--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have to create a sustainable…" description: "\"We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. The best thing we can do with the rest of this century is aggressively ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg" --- # We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide… ![“We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. The best thing we can do with the rest of this century is aggressively acquire - and put aside - the richest natural reserves that we can, and then do our best to manage the needs and desires of the 11 billion people…” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg) > “We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. The best thing we can do with the rest of this century is aggressively acquire - and put aside - the richest natural reserves that we can, and then do our best to manage the needs and desires of the 11 billion people we expect to have by the end of the century. This is where biology is headed. For that reason, the sooner we get on with mapping biodiversity on Earth, the better off biology will be - not to mention the whole subject of saving it before we carelessly throw it away.” [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urgent call to protect biodiversity by mapping and conserving natural reserves before humanity’s growth overwhelms ecosystems. **In simple terms:** Protect nature before it’s too late. Key Takeaway Map and conserve ecosystems now. Themes conservation future planning global responsibility Mood urgent hopeful Type policy environmental When to use this quote - policy making - scientific research - education programs Key Concepts biodiversity sustainability population growth Questions to Reflect On - How can societies fund large‑scale conservation? - What policies best balance growth and ecology? A Different Perspective Mapping alone won’t stop habitat loss without enforcement and funding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biodiversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biodiversity/) [Biodiversity Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biodiversity-earth-1653619/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Century Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century-biology-1710227/) [Create Sustainable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-sustainable-232877/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Manage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage/) [Mapping Biodiversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mapping-biodiversity-6065069/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sustainable Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sustainable-environment-6065070/) ## Related quotes > [To survive, humans need food, water, and air. Yet biodiversity, the Earth's bodies of water, and the planet's atmosphere are all under threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/to-survive-humans-need-food-water-and-air-yet-biodiversity-the-earth/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [It has become part of the accepted wisdom to say that the twentieth century was the century of physics and the twenty-first century will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/it-has-become-part-of-the-accepted-wisdom-to-say-that-the-twentieth/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Biodiversity is the totality of all inherited variation in the life forms of Earth, of which we are one species. We study and save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/biodiversity-is-the-totality-of-all-inherited-variation-in-the-life/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/look-closely-at-nature-every-species-is-a-masterpiece-exquisitely/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Somewhere close I knew spear-nosed bats flew through the tree crowns in search of fruit, palm vipers coiled in ambush in the roots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/somewhere-close-i-knew-spear-nosed-bats-flew-through-the-tree-crowns-2/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“A lifetime can be spent in a Magellanic voyage around the trunk of a single tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/a-lifetime-can-be-spent-in-a-magellanic-voyage-around-the-trunk-of-a/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [An Armageddon is approaching at the beginning of the third millennium. But it is not the cosmic war and fiery collapse of mankind foretold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/an-armageddon-is-approaching-at-the-beginning-of-the-third-millennium/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If you go from the USA - which, relative to the rest of the world, is in pretty good shape in terms of biodiversity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-you-go-from-the-usa-which-relative-to-the-rest-of-the-world-is-in/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The students of biodiversity, the ones we most need in science today, have an enormous task ahead of molecular biology and the medical scientists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-students-of-biodiversity-the-ones-we-most-need-in-science-today/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We can no longer continue with a status quo energy policy. We must create sustainable clean energy jobs and leave the planet to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-merkley/we-can-no-longer-continue-with-a-status-quo-energy-policy-we-must/) [Jeff Merkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-merkley/) > [We cannot hope to create a sustainable culture with any but sustainable souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/we-cannot-hope-to-create-a-sustainable-culture-with-any-but/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [No leader can create sustainable, significant change without a reservoir of good will. Without that, you always tend to compromise with failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/no-leader-can-create-sustainable-significant-change-without-a/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [If there's a sustainable job that will create sustainable value, people will hire for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cunliffe/if-there-s-a-sustainable-job-that-will-create-sustainable-value/) [David Cunliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cunliffe/) > [With TOMS, I found a way to create sustainable giving and consistently help those who are in need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/with-toms-i-found-a-way-to-create-sustainable-giving-and-consistently/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) ## More by E. O. Wilson > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-is-not-marginal-like-art-it-is-a-universal-possession-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-many-environments-take-away-the-ants-and-there-would-be-partial/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-those-committed-to-the-quest-fail-they-will-be-forgiven-when-lost/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Because the living environment is what really sustains us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/because-the-living-environment-is-what-really-sustains-us/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-variety-of-genes-on-the-planet-in-viruses-exceeds-or-is-likely-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Explore all 253 E. O. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More Biodiversity quotes > [Agricultural demand for water - probably the largest threat to freshwater species - continues to increase. ... Meanwhile, threats to terrestrial biodiversity - primarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indur-m-goklany/agricultural-demand-for-water-probably-the-largest-threat-to/) [Indur M. Goklany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indur-m-goklany/) > [The thing that I think about most often is the loss of biodiversity. We talk about these food issues so often with concern to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-terry/the-thing-that-i-think-about-most-often-is-the-loss-of-biodiversity/) [Bryant Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-terry/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-will-defend-the-absolute-value-of-mozart-over-miley-cyrus-of-course/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Man has created death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/man-has-created-death/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/civilization-has-ceased-to-be-that-delicate-flower-which-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“The bottom line answer to the question about why biodiversity matters is fairly simple: The rest of the living world can get along without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-a-earle/the-bottom-line-answer-to-the-question-about-why-biodiversity-matters/) [Sylvia A. Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-a-earle/) > [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/) > [We share this planet with many species. It is our responsibility to protect them, both for their sakes and our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-a-matson/we-share-this-planet-with-many-species-it-is-our-responsibility-to/) [Pamela A. Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-a-matson/) > [For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/for-us-not-cooperating-in-the-monopoly-regimes-of-intellectual/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [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/) > [An agricultural landscape produces food but it also provides water, requires biodiversity to underpin soil function, pollination and other useful services, and also has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-benton/an-agricultural-landscape-produces-food-but-it-also-provides-water/) [Tim Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-benton/) > [I came to all the realizations about sustainability and biodiversity because I fell in love with the way food tastes. That was it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-came-to-all-the-realizations-about-sustainability-and-biodiversity/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [It is important to recognize that behind the razzmatazz of consumerism, we all remain dependent on basic natural resources - land, air, water and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-topfer/it-is-important-to-recognize-that-behind-the-razzmatazz-of/) [Klaus Topfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-topfer/) > [The byproduct of the main thrust to protect the biodiversity of a given place is that you get especially young people out to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/the-byproduct-of-the-main-thrust-to-protect-the-biodiversity-of-a/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) [Browse all 151 Biodiversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biodiversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. 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