Wetlands Quotes

For many of us, water simply flows from a faucet, and we think little about it beyond this point of contact. We have lost a sense of respect for the wild river, for the complex workings of a wetland, for the intricate web of life that water supports.

Sandra Postel

Rain, Science, Thinking

Sandra Postel (2014). “The Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity”, p.184, Routledge

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Natural erosion had reduced the critical barrier islands in the Gulf, the result of the destruction of some 300,000 acres of wetlands. This amounted to 30 miles of marshlands.

Mortimer Zuckerman

Islands, Erosion, Acres

69 Copy quote
Environmentalists changed the word jungle to rain forest, because no one would give them money to save a jungle. Same with swamps and wetlands.

George Carlin

Rain, Giving, Swamps

40 Copy quote
Im a strong proponent of the restoration of the wetlands, for a lot of reasons. Theres a practical reason, though, when it comes to hurricanes: The stronger the wetlands, the more likely the damage of the hurricane.

George W. Bush

Strong, Restoration, Damage

33 Copy quote
I look at it this way... For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers... so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it's natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse.

George Carlin

Ocean, Cutting, Men

"George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing". TV Special, www.imdb.com. 2005.

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Humans are an infant species, a mere 150,000 years old. But, armed with a massive brain, we've not only survived, we've used our wits to adapt to and flourish in habitats as varied as deserts, Arctic tundra, tropical rainforests, wetlands and high mountain ranges.

David Suzuki

Mountain Ranges, Years, Brain

19 Copy quote
Today, our incentives aren't set up well - you can make a lot of money burning fossil fuels, digging up wetlands, pumping fossil water out of aquifers that will take 10,000 years to recharge, overfishing species in international waters that are close to collapse, and so on.

Ramez Naam

Aquifers, Years, Water

"Q&A with Ramez Naam: Dialogues on the Environment". Interview with Mark Tercek, bigthink.com.

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The "developed" nations had given to the "free market" the status of a god, and were sacrificing to it their farmers, farmlands, and communities, their forests, wetlands, and prairies, their ecosystems and watersheds. They had accepted universal pollution and global warming as normal costs of doing business.

Wendell Berry

Sacrifice, Ecosystems, Community

Wendell Berry (2001). “In the Presence of Fear: Three Essays for a Changed World”

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The number of people displaced by dams is estimated at between 40 million and 80 million, most of them in China and India. The costs of dams were on average 50% above their original estimate. Some designed to reduce flooding made it worse, and there were many unexpected environmental disadvantages, including the extinction of fish and bird species. Half the world's wetlands had been lost because of dams.

Paul Brown

Average, Numbers, People

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Tundra is a huge, forever frozen wetland covering the entire coast of the Arctic Ocean.

Palmer Cox

Ocean, Forever, Covering

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A scientist with a poet's command of language, Cristina Eisenberg writes with precision and passion . . . takes her reader on a breathtaking, sometimes heartbreaking tour of the planet from the Gulf of Maine to the Amazonian rain forests, the tropical coral reefs to old growth forests of the Northwest as well as rivers, lakes, and wetlands. I found the wealth of information not only accessible but riveting . . . Eisenberg's powerful, beautifully written book . . . has the potential to open many people's eyes, minds, and hearts.

Elizabeth Cunningham

Powerful, Rain, Book

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In D.C., I've passed amendments to allocate $6.3 million to keep our waterways open for business, $1 million as a down payment on our wetland restoration - our natural storm protection - and $5 million to ensure that drilling permits are reviewed thoroughly and efficiently.

Cedric Richmond

Storm, Restoration, Protection

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Some types of environmental restoration projects are well-known; restored wetlands, for instance, or coal mine reclamation projects. Recently though, larger dam removal projects have started, a number of them in Washington state.

Matt Gonzalez

Numbers, Environmental, Restoration

"Restore Hetch Hetchy Valley, Vote Yes! on Proposition F" by Matt Gonzalez, www.huffingtonpost.com. November 5, 2012.

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He imagines Owens' body dotted with saltwater reservoirs just below the skin. An entire wetland, populated with tiny fish and birds, thriving in his agitation. A species of dwarf crocodile lazing beside an artery.

Lisa Ling

Dwarves, Bird, Skins

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Explaining why President Bush wasn't following up on his campaign pledge that there would be no loss of wetlands: He didn't say that. He was reading what was given to him in a speech.

Richard Darman

Reading, Loss, President

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He didn't say that. He was reading what was given to him in a speech.

Richard Darman

Smart, Reading, Political

8 Copy quote