Brought into right relationships with the wilderness, man would see that his appropriation of Earth's resources beyond his personal needs would only bring imbalance and begat ultimate loss and poverty by all.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Warns that exploiting resources beyond human needs creates ecological imbalance and eventual scarcity for everyone.
- In plain terms
- Taking more than you need from nature hurts everyone in the long run.
- What can you take from it?
- Limit consumption to personal necessities to ensure sustainability.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you truly need?
- How does your consumption affect others?
Another view
Economic growth models often require resource use beyond basic needs.
More from John Muir
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