--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is proposed herein is that we have…" description: "\"What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using wilderness while we tread over lawns, creat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png" --- # What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any… ![“What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using wilderness while we tread over lawns, create erosion, and use land inefficiently. Our responsibility is to put our house in order. Should we do so, there will never be any need to destroy…” quote by Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/bill-mollison-4213_clearing_what-is-proposed-herein-is-that-we-have_2898132.png) > “What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using wilderness while we tread over lawns, create erosion, and use land inefficiently. Our responsibility is to put our house in order. Should we do so, there will never be any need to destroy wilderness.” [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity should prioritize ecological stewardship, treating the environment as a home to maintain rather than a resource to exploit. **In simple terms:** Treat land like a house, keep it orderly. Key Takeaway Adopt sustainable, low‑impact practices. Themes environment ethics stewardship Mood thoughtful optimistic Type environmental educational When to use this quote - urban planning - agricultural design - personal lifestyle Key Concepts permaculture ecological balance resource efficiency Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals contribute to larger ecological order? - What policies support sustainable land use? A Different Perspective Implementing change requires collective effort and systemic redesign. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Erosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erosion/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Permaculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permaculture/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) ## Related quotes > [We are not so poor we must destroy our wilderness, nor so rich we can afford to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newton-b-drury/we-are-not-so-poor-we-must-destroy-our-wilderness-nor-so-rich-we-can/) Newton B. Drury > [Will biofuel usage require land? Absolutely, but we think the ability to use winter cover crops, degraded land, as well as using sources such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/will-biofuel-usage-require-land-absolutely-but-we-think-the-ability/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [“Tax systems are essentially the mechanisms by which societies decide what people have to share with each other versus what they can keep for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-adams/tax-systems-are-essentially-the-mechanisms-by-which-societies-decide/) [Martin Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-adams/) > [I'm certain I don't know what permaculture is. That's what I like about it - it's not dogmatic. But you've got to say it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-m-certain-i-don-t-know-what-permaculture-is-that-s-what-i-like/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Few people today muck around in earth, and when on international flights, I often find I have the only decently dirty fingernails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/few-people-today-muck-around-in-earth-and-when-on-international/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Sitting at our back doorsteps, all we need to live a good life lies about us. Sun, wind, people, buildings, stones, sea, birds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/sitting-at-our-back-doorsteps-all-we-need-to-live-a-good-life-lies/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Permaculture is something with a million heads. It's a way of thinking which is already loose, and you can't put a way of thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-something-with-a-million-heads-it-s-a-way-of-thinking/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [“. . . every society that grows extensive lawns could produce all its food on the same area, using the same resources, and .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/every-society-that-grows-extensive-lawns-could-produce-all-its-food/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [You don’t have a snail problem, you have a duck deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-don-t-have-a-snail-problem-you-have-a-duck-deficiency/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/permaculture-is-the-conscious-design-and-maintenance-of/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [“Each such cycle is a unique event; diet, choice, selection, season, weather, digestion, decomposition and regeneration differ each time it happens. Thus, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/each-such-cycle-is-a-unique-event-diet-choice-selection-season/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The worst thing about permaculture is that it's extremely successful, but it has no center, and no hierarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-worst-thing-about-permaculture-is-that-it-s-extremely-successful/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I confess to a rare problem - gynekinetophobia, or the fear of women falling on me - but this is a rather mild illness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-confess-to-a-rare-problem-gynekinetophobia-or-the-fear-of-women/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Anarchy would suggest you're not cooperating. Permaculture is urging complete cooperation between each other and every other thing, animate and inanimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anarchy-would-suggest-you-re-not-cooperating-permaculture-is-urging/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I probably lead a very spoiled life, because I travel from people interested in permaculture to people interested in permaculture. Some of them are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-probably-lead-a-very-spoiled-life-because-i-travel-from-people/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More by Bill Mollison > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women spend the money of society on its goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-spend-the-money-of-society-on-its-goods/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Wealth is a deep understanding of the natural world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/wealth-is-a-deep-understanding-of-the-natural-world/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [That we don't design agriculture to be sustainable is totally eerie. We design it to be a disaster, and of course, we get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/that-we-don-t-design-agriculture-to-be-sustainable-is-totally-eerie/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Why is it that we don't build human settlements that will feed themselves, and fuel themselves, and catch their own water, when any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/why-is-it-that-we-don-t-build-human-settlements-that-will-feed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Anything that's left that's remotely like wilderness should be left strictly alone. We have no business there any more. It's not going to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anything-that-s-left-that-s-remotely-like-wilderness-should-be-left/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The important thing is not to do any agriculture whatsoever, and particularly to make the modern agricultural sciences a forbidden area - they're worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-important-thing-is-not-to-do-any-agriculture-whatsoever-and/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/the-tragic-reality-is-that-very-few-sustainable-systems-are-designed/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/we-are-surrounded-by-insurmountable-opportunities/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/though-the-problems-of-the-world-are-increasingly-complex-the/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [I can easily teach people to be gardeners, and from them, once they know how to garden, you'll get a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/i-can-easily-teach-people-to-be-gardeners-and-from-them-once-they/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [If you get someone who looks after himself and those around him, that's a deep ecologist. He can talk philosophy that I understand. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/if-you-get-someone-who-looks-after-himself-and-those-around-him-that/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [You can't cooperate by knocking something about or bossing it or forcing it to do things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/you-can-t-cooperate-by-knocking-something-about-or-bossing-it-or/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Women are the holders of all knowledge, everything a man knows he stole from a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/women-are-the-holders-of-all-knowledge-everything-a-man-knows-he/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Another thing I find extremely eerie is that when people build a house, they almost exactly get it wrong. They don't just get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/another-thing-i-find-extremely-eerie-is-that-when-people-build-a/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) [Explore all 114 Bill Mollison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More Clearing quotes > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Do you think you should warn him (the guard) that I'm going to kiss you?" He loved the flush that appeared on her face,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/do-you-think-you-should-warn-him-the-guard-that-i-m-going-to-kiss-you/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [I looked in the mirror and stared at my reflection, until I was in the head-clearing trance that comes when you stare at something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-burd/i-looked-in-the-mirror-and-stared-at-my-reflection-until-i-was-in-the/) [Nick Burd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-burd/) > [Where does our investigation get its importance from, since it seems only to destroy everything interesting, that is, all that is great and important?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/where-does-our-investigation-get-its-importance-from-since-it-seems/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Unless he had whiskey running through his veins, Willard came to the clearing every morning and evening to talk to God. Arvin didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/unless-he-had-whiskey-running-through-his-veins-willard-came-to-the/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) > [Though the words Canada East on the map stretch over many rivers and lakes and unexplored wildernesses, the actual Canada, which might be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/though-the-words-canada-east-on-the-map-stretch-over-many-rivers-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Rain scatters plum petals; Weeping stains the earth. One can only take shelter And wait for clearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/rain-scatters-plum-petals-weeping-stains-the-earth-one-can-only-take/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Some of the generals are saying, 'We're making progress. We are clearing an area.' But you really don't defeat the Taliban by clearing an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/some-of-the-generals-are-saying-we-re-making-progress-we-are-clearing/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [Clearing your head of distractions in order to notice and understand the people you are with can feel inefficient - there are so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/clearing-your-head-of-distractions-in-order-to-notice-and-understand/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Tessa exhaled. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath until that moment. Will must have heard her, for he raised his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/tessa-exhaled-she-hadn-t-realized-that-she-had-been-holding-her/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If you start picking up other people's impressions while you are meditating, then instead of clearing yourself, you are just going to completely glom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-start-picking-up-other-people-s-impressions-while-you-are/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [So what is the role that credit default swaps can play in an economy? Well my feeling is that if these things actually will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-engle/so-what-is-the-role-that-credit-default-swaps-can-play-in-an-economy/) [Robert F. Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-engle/) > [Life is about making choices: you can either spend three quid on a glossy magazine or you can spend it clearing three square metres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/life-is-about-making-choices-you-can-either-spend-three-quid-on-a/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [Three times I have been mistaken for a prohibition agent, but never had any trouble clearing myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/three-times-i-have-been-mistaken-for-a-prohibition-agent-but-never/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [This is what I believe: That I am I. That my soul is a dark forest. That my known self will never be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-what-i-believe-that-i-am-i-that-my-soul-is-a-dark-forest-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 188 Clearing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is proposed herein is that we have no right, nor any ethical justification, for clearing land or using wilderness while we tread over lawns, create erosion, and use land inefficiently. Our responsibility is to put our house in order. 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