We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.
David SuzukiRead
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.
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.
More from David Suzuki
All quotes →As parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts we need to start getting out into nature with the young people in our lives. Families play a key role in getting kids outside.
David SuzukiRead
One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child.
David SuzukiRead
The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.
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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.
David SuzukiRead
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.
David SuzukiRead
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