The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.
Marjory Stoneman DouglasRead
The wealth of south Florida, but even more important, the meaning and significance of south Florida lies in the black muck of the Everglades and the inevitable development of this country to be the great tropic agricultural center of the world.
Interpretation
The essence of south Florida's identity and value is rooted in its natural environment, particularly the Everglades.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas emphasizes that the true significance of south Florida is not only its wealth but more importantly its unique ecosystem, particularly the Everglades, which represents the potential for the region to become a leading agricultural hub. This highlights a profound connection between the area's natural resources and its future development, suggesting that preserving its ecological heritage is crucial for sustainable growth.
In practice
In a speech about environmental conservation.
The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.
Life should be lived so vividly and so intensely that thoughts of another life, or of a longer life, are not necessary.
Whoever wants me to talk, I'll come over and tell them about the necessity of preserving the Everglades.
To be a friend of the Everglades is not necessarily to spend time wandering around out there.
The hardest thing is to tell the truth about oneself. One doesn't like to remember unpleasant details, but forgetting them makes one's life seem disorganized.
Conservation is now a dead word.
If there is nothing you can share with other people, try to be close to Things, they will not abandon you; and the nights are still here and the winds that move through the trees and across many lands; everything in the world of Things and animals is still filled with happening, which you can take part in.
Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds.
Some days in late August at home are like this, the air thin and eager like this, with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar.
I've never seen anywhere in the world as beautiful as Kashmir. It has something to do with the fact that the valley is very small and the mountains are very big, so you have this miniature countryside surrounded by the Himalayas, and it's just spectacular. And it's true, the people are very beautiful too.
I always see gardening as escape, as peace really. If you are angry or troubled, nothing provides the same solace as nurturing the soil.
It has always been a happy thought to me that the creek runs on all night, new every minute, whether I wish it or know it or care, as a closed book on a shelf continues to whisper to itself its own inexhaustible tale.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.