If, in our haste to 'progress,' the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policy makers alike, the result will be an ugly America. We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.
Interpretation
Disregarding ecological economics for immediate progress can lead to environmental degradation.
This quote by Stewart Udall emphasizes the importance of considering ecological economics in the decision-making processes of citizens and policymakers. It warns that prioritizing short-term gains over long-term environmental aesthetics and health can result in a deteriorating society and landscape, ultimately affecting the quality of life in America.
In practice
In a lecture about urban development, this quote can highlight the importance of sustainable practices.
America today stands poised on a pinnacle of wealth and power, yet we live in a land of vanishing beauty, of increasing ugliness, of shrinking open space, and of an over-all environment that is diminished daily by pollution and noise and blight.
Each generation has its own rendezvous with the land, for despite our fee titles and claims of ownership, we are all brief tenants on this planet. By choice, or by default, we will carve out a land legacy for our heirs.
Eventually we'll realize that if we destroy the ecosystem, we destroy ourselves.
Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.
Compared with me, a tree is immortal.
Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow
There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.
It's very important that we keep these special, wild places. It defines the United States. Imagine our country without our national parks and our monuments. Here in California, imagine if you didn't have in Southern Cal the Channel Islands or the great Highway 1, Big Sur up to Point Reyes up to the Redwood country.
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