Joanna Lumley Quotes

It seems that every time mankind is given a lot of energy, we go out and wreck something with it.

Like all animals, human beings have always taken what they want from nature. But we are the rogue species. We are unique in our ability to use resources on a scale and at a speed that our fellow species can't.

The world's forests are being destroyed at the rate of one football field's worth every second. One Tennessee's worth every year.

You know, the environment is fragmenting, and the environment is, in many places, absolutely hideous!

Endangered forests are being slaughtered for toilet paper.

The destruction of the natural beauty, the ecosystems, and the majesty of mountains affect us in ways we're not even aware of. Every time a mountain is beheaded, we chop off a little part of our souls.

Look at timber prices in the late '90s, at around $50. If you count the true damage of cutting down forests, the resultant flooding, insurance claims, and so on, then the timber price should have been $100.

There's a general culture in this country to cut all the trees. It makes me so angry because everyone is cutting and no one is planting.

The tropical rain forests are a telling example. Once cut down, they rarely recover. Rainfall drops, deserts spread, the climate warms.

The development of civilization and industry in general has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests that everything that has been done for their conservation and production is completely insignificant in comparison.

We have serious challenges regarding climate change, unsustainable use of natural resources, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, forests and farmland. Not to mention the huge inequality still prevailing in several parts of the planet.

We cannot but feel uneasy about the losses caused by humanity themselves. Apart from the losses of life and property in destructive wars, the environment and natural resources are also being destroyed by human hands.

Civilization... wrecks the planet from seafloor to stratosphere.

Agriculture is the most destructive industry that we have. More than coal mining and other extractive industries.

Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.

What I have found most surprising is the amount of damage we have done to environment in the course of my lifetime - not even five and a half decades.

What is truly frightening is that, despite our knowledge, we continue to subsidize activities without regard to their environmental—and economic—impact.

Environmental degradation and pollution constrain economic growth, contribute to large-scale migration, harm public health, and engender social unrest.

Food production is ripping the living world apart. Fishing and farming are, by a long way, the greatest cause of extinction and loss of the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Farming is a major cause of climate breakdown, the biggest cause of river pollution and a hefty source of air pollution.

Cutting down a forest for timber adds to GDP, but what we don't record is the loss to our wealth in terms of natural resources.

The most striking thing to me about human space flight and my own personal experience is that I've seen dramatic changes on Earth. We humans are rapidly changing the planet. I've watched Amazonia as the rainforest has been cut down. That's something I've seen out the window. I'm very worried about that.

The facts are there that we have created, man has, a self-inflicted wound that man has created through global warming.

If I were to do a foundation, it would be to promote solar energy. And I'm worried about drilling for oil. I think it is harming the earth, 'cos it drains the layer of oil under the surface, and that could be causing earthquakes. It's like we're giving the earth arthritis. I don't know if that sounds crazy.

The modern assault on the environment began about 50 years ago, during and immediately after World War II.

It does seem really hard to get consumers to do the right thing. It is stupid that we use two tons of steel, glass, and plastic to haul our sorry selves to the shopping mall. It's stupid that we put water in plastic bottles in Fiji and ship it here.