35 Inspirational David Attenborough Quotes on Success

Sir David Attenborough is an English broadcaster and natural historian. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural history documentary series forming the Life collection that together constitute a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth. He is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programs in each of black and white, color, HD, 3D, and 4K. Attenborough is widely considered a national treasure in Britain, although he himself does not like the term. May these David Attenborough Quotes On Success inspire you to take action so that you may live your dreams.

1. “What humans do over the next 50 years will determine the fate of all life on the planet.” David Attenborough

2. “Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, perhaps we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment.” David Attenborough

3. “The future of life on earth depends on our ability to take action. Many individuals are doing what they can, but real success can only come if there’s a change in our societies and our economics and in our politics. I’ve been lucky in my lifetime to see some of the greatest spectacles that the natural world has to offer. Surely we have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy, inhabitable by all species.” David Attenborough

4. “It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” David Attenborough

5. “You know, it’s a terrible thing to appear on television, because people think you actually know what you’re talking about.” David Attenborough

6. “No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced.” David Attenborough

7. “The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?” David Attenborough

8. “If we [humans] disappeared overnight, the world would probably be better off.” David Attenborough

9. “The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the earth.” David Attenborough

10. “People must feel that the natural world is important and valuable and beautiful and wonderful and an amazement and a pleasure.” David Attenborough

11. “The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water, and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.” David Attenborough

12. “We can now destroy or we can cherish, the choice is ours.” David Attenborough

13. “Trade is a proper and decent relationship, with dignity and respect on both sides.” David Attenborough

14. “Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” David Attenborough

15. “You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That’s what natural history programs should be for.” David Attenborough

16. “There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what part humans are playing in it.” David Attenborough

17. “Anyone who believes in indefinite growth on a physically finite planet is either mad or an economist.” David Attenborough

18. “An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment.” David Attenborough

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

20. “The idea that the Lord had given us a present, that the world is a gift from God – well, the amount of stuff, back then, that the Lord was giving away was limited. We do not have dominion.” David Attenborough

21. “The world is full of wonders, but they become more wonderful, not less wonderful when science looks at them.” David Attenborough

22. “I’m not over-fond of animals. I am merely astounded by them.” David Attenborough

23. “There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive.” David Attenborough

24. “All the modern devices we have enable us to investigate things and have enabled us to do better.” David Attenborough

25. “I think a major element of jet lag is psychological. Nobody ever tells me what time it is at home.” David Attenborough

26. “We really need to kick the carbon habit and stop making our energy from burning things. Climate change is also really important. You can wreck one rainforest then move, drain one area of resources and move onto another, but climate change is global.” David Attenborough

27. “Being in touch with the natural world is crucial.” David Attenborough

28. “The fundamental issue is the moral issue.” David Attenborough

29. “We can now manipulate images to such an extraordinary extent that there’s no lie you cannot tell.” David Attenborough

30. “As far as I’m concerned, if there is a supreme being then He chose organic evolution as a way of bringing into existence the natural world, which doesn’t seem to me to be necessarily blasphemous at all.” David Attenborough

31. “It’s extraordinary how self-obsessed human beings are. The things that people always go on about are, ‘tell us about us’, ‘tell us about the first human being’. We are so self-obsessed with our own history. There is so much more out there than what connects to us.” David Attenborough

32. “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.” David Attenborough

33. “Humanity is facing a very big, slow, long, drawn-out threat, and that is to do with the way the weather is changing and the size of the population.” David Attenborough

34. “Climate change will affect the whole of humanity.” David Attenborough

35. “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.” David Attenborough

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