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.
Born a wildlife warrior, die a wildlife warrior.
Hunting and gathering are in my blood. But I've lived long enough to witness a diminution in the seas, and to notice a fragility where once I saw - or assumed - an endless bounty.
The more our world functions like the natural world, the more likely we are to endure on this home that is ours, but not ours alone.
The whole of nature cries out at our mistreatment of her. If the planet were a patient, we would have treated her long ago.
When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seen them all.
That queen of secrecy, the violet.
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