--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our past, our present, and whatever…" description: "\"Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.\" — Sylvia Earle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg" --- # Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future… ![“Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.” quote by Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg) > “Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.” [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Current actions shape past, present, and future outcomes. **In simple terms:** Our actions decide our future. Key Takeaway Act responsibly now. Themes environment responsibility future planning Mood urgent hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - personal lifestyle choices - community projects Key Concepts sustainability intergenerational equity decision making Questions to Reflect On - What can you change today for tomorrow? - How do you balance present needs with future goals? A Different Perspective Immediate impact may be limited by systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutely Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutely-depend-5052057/) [Conservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservation/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Future Absolutely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-absolutely-4189811/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Ocean conservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean-conservation/) [Our future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-future/) [Our past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-past/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-present/) [Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Remains Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains-future-4618962/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I hope that someday we will find evidence that there is intelligent life among humans on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-hope-that-someday-we-will-find-evidence-that-there-is-intelligent/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [Why is it that scuba divers and surfers are some of the strongest advocates of ocean conservation? Because they've spent time in and around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/why-is-it-that-scuba-divers-and-surfers-are-some-of-the-strongest/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [The main task of Socialism - the organization of Socialist production - remains still in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/the-main-task-of-socialism-the-organization-of-socialist-production/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [I became interested in ocean issues in the 1980s when I couldn't take my daughters swimming because of pollution at our local beach. Twenty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/i-became-interested-in-ocean-issues-in-the-1980s-when-i-couldn-t-take/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [We know that when we protect our oceans we're protecting our future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-know-that-when-we-protect-our-oceans-we-re-protecting-our-future/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [I said that the oceans were sick but they're not going to die. There is no death possible in the oceans - there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/i-said-that-the-oceans-were-sick-but-they-re-not-going-to-die-there/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [Without water, our planet would be one of the billions of lifeless rocks floating endlessly in the vastness of the inky-black void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabien-cousteau/without-water-our-planet-would-be-one-of-the-billions-of-lifeless/) [Fabien Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabien-cousteau/) > [The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/the-sea-the-great-unifier-is-man-s-only-hope-now-as-never-before-the/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [The oceans deserve our respect and care, but you have to know something before you can care about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-oceans-deserve-our-respect-and-care-but-you-have-to-know/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [If there's a role for me in something in the future to do with 'The Last of Us,' absolutely I would do it, twice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-baker/if-there-s-a-role-for-me-in-something-in-the-future-to-do-with-the/) [Troy Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-baker/) > [To know the future absolutely it to be trapped into that future absolutely. It collapses time. Present becomes future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/to-know-the-future-absolutely-it-to-be-trapped-into-that-future/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [What's happened with you in future. absolutely its out of your imagination.Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/what-s-happened-with-you-in-future-absolutely-its-out-of-your/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [The wars of the twenty-first century will be fought over water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/the-wars-of-the-twenty-first-century-will-be-fought-over-water/) [Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/) > [“There is no such thing as a man-eating shark, only shark-eating men exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-haynes/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-man-eating-shark-only-shark-eating-men/) [Melissa Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-haynes/) > [Many of us ask what can I, as one person, do, but history shows us that everything good and bad starts because somebody does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/many-of-us-ask-what-can-i-as-one-person-do-but-history-shows-us-that/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) ## More by Sylvia Earle > [We still have 10 percent of the sharks. We still have half of the coral reefs. However, if we wait another 50 years, opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/we-still-have-10-percent-of-the-sharks-we-still-have-half-of-the/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [Health to the ocean means health for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/health-to-the-ocean-means-health-for-us/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [Evolution is not something to be feared. It's to be celebrated, embraced, and understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/evolution-is-not-something-to-be-feared-it-s-to-be-celebrated/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [We are depleting this immense diversity and abundance of life, and it matters tremendously for the future of the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/we-are-depleting-this-immense-diversity-and-abundance-of-life-and-it/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [My mother was known as the 'bird lady' of the neighborhood. Anything injured, or any unusual creature somebody found, they would always come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/my-mother-was-known-as-the-bird-lady-of-the-neighborhood-anything/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [There is this sweet spot in time when we have an opportunity to stop killing sharks and tunas and swordfish and other wildlife in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/there-is-this-sweet-spot-in-time-when-we-have-an-opportunity-to-stop/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [The sudden release of five million barrels of oil, enormous quantities of methane and two million gallons of toxic dispersants into an already greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-sudden-release-of-five-million-barrels-of-oil-enormous-quantities/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [I've always said, 'Underwater or on top, men and women are compatible.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-ve-always-said-underwater-or-on-top-men-and-women-are-compatible/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [With respect to the ocean being the heart of our blue planet: We are often asked, 'How much protection is enough?' We can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/with-respect-to-the-ocean-being-the-heart-of-our-blue-planet-we-are/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [If the sea is sick, we'll feel it. If it dies, we die. Our future and the state of the oceans are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/if-the-sea-is-sick-we-ll-feel-it-if-it-dies-we-die-our-future-and-the/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [The ocean seemed like a sea of Eden. But now we are facing paradise lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-ocean-seemed-like-a-sea-of-eden-but-now-we-are-facing-paradise/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [When you think about the real cost of so-called cheap energy that has driven our prosperity to unprecedented levels, for some of us, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/when-you-think-about-the-real-cost-of-so-called-cheap-energy-that-has/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [When I arrived on the planet, there were only two billion. Wildlife was more abundant, we were less so; now the situation is reversed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/when-i-arrived-on-the-planet-there-were-only-two-billion-wildlife-was/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [I've had the joy of spending thousands of hours under the sea. I wish I could take people along to see what I see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-ve-had-the-joy-of-spending-thousands-of-hours-under-the-sea-i-wish/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [The observations that have developed over the years have given us perspective about where we fit in. We are newcomers, really recent arrivals on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-observations-that-have-developed-over-the-years-have-given-us/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) [Explore all 211 Sylvia Earle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) ## More Conservation quotes > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Conservation and rural-life policies are really two sides of the same policy; and down at the bottom this policy rests upon the fundamental law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/conservation-and-rural-life-policies-are-really-two-sides-of-the-same/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Soft fantasy worlds have a much looser cause-and-effect relationship. Alchemists can turn lead into gold and nobody wonders about how it will impact the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/soft-fantasy-worlds-have-a-much-looser-cause-and-effect-relationship/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I am optimistic globally. So many scientists are working frantically on the reparation of our planet. Unfortunately there are countries who are still destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-irwin/i-am-optimistic-globally-so-many-scientists-are-working-frantically/) [Steve Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-irwin/) > [We must commit ourselves to an 'all of the above' energy approach, with a major focus on increasing domestic production and expanding alternatives fuels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-roskam/we-must-commit-ourselves-to-an-all-of-the-above-energy-approach-with/) [Peter Roskam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-roskam/) > [Listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act could harm bear conservation efforts by eliminating revenues from the carefully-regulated sport hunting of polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ridenour/listing-the-polar-bear-under-the-endangered-species-act-could-harm/) [Amy Ridenour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ridenour/) > [Conservation is humanity caring for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-newhall/conservation-is-humanity-caring-for-the-future/) [Nancy Newhall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-newhall/) > [In our attempt to make conservation easy, we have made it trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/in-our-attempt-to-make-conservation-easy-we-have-made-it-trivial/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [When you defile the pleasant streams, And the wild bird's abiding place, You massacre a million dreams, And cast your spittle in God's face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/when-you-defile-the-pleasant-streams-and-the-wild-bird-s-abiding/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [It's clear that it is in the best interest of business to be part of the conservation, along with governments and civil society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/it-s-clear-that-it-is-in-the-best-interest-of-business-to-be-part-of/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [To Jane Jacob’s three traditional urban values of civic space, human scale and diversity, the current environmental imperative adds two more: conservation and regionalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-calthorpe/to-jane-jacob-s-three-traditional-urban-values-of-civic-space-human/) [Peter Calthorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-calthorpe/) > [Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/something-will-have-gone-out-of-us-as-a-people-if-we-ever-let-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [There is no domestic issue more important to America in the long run than the conservation and proper use of our natural resources, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/there-is-no-domestic-issue-more-important-to-america-in-the-long-run/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-conservation-of-natural-resources-is-the-fundamental-problem/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) [Browse all 579 Conservation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvia Earle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remains-of-our-future-absolutely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conservation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remains-of-our-future-absolutely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/sylvia-earle-1756_conservation_our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remain_1424142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.” — Sylvia Earle", "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": "Sylvia Earle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our past, our present, and whatever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remains-of-our-future-absolutely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/our-past-our-present-and-whatever-remains-of-our-future-absolutely/#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 } } ] } ```