To understand the living present, and the promise of the future, it is necessary to remember the past.

To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.

There is one quality that characterizes all of us who deal with the sciences of the earth and its life - we are never bored.

The more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became. I realized that here was the material for a book. What I discovered was that everything which meant most to me as a naturalist was being threatened, and that nothing I could do would be more important.

For the sense of smell, almost more than any other, has the power to recall memories and it's a pity we use it so little.

Knowing what I do, there would be no future peace for me if I kept silent... It is, in the deepest sense, a privilege as well as a duty to speak out to many thousands of people.

The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.