All life is related. And it enables us to construct with confidence the complex tree that represents the history of life

How could I look my grandchildren in the eye and say I knew what was happening to the world and did nothing.

I don't think whole populations are villainous, but Americans are just extraordinarily unaware of all kinds of things. If you live in the middle of that vast continent, with apparently everything your heart could wish for just because you were born there, then why worry? [...] If people lose knowledge, sympathy and understanding of the natural world, they're going to mistreat it and will not ask their politicians to care for it.

Bringing nature into the classroom can kindle a fascination and passion for the diversity of life on earth and can motivate a sense of responsibility to safeguard it.

I suffer much less than many of my colleagues. I am perfectly able to go to Australia and film within three hours of arrival.

They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator.

The reverse side of the coin in having this extraordinary ability to go anywhere, is that no one anywhere is remote any more.