--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, perhaps the greatest achievement…" description: "\"Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and we didn't know it at the time, was we held an Earth Day in 1970, and out of that Earth Day a lot of student..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg" --- # Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and we didn't know… ![“Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and we didn't know it at the time, was we held an Earth Day in 1970, and out of that Earth Day a lot of students got involved in saving the environment, or trying to.” quote by Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg) > “Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and we didn't know it at the time, was we held an Earth Day in 1970, and out of that Earth Day a lot of students got involved in saving the environment, or trying to.” [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Earth Day sparked environmental activism, influencing many to engage in ecological protection, though the impact was not fully recognized at the time. **In simple terms:** Earth Day inspired environmental action. Key Takeaway Support and expand environmental initiatives. Themes environment activism history awareness education Mood hopeful determined Type historical motivational When to use this quote - school projects - policy advocacy - community clean‑ups - public awareness campaigns Key Concepts Environmental movement grassroots organizing Questions to Reflect On - What lasting changes have resulted from Earth Day? - How can we keep environmental momentum alive? A Different Perspective Initial enthusiasm may wane without sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-day/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Greatest achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-achievement/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When we held the first Earth Day, everyone said it was a success because of the huge turnout. It was probably the largest planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/when-we-held-the-first-earth-day-everyone-said-it-was-a-success/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [I tell my students, it's got to be warm, dry, and noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-mockbee/i-tell-my-students-it-s-got-to-be-warm-dry-and-noble/) [Samuel Mockbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-mockbee/) > [ I told the students \[at Yale\] we were going to talk about love - I meant love in the sense of devotions to one's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-told-the-students-at-yale-we-were-going-to-talk-about-love-i-meant/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Yeah, 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth.' I almost hate to admit what it was originally intended to be, but it's been taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-mael/yeah-never-turn-your-back-on-mother-earth-i-almost-hate-to-admit-what/) [Ron Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-mael/) > [Given that it takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat, I think we can also go a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-terry/given-that-it-takes-up-to-16-pounds-of-grain-to-produce-one-pound-of/) [Bryant Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-terry/) > [“Myth: we have to save the earth. Frankly, the earth doesn't need to be saved. Nature doesn't give a hoot if human beings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-rathje/myth-we-have-to-save-the-earth-frankly-the-earth-doesn-t-need-to-be/) William L. Rathje > [I'm excited for the one day of the year when green's meaning shifts from saving the environment to polluting our major organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-excited-for-the-one-day-of-the-year-when-green-s-meaning-shifts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That's our mirror. Every dip, every crash, every bubble that's burst, a testament to our brilliant stupidity. This one gave us the railroads. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-prebble/that-s-our-mirror-every-dip-every-crash-every-bubble-that-s-burst-a/) [Lucy Prebble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-prebble/) > [Helping someone come to a saving knowledge of Christ is the greatest achievement possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/helping-someone-come-to-a-saving-knowledge-of-christ-is-the-greatest/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [The greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-greatest-achievement-of-humanity-is-not-its-works-of-art-science/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The greatest achievement of a human being is love God, yourself and others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sesethu-maxamba/the-greatest-achievement-of-a-human-being-is-love-god-yourself-and/) Sesethu Maxamba > [Will you be remembered, how would you be remembered, why wouldn’t you fight for the greatest achievement ever?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-lewis/will-you-be-remembered-how-would-you-be-remembered-why-wouldn-t-you/) [Ray Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-lewis/) > [ \[On Hollywood:\] America's greatest achievement. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/on-hollywood-america-s-greatest-achievement/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [If I had to say what my one greatest achievement is, it's that I lasted, and I'm still happy. I hope that comes through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleve-jones/if-i-had-to-say-what-my-one-greatest-achievement-is-it-s-that-i/) [Cleve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleve-jones/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) ## More by Pete McCloskey > [Congressmen are like diapers - You need to change them often, and for the same reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/congressmen-are-like-diapers-you-need-to-change-them-often-and-for/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) > [The Republican Party is not in the hands of the Jewish lobby in America as the Democratic Party must look quite often to Jewish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/the-republican-party-is-not-in-the-hands-of-the-jewish-lobby-in/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) > [In my time, we served with noble and ethical leaders: Gerry Ford, Bob Michael, John Rhodes, men of impeccable honesty. We didn't have anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/in-my-time-we-served-with-noble-and-ethical-leaders-gerry-ford-bob/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) > [The result was, when Congress convened in January 1971, everyone was now an environmentalist. They had seen a new force, college students, who favored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/the-result-was-when-congress-convened-in-january-1971-everyone-was/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) > [We were environmentalists of the Teddy Roosevelt theory. We believed in separation of church and state. We believed in the independence of the Supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/we-were-environmentalists-of-the-teddy-roosevelt-theory-we-believed/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) > [My wife and I have spent half our lives, half our adult lives, trying to save special parts of California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/my-wife-and-i-have-spent-half-our-lives-half-our-adult-lives-trying/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) [Explore all 7 Pete McCloskey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and we didn't know it at the time, was we held an Earth Day in 1970, and out of that Earth Day a lot of students got involved in saving the environment, or trying to.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete McCloskey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-and-we-didn-t-know-it-at-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-and-we-didn-t-know-it-at-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/pete-mccloskey-52073_achievement_well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-an_3045340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and we didn't know it at the time, was we held an Earth Day in 1970…” — Pete McCloskey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pete McCloskey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Well, perhaps the greatest achievement, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-and-we-didn-t-know-it-at-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/well-perhaps-the-greatest-achievement-and-we-didn-t-know-it-at-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```