David Brower

"Motivation comes from understanding what is at stake."

"Inspiration strikes hardest when standing before something truly wild."

"Our relationships with the natural world determine our relationships with each other."

"Life is not measured in years, but in moments of connection with the living world."

"Wisdom is knowing what we do not need to own."

"Happiness is found not in accumulation, but in appreciation."

"Success should be measured by how much we preserve, not by how much we consume."

"The true friendship is with the Earth itself."

"Hope lives as long as wild places remain."

"Changes in policy begin with changes in hearts."

"Peace with the Earth is the foundation of all other peace."

"The freedom to destroy is not the same as the freedom to flourish."

"Time is running out, and yet time is all we have to make a difference."

"Technology should serve nature, not dominate it."

"Philosophy without nature is merely abstraction."

"Literature has the power to move hearts that politics cannot reach."

"War against nature is war against ourselves."

"The question is not whether we can afford to save wild places, but whether we can afford to lose them."

"Money spent on conservation is money invested in survival."

"Health depends on healthy ecosystems."

"The imagination of children is our most renewable resource."

"Scientific knowledge should humble us, not make us arrogant."

"Every wild river is a lesson in freedom."

"The preservation of wilderness is an act of hope for the future."

"We stand at a crossroads: the path of destruction or the path of stewardship."

"The Earth does not need us; we need the Earth."

"In protecting nature, we protect the very essence of what makes us human."

"The voice of the wilderness must become our voice."

"To walk softly on the Earth is to walk with wisdom."

"The greatest crime of our generation is the crime of silence in the face of destruction."