--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we owe future generations is the…" description: "\"What we owe future generations is the subject of growing debate by economists, philosophers, ethicists, public policymakers, and academics of all strip..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/leonor-varela-44867_academics_what-we-owe-future-generations-is-the-su_1114043.jpg" --- # What we owe future generations is the subject of growing… ![“What we owe future generations is the subject of growing debate by economists, philosophers, ethicists, public policymakers, and academics of all stripes. But for me as a mother, the moral implications are very clear. We owe them clean air and fresh water, a healthy planet and a secure future.” quote by Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/leonor-varela-44867_academics_what-we-owe-future-generations-is-the-su_1114043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/leonor-varela-44867_academics_what-we-owe-future-generations-is-the-su_1114043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/leonor-varela-44867_academics_what-we-owe-future-generations-is-the-su_1114043.jpg) > “What we owe future generations is the subject of growing debate by economists, philosophers, ethicists, public policymakers, and academics of all stripes. But for me as a mother, the moral implications are very clear. We owe them clean air and fresh water, a healthy planet and a secure future.” [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must protect natural resources for future generations, as moral duty and practical necessity. **In simple terms:** Protect the planet for kids. Key Takeaway Act now to safeguard resources. Themes environment ethics future generations responsibility sustainability Mood concerned hopeful Type ethical advocacy When to use this quote - policy making - family decisions - community planning - education curricula Key Concepts intergenerational justice stewardship public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we prioritize clean resources in policy? - What personal actions reduce your ecological footprint? A Different Perspective Balancing economic growth with environmental protection is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics/) [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Clean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean/) [Clean air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-air/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Economists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economists/) [Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fresh/) [Fresh water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fresh-water/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-generations/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Generations Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations-subject-2982831/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Healthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy/) [Implications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/implications/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Implications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-implications-888003/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-moral-2982830/) [Owe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owe/) [Owe Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owe-future-2714898/) [Philosophers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophers/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) [Policymakers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policymakers/) [Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public/) [Secure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secure/) [Stripes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stripes/) [Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [We owe at least this much to future generations, from whom we have borrowed a fragile planet called Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/we-owe-at-least-this-much-to-future-generations-from-whom-we-have/) [Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/) > [The most profound and serious indication of the moral implications underlying the ecological problem is the lack of respect for life evident in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-most-profound-and-serious-indication-of-the-moral-implications/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [A nation's budget is full of moral implications; it tells what a society cares about and what it does not care about; it tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/a-nation-s-budget-is-full-of-moral-implications-it-tells-what-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [“I’m guessing if you asked anyone from IT about the moral implications, they would likely extol humanity’s well-documented historical grapples with new transportation technologies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/i-m-guessing-if-you-asked-anyone-from-it-about-the-moral-implications/) [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) > [I wanted to play around with the format, really tear it to pieces and shake it up. For example, if Mitch saves someone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hasselhoff/i-wanted-to-play-around-with-the-format-really-tear-it-to-pieces-and/) [David Hasselhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hasselhoff/) > [Injection of environmental and political perspectives in midstream of the science discussion cannot help the process of inquiry. I believe that persons with relevant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/injection-of-environmental-and-political-perspectives-in-midstream-of/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Obi-Wan understands that the best thing he can do is contribute something positive to the world around him and then to leave. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-witwer/obi-wan-understands-that-the-best-thing-he-can-do-is-contribute/) [Samuel Witwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-witwer/) > [“Christian ethical decisions should be based upon personal honor, interpersonal relationships with others including non-Christians, and moral implications of the decisions. Anything less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-s-haraburda/christian-ethical-decisions-should-be-based-upon-personal-honor/) [Scott S. Haraburda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-s-haraburda/) > [My fear is that many institutions will eventually alter how they treat people who refuse to self-track. There are all sorts of political and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/my-fear-is-that-many-institutions-will-eventually-alter-how-they/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Younger scientists are extremely sensitive to the moral implications of all they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/younger-scientists-are-extremely-sensitive-to-the-moral-implications/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Policy-makers continue to discover that they cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s mindsets”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akrawi/policy-makers-continue-to-discover-that-they-cannot-solve-today-s/) [Widad Akrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akrawi/) > [As policymakers, we need to foster an environment that allows U.S.-based innovators and entrepreneurs to compete and to flourish. Excessive regulations and bureaucratic red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-hall/as-policymakers-we-need-to-foster-an-environment-that-allows-u-s/) [Ralph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-hall/) > [“Good policy makes good things easy to do, and bad things hard to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/good-policy-makes-good-things-easy-to-do-and-bad-things-hard-to-do/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) > [2005 is highly likely to be a more challenging environment, both for policymakers and investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dallara/2005-is-highly-likely-to-be-a-more-challenging-environment-both-for/) [Charles Dallara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dallara/) > [With a foreign policy appropriately rooted in some sense of humanitarian decency, the Central African crisis will not be easily ignored by American policymakers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-johns/with-a-foreign-policy-appropriately-rooted-in-some-sense-of/) [Michael Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-johns/) ## More by Leonor Varela > [Ask any parent what we want for our children, and invariably we say 'a better life.' To that end, we give our time, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/ask-any-parent-what-we-want-for-our-children-and-invariably-we-say-a/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [I don't believe in nudity for nudity's sake, but it's really beautiful when it's done well, when it's within a story. I'm very comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/i-don-t-believe-in-nudity-for-nudity-s-sake-but-it-s-really-beautiful/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [In this business, if you don't have the capacity to step back and have some sort of relativity about things, you're screwed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/in-this-business-if-you-don-t-have-the-capacity-to-step-back-and-have/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [I'm not good with limitations. I tend to like to find my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/i-m-not-good-with-limitations-i-tend-to-like-to-find-my-own/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [I'm not good with limitations. I tend to like to find my own. It hurts sometimes, but it's good. I'm little extreme in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/i-m-not-good-with-limitations-i-tend-to-like-to-find-my-own-it-hurts/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [I don't need jewels and cars. It's about the delicacy of the way I'm handled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/i-don-t-need-jewels-and-cars-it-s-about-the-delicacy-of-the-way-i-m/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [We have chosen to bring future generations into this world of rising seas and warming temperatures, droughts and floods, heat waves and wildfires, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/we-have-chosen-to-bring-future-generations-into-this-world-of-rising/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) > [When we strip away the clothes, the jewelry, that's who we really are. I walk around naked in my house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-varela/when-we-strip-away-the-clothes-the-jewelry-that-s-who-we-really-are-i/) [Leonor Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) [Explore all 9 Leonor Varela quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-varela/) ## More Academics quotes > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) > [“The Nazis had been one thing. The communists were another. But now there were academics crawling all over the palace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/the-nazis-had-been-one-thing-the-communists-were-another-but-now/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) > [Academics are not necessarily nice people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/academics-are-not-necessarily-nice-people/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Knowledge was scattered treasure, education organized it into art, commerce and science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/knowledge-was-scattered-treasure-education-organized-it-into-art/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/anyone-can-write-an-academic-piece-directed-at-other-academics-to/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [I excelled in my academics. But, I also was a cheerleader and I ran track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubi-rose/i-excelled-in-my-academics-but-i-also-was-a-cheerleader-and-i-ran/) [Rubi Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubi-rose/) > [“I think her favorite thing about our . . . collaboration was her actor and musician friends rubbing shoulders with my academic colleagues, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-think-her-favorite-thing-about-our-collaboration-was-her-actor-and/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“The lives of scientists, considered as Lives, almost always make dull reading. For one thing, the careers of the famous and the merely ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/the-lives-of-scientists-considered-as-lives-almost-always-make-dull/) [Peter B. Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-b-medawar/) > [At home, our focus has always been academics and playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-kaushal/at-home-our-focus-has-always-been-academics-and-playing/) [Vicky Kaushal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-kaushal/) > [If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/if-there-s-one-thing-that-no-child-left-behind-has-proven-it-s-that/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [“Just as no monkey is as good-looking as the ugliest of humans, no academic is worthier than the worst of the creators”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/just-as-no-monkey-is-as-good-looking-as-the-ugliest-of-humans-no/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I've always been the type that's more about academics and technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/i-ve-always-been-the-type-that-s-more-about-academics-and-technology/) [Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/) > [We academics - I am an academic - we love complexity. You can write papers about complexity, and the nice thing about complexity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-m-whitesides/we-academics-i-am-an-academic-we-love-complexity-you-can-write-papers/) [George M. Whitesides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-m-whitesides/) > [“There have always been ignorant people, but they haven't always had college degrees to make them unaware of their ignorance. Some people imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-have-always-been-ignorant-people-but-they-haven-t-always-had/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“... I succeeded at math, at least by the usual evaluation criteria: grades. Yet while I might have earned top marks in geometry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ouellette/i-succeeded-at-math-at-least-by-the-usual-evaluation-criteria-grades/) [Jennifer Ouellette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ouellette/) [Browse all 86 Academics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What we owe future generations is the subject of growing debate by economists, philosophers, ethicists, public policymakers, and academics of all stripes. But for me as a mother, the moral implications are very clear. 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