
Gifford Pinchot
ResponsibilityFuture
“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Future GenerationsStewardship
“Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.”
Theodore Roosevelt
PreservationNational Parks
“We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Natural ResourcesAwareness
“The living creation is not exclusively man-centred: it is biocentric.”
Liberty Hyde Bailey
EcologyAll Life
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more.”
John Burroughs
HealingNature
“It is this horrid Smoake which obscures our Churches, and makes our Palaces look old.”
John Evelyn
Air PollutionHistory
“It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it.”
Charles Dickens
PollutionIndustry
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About Environmental Quotes
The Earth is the only home we have. Its forests, rivers, oceans and wildlife give us the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Protecting the environment is not just about saving nature for its own sake, but about keeping our planet healthy for every generation still to come.
This collection brings together 200 of the best environmental quotes about nature, conservation, pollution, sustainability and caring for the planet, from John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Theodore Roosevelt, George Perkins Marsh, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Confucius and the Bible. Use them for Earth Day, World Environment Day, school projects or a daily reminder to live more gently on the Earth.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Environmental quotes.
What is the most famous environmental quote?
John Muir's "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe" is one of the most famous environmental quotes. It sums up the idea of ecology: everything in nature is connected.
What are good quotes for Earth Day?
Theodore Roosevelt's advice to pass natural resources to the next generation "increased, and not impaired, in value" and Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," are great Earth Day choices. Thoreau's "In Wildness is the preservation of the World" is another favourite.
What did John Muir say about nature?
John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, wrote that "wildness is a necessity" and that "everybody needs beauty as well as bread." His writing helped create America's national parks.
What is the meaning of conservation?
Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the US Forest Service, defined conservation as "the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time." It means using natural resources wisely so they last for future generations.
What does the Bible say about the environment?
Genesis 2:15 says humans were placed in the garden "to dress it and to keep it," and Numbers 35:33 says "ye shall not pollute the land." Many people see these verses as a call to care for creation.
What are short environmental quotes for posters?
Try "In Wildness is the preservation of the World," "The mountains are calling and I must go," "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin," or "So ye shall not pollute the land." They work well on posters, school projects and social media.