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.'”

“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.”

“Credibility is the currency of government.”

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

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

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

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

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