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.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the contrast between America's wealth and the degradation of its natural beauty and environment.
Stewart Udall's quote highlights the ironic situation in which the United States enjoys immense wealth and power, yet simultaneously suffers from environmental decline and a loss of beauty in its landscapes. It serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of preserving the natural environment amid progress and development, emphasizing that material prosperity should not come at the expense of ecological health and aesthetic value.
In practice
In a speech advocating for environmental protection, one might say, 'As Stewart Udall noted, we must remember that our wealth does not excuse the degradation of our environment.'
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.
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.
Environmental justice, for those of you who may not be familiar with the term, goes something like this: no community should be saddled with more environmental burdens and less environmental benefits than any other.
Removing the weeds, putting fresh soil about the bean stems, and encouraging this weed which I had sown, making the yellow soil express its summer thought in bean leaves and blossoms rather than in wormwood and piper and millet grass, making the earth say beans instead of grass, - this was my daily work.
The Maldives, a string of islands off the coast of India whose highest point above sea level is eight feet, may be the first nation to drown. In Alaska, entire towns have begun to shift in the loosening permafrost.
He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.
We owe it to each other - and to our children and grandchildren - to leave our planet in a better state than when we found it.
It was Autumn, and incessant Piped the quails from shocks and sheaves, And, like living coals, the apples Burned among the withering leaves.
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