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What we are doing is, rather than living on the interest of our basic biological capital, we're using up our capital, so we're dipping into our capital. We're using up what should be our children's and grandchildren's legacy.
David Suzuki
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the importance of conserving our natural resources for future generations rather than depleting them.

David Suzuki emphasizes the urgent need to preserve the planet's natural resources, warning that the current overconsumption of these resources compromises the well-being of future generations. He suggests that society is not merely living off the 'interest' generated by our biological capital—nature's resources—but is, in fact, exhausting the 'capital' itself, which will negatively impact our children and grandchildren.

Themes

SustainabilityResourcesFuture GenerationsEnvironmentLegacy

In practice

Example use cases

During a conference on climate change, this quote can serve as a powerful reminder of our responsibility to future generations.

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Do you know how much land is under ice, rock and snow? Do you know why 90 percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border? We have this idea we're a vast country. But the reality is that a lot of it, a huge amount, is uninhabitable.
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We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.
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