12 Best E.O. Wilson Quotes About Nature, Life, & Sustainability

This week, after the loss of E.O. Wilson, we're looking back on some of the most prolific quotes from his work as a biologist — and his musings about life.

E.O. Wilson was most well-known for his work on insects, bio-diversity, and how humans impact the environment. He was 92.

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Quotes from E. O. Wilson about earth, humans, and making the world a better place:

1. “You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.” — E.O. Wilson

“You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.” — E.O. Wilson quote

2. “If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” — E.O. Wilson

“If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” — E.O. Wilson quote

3. “Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” — E.O. Wilson

“Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” — E.O. Wilson quote

4. “Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.” — E.O. Wilson

“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.” — E.O. Wilson quote

5. “Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds... is not productive.” — E.O. Wilson

“Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds... is not productive.” — E.O. Wilson quote

6. “Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled my energies and drove me in new directions.” — E.O. Wilson

“Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled my energies and drove me in new directions.” — E.O. Wilson quote

7. “A very Faustian choice is upon us: whether to accept our corrosive and risky behavior as the unavoidable price of population and economic growth, or to take stock of ourselves and search for a new environmental ethic.” — E.O. Wilson

“A very Faustian choice is upon us: whether to accept our corrosive and risky behavior as the unavoidable price of population and economic growth, or to take stock of ourselves and search for a new environmental ethic.” — E.O. Wilson quote

8. “Perhaps the time has come to cease calling it the 'environmentalist' view, as though it were a lobbying effort outside the mainstream of human activity, and to start calling it the real-world view.” — E.O. Wilson

“Perhaps the time has come to cease calling it the 'environmentalist' view, as though it were a lobbying effort outside the mainstream of human activity, and to start calling it the real-world view.” — E.O. Wilson quote

9. “The education of women is the best way to save the environment.” — E.O. Wilson

“The education of women is the best way to save the environment.” — E.O. Wilson quote

10. “Change will come slowly, across generations, because old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false.” — E.O. Wilson

→ Read more quotes on activism

“Change will come slowly, across generations, because old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false.” — E.O. Wilson quote

11. “Only in the last moment of human history has the delusion arisen that people can flourish apart from the rest of the living world.” — E.O. Wilson

→ Read the best quotes about hope and optimism