The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own lives and our own ways, because we actually know much better how to do it then when you start interfering."
Jane GoodallRead
Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Chimpanzees and other great apes live sustainably and in harmony with their environment, suggesting they are more successful than humans in this regard.
Jane Goodall highlights the impressive ability of chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans to thrive sustainably in their natural habitats for centuries. She suggests that their harmonious existence with the environment serves as an example of success that humans should aspire to, contrasting this with the often destructive behavior of humankind towards nature.
Themes
ChimpanzeesNatureSuccessEnvironmentHarmony
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an environmental awareness speech.
More from Jane Goodall
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I was born in London in England in 1934. I went through, as a child, the horrors of World War II, through a time when food was rationed and we learned to be very careful, and we never had more to eat than what we needed to eat. There was no waste. Everything was used.
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There are an awful lot of scientists today who believe that before very long we shall have unraveled all the secrets of the universe. There will be no puzzles anymore. To me, it'd be really, really tragic because I think one of the most exciting things is this feeling of mystery, feeling of awe, the feeling of looking at a little live thing and being amazed by it and how it has emerged through these hundreds of years of evolution and there it is and it is perfect and why.
Jane GoodallRead
In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.
Jane GoodallRead
Especially now when views are becoming more polarized, we must work to understand each other across political, religious and national boundaries.
Jane GoodallRead
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