--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But human borders mean nothing to air…" description: "\"But human borders mean nothing to air, water, windblown soil or seeds or migrating fish, birds or mammals.\" — David Suzuki" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/david-suzuki-1744_air_but-human-borders-mean-nothing-to-air-wa_767241.png" --- # But human borders mean nothing to air, water, windblown… ![“But human borders mean nothing to air, water, windblown soil or seeds or migrating fish, birds or mammals.” quote by David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/david-suzuki-1744_air_but-human-borders-mean-nothing-to-air-wa_767241.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/david-suzuki-1744_air_but-human-borders-mean-nothing-to-air-wa_767241.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/david-suzuki-1744_air_but-human-borders-mean-nothing-to-air-wa_767241.png) > “But human borders mean nothing to air, water, windblown soil or seeds or migrating fish, birds or mammals.” [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that natural borders are irrelevant to ecosystems, unlike human divisions. **In simple terms:** Nature ignores human borders. Key Takeaway Respect ecological continuity. Themes environment interconnectedness biodiversity Mood thoughtful inspired Type environmental educational When to use this quote - conservation policy - wildlife corridors - climate action Key Concepts ecosystem flow migration patterns Questions to Reflect On - How can policies reflect ecological realities? - What borders can we remove? A Different Perspective Human politics hinder ecological solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mammals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mammals/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [If we continue to set human borders and the economy as our highest priorities, we will never come to grips with the destructiveness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/if-we-continue-to-set-human-borders-and-the-economy-as-our-highest/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [We are a nation of borders and - I mean, that is one of the main things that the federal government is in charge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rosendale/we-are-a-nation-of-borders-and-i-mean-that-is-one-of-the-main-things/) [Matt Rosendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rosendale/) > [I said to one young activist who herself was the daughter of an undocumented worker, and so could speak from a very personal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-said-to-one-young-activist-who-herself-was-the-daughter-of-an/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Humans are now the most numerous mammal on the planet. There are more humans than rats or mice. Humans have a huge ecological footprint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/humans-are-now-the-most-numerous-mammal-on-the-planet-there-are-more/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/if-we-pollute-the-air-water-and-soil-that-keep-us-alive-and-well-and/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [I can't imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity. These are the things that keep us alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/i-can-t-imagine-anything-more-important-than-air-water-soil-energy/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [I am a vegetarian because I realized that even little chickens suffer pain and fear, experience a range of feelings and emotions, and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-am-a-vegetarian-because-i-realized-that-even-little-chickens-suffer/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [There have only been about a half dozen genuinely important events in the four-billion-year saga of life on Earth: single-celled life, multicelled life, differentiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/there-have-only-been-about-a-half-dozen-genuinely-important-events-in/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [It is important to understand that while oxytocin may be the hub of the evolution of the social brain in mammals, it is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-churchland/it-is-important-to-understand-that-while-oxytocin-may-be-the-hub-of/) [Patricia Churchland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-churchland/) > [So now we know why some mammals eat their children...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-now-we-know-why-some-mammals-eat-their-children/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No writer in a free country should be expected to bother about the exact demarcation between the sensuous and the sensual; this is preposterous;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/no-writer-in-a-free-country-should-be-expected-to-bother-about-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [It only takes twenty generations of selective breeding to create large differences or appearance and behavior in other mammals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/it-only-takes-twenty-generations-of-selective-breeding-to-create/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Man need not be degraded to a machine by being denied to be a ghost in a machine. He might, after all, be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/man-need-not-be-degraded-to-a-machine-by-being-denied-to-be-a-ghost/) [Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/) > [Consciousness," according to current scientific thought, was something the higher mammals had evolved in order to help them reproduce, much the way a garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/consciousness-according-to-current-scientific-thought-was-something/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More by David Suzuki > [Because countries often have differing political and economic systems, agreements are needed to protect those invested in trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/because-countries-often-have-differing-political-and-economic-systems/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Over and over, we hear politicians say they can't spend our tax dollars on environmental protection when the economy is so fragile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/over-and-over-we-hear-politicians-say-they-can-t-spend-our-tax/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Aboriginal people are key because they have a different sense of where we belong and how we interact with nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/aboriginal-people-are-key-because-they-have-a-different-sense-of/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Treaties, agreements and organizations to help settle disputes may be necessary, but they often favor the interests of business over citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/treaties-agreements-and-organizations-to-help-settle-disputes-may-be/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Each of us now has 2.27 kg (5 lbs) of plastic embedded in our bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/each-of-us-now-has-2-27-kg-5-lbs-of-plastic-embedded-in-our-bodies/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Nature surrounds us, from parks and backyards to streets and alleyways. Next time you go out for a walk, tread gently and remember that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/nature-surrounds-us-from-parks-and-backyards-to-streets-and-alleyways/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [The human brain had a vast memory storage. It made us curious and very creative. Those were the characteristics that gave us an advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/the-human-brain-had-a-vast-memory-storage-it-made-us-curious-and-very/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/if-we-pollute-the-air-water-and-soil-that-keep-us-alive-and-well-and/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [The one thing I feel is very hopeful, however, is the overwhelming participation of women in the movement for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/the-one-thing-i-feel-is-very-hopeful-however-is-the-overwhelming/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [“As we distance ourselves further from the natural world, we are increasingly surrounded by and dependent on our own inventions. We become enslaved by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/as-we-distance-ourselves-further-from-the-natural-world-we-are/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Every breath is a sacrament, an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/every-breath-is-a-sacrament-an-affirmation-of-our-connection-with-all/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [With an estimated population of nine billion people by 2050, we cannot continue to consume resources at the same rate and maintain our quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/with-an-estimated-population-of-nine-billion-people-by-2050-we-cannot/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Although it's the second largest country in the world, our useful area has been reduced. Our immigration policy is disgusting: We plunder southern countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/although-it-s-the-second-largest-country-in-the-world-our-useful-area/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Environmentalism has failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/environmentalism-has-failed/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) [Explore all 212 David Suzuki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. 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But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. 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