--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There would be no call for ecological…" description: "\"There would be no call for ecological campaigning had nature not been exploited and abused. We experience the ground now bringing forth thistles as soi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e4/desmond-tutu-442_atmosphere_there-would-be-no-call-for-ecological-ca_3051399.jpg" --- # There would be no call for ecological campaigning had… ![“There would be no call for ecological campaigning had nature not been exploited and abused. We experience the ground now bringing forth thistles as soil erosion devastates formerly arable land and deserts overtake fertile farms. Rivers and the atmosphere are polluted thoughtlessly and we are…” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e4/desmond-tutu-442_atmosphere_there-would-be-no-call-for-ecological-ca_3051399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e4/desmond-tutu-442_atmosphere_there-would-be-no-call-for-ecological-ca_3051399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e4/desmond-tutu-442_atmosphere_there-would-be-no-call-for-ecological-ca_3051399.jpg) > “There would be no call for ecological campaigning had nature not been exploited and abused. We experience the ground now bringing forth thistles as soil erosion devastates formerly arable land and deserts overtake fertile farms. Rivers and the atmosphere are polluted thoughtlessly and we are fearful of the consequences of a depleted ozone layer and the devastation of the greenhouse effect. We are not quite at home in our world, and somewhere in each of us there is a nostalgia for a paradise that has been lost.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human exploitation of nature leads to ecological crisis, evoking longing for a lost paradise. **In simple terms:** Exploitation harms Earth, causing loss of paradise. Key Takeaway Protect nature to restore balance. Themes environment loss nostalgia Mood hopeful urgent Type inspirational activist When to use this quote - policy - activism - education Key Concepts ecology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take to heal the planet? - How does nostalgia motivate environmental stewardship? A Different Perspective Change may be slow and resisted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Campaigning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigning/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Devastation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devastation/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Erosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erosion/) [Farms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farms/) [Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearful/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Ozone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ozone/) [Ozone layer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ozone-layer/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Soil erosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soil-erosion/) [Sustainability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sustainability/) [Thistles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thistles/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The Captains of Industry have always counseled the rest of us "to be realistic." Let us, therefore, be realistic. Is it realistic to assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-captains-of-industry-have-always-counseled-the-rest-of-us-to-be/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The wrecking ball is characteristic of our way with materials. We 'cannot afford' to log a forest selectively, to mine without destroying topography, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-wrecking-ball-is-characteristic-of-our-way-with-materials-we/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Essentially, all life depends upon the soil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kellogg/essentially-all-life-depends-upon-the-soil/) [Charles Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kellogg/) > [“And for goodness' sake put some of the county back where it belongs, the soil erosion's bad enough as it is." Dill stared at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/and-for-goodness-sake-put-some-of-the-county-back-where-it-belongs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [History is largely a record of human struggle to wrest the land from nature, because man relies for sustenance on the products of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hammond-bennett/history-is-largely-a-record-of-human-struggle-to-wrest-the-land-from/) [Hugh Hammond Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hammond-bennett/) > [The most common mistake students of literature make is to go straight for what the poem or novel says, setting aside the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-most-common-mistake-students-of-literature-make-is-to-go-straight/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Whoa, son,” said Atticus. “Nobody’s about to make you go anywhere but to bed pretty soon. I’m just going over to tell Miss Rachel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee-to-kill-a-mockingbird/whoa-son-said-atticus-nobody-s-about-to-make-you-go-anywhere-but-to/) Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird > [“This suggests that Palestine already had begun to suffer the soil erosion that during the centuries of Arab cultivation reduced it from the one-time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/this-suggests-that-palestine-already-had-begun-to-suffer-the-soil/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [But when you have bad governance, of course, these resources are destroyed: The forests are deforested, there is illegal logging, there is soil erosion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/but-when-you-have-bad-governance-of-course-these-resources-are/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Essentially, all life depends upon the soil ... There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kellogg/essentially-all-life-depends-upon-the-soil-there-can-be-no-life/) [Charles Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kellogg/) > [Language is like soil. However rich, it is subject to erosion, and its fertility is constantly threatened by uses that exhaust itsvitality. It needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/language-is-like-soil-however-rich-it-is-subject-to-erosion-and-its/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [“In 1995, the gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after a seventy-year hiatus. Scientists expected an ecological ripple effect, but the size…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/in-1995-the-gray-wolf-was-reintroduced-to-yellowstone-national-park/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [“Tourism, global warming and eradication of soil erosion causes have all been substantially enhanced through ecosystem study.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-ascott/tourism-global-warming-and-eradication-of-soil-erosion-causes-have/) Justin Ascott > [“Small societies are particularly vulnerable to disruption of key lifelines, such as trading relations, or to large perturbations like wars or natural disasters. Larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-montgomery/small-societies-are-particularly-vulnerable-to-disruption-of-key/) David R. Montgomery > [Soil erosion is as old as agriculture. It began when the first heavy rain struck the first furrow turned by a crude implement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hammond-bennett/soil-erosion-is-as-old-as-agriculture-it-began-when-the-first-heavy/) [Hugh Hammond Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hammond-bennett/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. A lot of people say it's their favorite Joy Division song, but it's not mine; it reminds me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/atmosphere-is-a-massive-song-a-lot-of-people-say-it-s-their-favorite/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere at any point could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/bjerknes-had-come-up-with-equations-capable-of-describing-the/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There would be no call for ecological campaigning had nature not been exploited and abused. We experience the ground now bringing forth thistles as soil erosion devastates formerly arable land and deserts overtake fertile farms. Rivers and the atmosphere are polluted thoughtlessly and we are fearful of the consequences of a depleted ozone layer and the devastation of the greenhouse effect. 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