“You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for.”
History
“I'm not in politics.”
PoliticsAll Quotes by David Attenborough
“I often get letters, quite frequently, from people who say how they like the programmes a lot, but I never give credit to the almighty power that created nature.”
Nature“The process of making natural history films is to try to prevent the animal knowing you are there, so you get glimpses of a non-human world, and that is a transporting thing.”
History“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.”
Beauty“The whole of science, and one is tempted to think the whole of the life of any thinking man, is trying to come to terms with the relationship between yourself and the natural world. Why are you here, and how do you fit in, and what's it all about.”
Relationship“I had a huge advantage when I started 50 years ago - my job was secure. I didn't have to promote myself. These days there's far more pressure to make a mark, so the temptation is to make adventure television or personality shows. I hope the more didactic approach won't be lost.”
Hope“I can mention many moments that were unforgettable and revelatory. But the most single revelatory three minutes was the first time I put on scuba gear and dived on a coral reef. It's just the unbelievable fact that you can move in three dimensions.”
Time“It's coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It's not just climate change it's sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now.”
Change“Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics.”
Change“Natural history is not about producing fables.”
History“Nature isn't positive in that way. It doesn't aim itself at you. It's not being unkind to you.”
Nature“In the old days... it was a basic, cardinal fact that producers didn't have opinions. When I was producing natural history programmes, I didn't use them as vehicles for my own opinion. They were factual programmes.”
History“People must feel that the natural world is important and valuable and beautiful and wonderful and an amazement and a pleasure.”
Amazing“I think a major element of jetlag is psychological. Nobody ever tells me what time it is at home.”
Home“You can cry about death and very properly so, your own as well as anybody else's. But it's inevitable, so you'd better grapple with it and cope and be aware that not only is it inevitable, but it has always been inevitable, if you see what I mean.”
Death“I don't run a car, have never run a car. I could say that this is because I have this extremely tender environmentalist conscience, but the fact is I hate driving.”
Car“Before the BBC, I joined the Navy in order to travel.”
Travel“I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals.”
History“All we can hope for is that the thing is going to slowly and imperceptibly shift. All I can say is that 50 years ago there were no such thing as environmental policies.”
Environmental“People talk about doom-laden scenarios happening in the future: they are happening in Africa now. You can see it perfectly clearly. Periodic famines are due to too many people living on land that can't sustain them.”
Future