You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for.
Interpretation
Decisions that may be unpopular can only be supported if the public understands and values the environment.
In this quote, David Attenborough emphasizes the importance of public support for environmental decisions that may not be immediately popular. He suggests that natural history programs play a crucial role in educating the electorate about the significance of environmental issues, thus enabling them to appreciate the long-term benefits even when such decisions may seem challenging or unappealing in the short term.
In practice
In a speech about climate change policies, one might reference this quote to highlight the need for public education.
I don't think we are going to become extinct. We're very clever and extremely resourceful - and we will find ways of preserving ourselves, of that I'm sure. But whether our lives will be as rich as they are now is another question.
I'm against this huge globalisation on the basis of economic advantage.
I would be absolutely astounded if population growth and industrialisation and all the stuff we are pumping into the atmosphere hadn't changed the climatic balance. Of course it has. There is no valid argument for denial.
There's a small worm called Loa Loa Filariasis. This parasite can survive in one environment exclusively- namely, underneath the skin and inside the eyes of human beings. Children and the elderly in tropical regions (usually the poorest) are the most widely affected. A painful, slow death is virtually certain. The worm can actually live in the host for 17 years before the host finally dies.
The fundamental issue is the moral issue.
It is vital that there is a narrator figure whom people believe. That's why I never do commercials. If I started saying that margarine was the same as motherhood, people would think I was a liar.
For the sense of smell, almost more than any other, has the power to recall memories and it's a pity we use it so little.
Wine is earth's answer to the sun.
A lot of people think they need to give up nature to become adults but that's not true. However, you have to be careful how you describe and define 'nature.'
There is no bandit so powerful as Nature._x000D_ _x000D_ The interaction of the positive and the negative principles, which produces the visible universe._x000D_ _x000D_ In the whole universe there is no escape from it.
Protecting vital sources of renewal - unscathed marshes, healthy reefs, and deep-sea gardens - will provide hope for the future of the Gulf, and for all of us.
For me, being green means cleaning up the water. Water is the key. Start with water. You can't ignore the fact that that nearly 80% of US waterways are potentially poisoned - benzene, solvents, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.