"We can survive as a population only if we conserve, develop sustainably, and protect the world's resources"
About this Quote
The trio of verbs does careful political work. “Conserve” nods to restraint and intergenerational duty, a word that can appeal to fiscal conservatives as much as climate activists. “Develop sustainably” softens the austerity of conservation by conceding that growth and modernity aren’t going away; it invites industry and governments into the tent without letting them set it on fire. “Protect” brings moral force and legal implication: resources aren’t just to be managed, they’re to be defended, implying regulation, enforcement, and the legitimacy of state power.
The subtext is coalition-building under pressure. By saying “world’s resources,” Cartwright shifts the frame from national parks to global systems: water, soil, fisheries, energy, atmosphere. It’s a vocabulary shaped by late-20th-century politics, when environmentalism had to be translated into governance: treaties, impact assessments, and the emerging mainstream idea of “sustainable development” after the Brundtland era.
Most of all, the sentence uses fear responsibly. It doesn’t predict apocalypse; it sets a condition for survival. That conditional structure turns anxiety into a policy mandate: stewardship isn’t optional virtue, it’s the price of admission to the future.
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cartwright, Silvia. (2026, January 14). We can survive as a population only if we conserve, develop sustainably, and protect the world's resources. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-can-survive-as-a-population-only-if-we-164562/
Chicago Style
Cartwright, Silvia. "We can survive as a population only if we conserve, develop sustainably, and protect the world's resources." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-can-survive-as-a-population-only-if-we-164562/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"We can survive as a population only if we conserve, develop sustainably, and protect the world's resources." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-can-survive-as-a-population-only-if-we-164562/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.










