60 Earth Day Quotes That Remind Us to Cherish the Planet

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Short Earth Day quotes

1. “The Earth is what we all have in common.”—Wendell Berry, novelist

2. “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”—Albert Einstein, physicist

3. “Together we can preserve the forest, securing this immense treasure for the future of all these our children.” —Chico Mendes, environmentalist 

4. “Global warming is, quite simply, the biggest thing that humans have ever managed to do.” —Bill McKibben, environmentalist

5. “In nature’s economy the currency is not money, it is life.” —Vandana Shiva, environmental activist 

6. “You have to hold yourself accountable for your actions, and that’s how we’re going to protect the Earth.” —Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist 

7. “All our wisdom is stored in the trees.” —Santosh Kalwar, author 

8. “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” ―Henry David Thoreau, naturalist, writer

9. “We are the environment and how we treat each other is really how we treat the environment.” ―John Francis, environmentalist 

10. “Earth breathes in us.” ―Matthew Edward Hall, author 

11. “I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours.”—Kurt Vonnegut Jr., writer

12. “Start where you are, with what you have. Make something of it and never be satisfied.” —George Washington Carver, agricultural scientist, inventor 

13. “We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.” ―David Brower, environmentalist 

14. “The time to protect a species is while it is still common.” ―Rosalie Edge, environmentalist 

15. “The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.” —António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

16. “And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” —Kahlil Gibran, writer

17. “Do unto those downstream as you have those upstream do unto you.” —Wendell Berry, novelist, poet

18. “Teach us to walk the soft earth as relatives to all that live.”—Sioux prayer

19. “Time spent among trees is never time wasted.”—Katrina Mayer, writer

20. “One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.”—Leo Tolstoy, writer

Since Earth Day is in April, these Earth Day quotes go perfectly with these spring quotes to celebrate the season.

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Funny Earth Day quotes

21. “Why pay money for the horror movies? Just go to a street without trees!”—Mehmet Murat ildan, playwright

22. “Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” —Henry David Thoreau, naturalist, writer

23. “Everybody wants to save the earth; no one wants to help mom do the dishes.” —P.J. O’Rourke, author, journalist 

24. “I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.” —Noel Coward, playwright, composer

25. “Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.” —Lilly Pulitzer, entrepreneur, fashion designer

26. “Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.” —Bill Vaughn, columnist, author 

27. “Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.” —Dave Barry, author 

28. “The earth laughs in flowers.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist

29. “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” —Marshall McLuhan, philosopher 

30. “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well.” —Mark Twain, writer, humorist

31. “Our modern industrial economy takes a mountain covered with trees, lakes, and running streams and transforms it into a mountain of junk, garbage, slime pits, and debris.” —Edward Abbey, author, essayist

32. “I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just not on impact.” —Elon Musk, businessman, investor 

33. “It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.” —Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States

34. “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States

35. “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” —Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist

36. “Of all the trees we could’ve hit, we had to get one that hits back.” —J.K. Rowling, author

37. “For years, I thought the sun was a monster. I’m here to tell you that it’s not a monster. IT’S NOT A MONSTER!” —Howie, “The Benchwarmers”

38. “A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” —Steve Martin, comedian, actor 

39. “There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.” —Robert Orben, comedy writer, magician

40. “Environmentalists have long been fond of saying that the sun is the only safe nuclear reactor, situated as it is some ninety-three million miles away.” —Stephanie Mills, singer-songwriter 

If you love these funny quotes about Earth Day, then you’ll surely laugh at these funny quotes and hilarious sayings, too!

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Inspirational Earth Day quotes

41. “When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money.”—Alanis Obomsawin, Indigenous filmmaker

42.  “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”—Mahatma Gandhi, lawyer, ethicist

43. “Earth Day should encourage us to reflect on what we are doing to make our planet a more sustainable and livable place.”—Scott Peters, Congressman

44.  “The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity.”—Gaylord Nelson, politician, environmentalist

45. “The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”—Rachel Carson, biologist, author

46. “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, historian 

47. “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’”—Sylvia Plath, poet

48. “Let every breath, every word, and every step make the mother earth proud of us.”—Amit Ray, author

49. “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together; all things connect.”—Chief Seattle

50. “The environment is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”—Lady Bird Johnson, former First Lady

51. “To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people’s trash.”—Bill Nye, engineer and Science Guy

52. “Dear old world, You are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.”—Lucy Maud Montgomery, author

53. “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods. There is a rapture on the lonely shore. There is society, where none intrudes by the deep sea, and music in its roar. I love not man the less, but nature more.”—Lord Byron, poet

54. “Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.” —Wangari Maathai, political activist 

55. “The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”—Pope John Paul II

56. “Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again. And suddenly we take the hint.” —Robert Frost, poet

57. “The earth has music for those who listen.”—William Shakespeare, playwright 

58. “Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.”—John Ruskin, art critic

59. “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”—Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist

60. “What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”—Henry David Thoreau, naturalist, writer

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite quotes for over 100 years. The sayings and quips that appear in the magazine’s “Quotable Quotes” (formerly “Remarkable Remarks”) are curated from interviews and essays originally published in the magazine, reprints from trusted titles and other verified sources. For this piece on Earth Day quotes, writer Meghan Jones tapped her experience covering grammar, facts and quotes to ensure that all information is accurate. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.