“I'm very pessimistic about the future of the human species. We have been so indifferent to life on the whole that it will take its toll. It's not just the polar bears that are having a hard time; what we're doing is gradually impoverishing and poisoning the whole of the rest of life.” HumansHas BeensHardWholeBearsSpeciesHard TimesIndifferentPessimisticTollsPoisoningHuman SpeciesRest Of LifeHaving A Hard TimePolar Bears Author:W. S. Merwin
“There is part of a structure in which every species is related to every other species. And they're built up on species, like a pyramid. The simpler cell organisms, and then the more complicated ones, all the way up to the mammals and birds and so forth. We call it 'developing upward'... The whole thing depends on every part of it. And we're taking out the stones from the pyramid.” WayWholeDependsBirdBuiltStonesStructureSpeciesComplicatedCellsDevelopingRelatedOrganismsPyramidsMammals Author:W. S. Merwin
“We're losing a species every few seconds. We cannot put them back. If we change our mind and say, 'Oops, we made a mistake' - it's too late. This is the world we live with.” IfsWorldMindMadeMistakeLateLosingSpeciesToo LateSecondsMade A Mistake Author:W. S. Merwin
“Politically it would be terribly repressive to prevent people from having as many children as they want. But something's got to prevent it; and it won't be pleasant... We're still behaving in ways that have become disastrous... I don't think this helps us to survive... We're very species-centric... and now exist at the expense of every other form of life on Earth.” PeopleThinkingWayWantChildrenStillsHelpingWould BeEarthFormSpeciesPleasantExpenses Author:W. S. Merwin
