William Ruckelshaus

“I said, 'Mr. President, it seems to me the only way out of this is for you to obey the order of the court.'”

“The best public policy is made when you are listening to people who are going to be impacted.”

“Restoring nature to its natural state is a cause beyond party and beyond factions.”

“In our system of government, the president can fire anyone in the executive branch he wants to fire... but he can’t make me do it.”

“The first rule of ecology is that everything is connected to everything else.”

“These are the stakes. To preserve our health, our safety, our environment and our economy, we must act.”

“Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites.”

“Credibility is the currency of government.”

“Environmental protection is not a partisan issue. It's a universal value.”

“The task of the Environmental Protection Agency is to be the conscience of the federal government.”

“A clean environment is a human right. It is not a privilege.”

“We have to be more concerned with the guts of the problem and the true meaning of the problem than the image of the problem.”

“Institutions are the lengthened shadows of people.”

“Unless we are willing to encourage our children to reconnect with and appreciate the natural world, we can't expect them to help protect and care for it.”

“Public trust is the most important ingredient in the democratic process.”

“Sustainability is the key to our survival on this planet and will also determine success on all levels.”