--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ecology of the valley was complex…" description: "\"The ecology of the valley was complex beyond our understanding, and it began to die as we went on manipulating it in ever more frantic ways. As it went..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/william-kittredge-23535_complexes_the-ecology-of-the-valley-was-complex-be_2966142.jpg" --- # The ecology of the valley was complex beyond our… ![“The ecology of the valley was complex beyond our understanding, and it began to die as we went on manipulating it in ever more frantic ways. As it went dead and empty of the old life it became a place where no one wanted to live. In our right minds we want to seek out places that reek of…” quote by William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/william-kittredge-23535_complexes_the-ecology-of-the-valley-was-complex-be_2966142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/william-kittredge-23535_complexes_the-ecology-of-the-valley-was-complex-be_2966142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/william-kittredge-23535_complexes_the-ecology-of-the-valley-was-complex-be_2966142.jpg) > “The ecology of the valley was complex beyond our understanding, and it began to die as we went on manipulating it in ever more frantic ways. As it went dead and empty of the old life it became a place where no one wanted to live. In our right minds we want to seek out places that reek of complexity. Our drive to industrialize soured and undercut the intimacies that drew most people to country life in the first place.” [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human interference disrupts complex ecosystems, leading to decline and loss of livability. **In simple terms:** Manipulating nature harms its complexity and habitability. Key Takeaway Respect ecological complexity. Themes environment industrialization loss Mood concerned reflective Type environmental philosophical When to use this quote - urban planning - conservation - policy making - education Key Concepts sustainability ecosystem dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance development with ecological health? - What policies could protect complex ecosystems? A Different Perspective Economic growth often outweighs ecological concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-life/) [Ecology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecology/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Frantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frantic/) [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Old life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Undercut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undercut/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [“Anyone who truly wants to escape human solipsism should not seek out empty places. Instead of fleeing to desert, where they will be thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/anyone-who-truly-wants-to-escape-human-solipsism-should-not-seek-out/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [Depression makes you seek lonely places, and that is what I started doing during the second semester of my first year in college. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-abeel/depression-makes-you-seek-lonely-places-and-that-is-what-i-started/) Samantha Abeel > [It's important to remember that Britain was the first country to industrialize, so I think there's a strong argument to say this is where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/it-s-important-to-remember-that-britain-was-the-first-country-to/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [I don't believe it is in the state's interest to industrialize our ridge lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-it-is-in-the-state-s-interest-to-industrialize-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who do not industrialize become hewers of wood and hawkers of water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/those-who-do-not-industrialize-become-hewers-of-wood-and-hawkers-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It takes more than industry to industrialize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman-rostow/it-takes-more-than-industry-to-industrialize/) Walt Whitman Rostow > [I like doom and gloom with a sense of humour. 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Rather, trade wars begin when one country decides to violate international trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-wyden/trade-wars-arent-started-by-countries-appealing-to-respected/) [Ron Wyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-wyden/) > [At a time when the insurgents are saying that time is working against them, my Democratic colleagues are introducing a measure to set a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-a-time-when-the-insurgents-are-saying-that-time-is-working-against/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Charge less, but charge. 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Maybe that undercut hairstyle from my youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-widdicombe/i-m-lucky-that-i-don-t-have-any-big-regrets-maybe-that-undercut/) [Josh Widdicombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-widdicombe/) > [The U.S. couldn't play a military role in different areas like Iraq and Afghanistan without huge quantities of oil. So a shortage or disruption…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-klare/the-u-s-couldn-t-play-a-military-role-in-different-areas-like-iraq/) [Michael Klare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-klare/) > [I think Republicans have spent years promising their base that they would get rid of Obamacare the second they took total control. Now, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/i-think-republicans-have-spent-years-promising-their-base-that-they/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) ## More by William Kittredge > [Writing is a funny business. You sit in your room and listen to voices and write everything down. What kind of a profession is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/writing-is-a-funny-business-you-sit-in-your-room-and-listen-to-voices/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [Up there on Huckleberry Mountain, I couldn't sleep ... As the sky broke light over the peaks of Glacier, I found myself deeply moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/up-there-on-huckleberry-mountain-i-couldn-t-sleep-as-the-sky-broke/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [“Sometimes there is no choice but to walk into your own house. Far away, you think, and you do not want to see. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/sometimes-there-is-no-choice-but-to-walk-into-your-own-house-far-away/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [The specific danger is us; we are rampant; this earth is our only friend; we are destroying it increment by increment at a horrific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/the-specific-danger-is-us-we-are-rampant-this-earth-is-our-only/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [In a story, nothing is real until it is acted upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/in-a-story-nothing-is-real-until-it-is-acted-upon/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [I had discovered a terrible vulnerability I myself which I think of not as cowardliness but as an ability to imagine too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/i-had-discovered-a-terrible-vulnerability-i-myself-which-i-think-of/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [In learning to pay respectful attention to one another and plants and animals, we relearn the acts of empathy, and thus humility and compassion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/in-learning-to-pay-respectful-attention-to-one-another-and-plants-and/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [“We must define a story which encourages us to make use of the place where we live without killing it, and we must understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/we-must-define-a-story-which-encourages-us-to-make-use-of-the-place/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [What I wanted was some dreamlike Frank Lloyd Wright bungalow where we could sit on the veranda forever and it would always be twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/what-i-wanted-was-some-dreamlike-frank-lloyd-wright-bungalow-where-we/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [I want to think I deserve what I get. I don't want to consider how vastly I am overly rewarded. I don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/i-want-to-think-i-deserve-what-i-get-i-don-t-want-to-consider-how/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [Places come to exist in our imaginations because of stories, and so do we. When we reach for a "sense of place," we posit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/places-come-to-exist-in-our-imaginations-because-of-stories-and-so-do/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [A man ... needs to get out in the open air and sweat and blow off the stink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/a-man-needs-to-get-out-in-the-open-air-and-sweat-and-blow-off-the/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [Don't worry about meaning. If a story's any good, it can't help but have meaning. Let the PhDs tell you what your story means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/don-t-worry-about-meaning-if-a-story-s-any-good-it-can-t-help-but/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [We tell stories to talk out the trouble in our lives, trouble otherwise so often so unspeakable. It is one of our main ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/we-tell-stories-to-talk-out-the-trouble-in-our-lives-trouble/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [Our old pilgrims believed stories in which the West was a promise, a place where decent people could escape the wreckage of failed lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/our-old-pilgrims-believed-stories-in-which-the-west-was-a-promise-a/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) [Explore all 25 William Kittredge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. 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This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Browse all 1,635 Complexes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ecology of the valley was complex beyond our understanding, and it began to die as we went on manipulating it in ever more frantic ways. As it went dead and empty of the old life it became a place where no one wanted to live. In our right minds we want to seek out places that reek of complexity. 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