Orchids were not made by an ideal engineer; they are jury-rigged from a limited set of available components.

We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes—one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximum freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way.

...we must be wary of granting too much power to natural selection by viewing all basic capacities of our brain as direct adaptations.

... each with its own beauty, and each with a story to tell.

If genius has any common denominator, I would propose breadth of interest and the ability to construct fruitful analogies between fields.

... a local, indigenous, American bizarre-ity.

We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well - for we will not fight to save what we do not love.