60 Inspirational Earth Day Quotes to Encourage a Better World

Earth, the beautiful place we call home, is in major need of some TLC. As the world faces unprecedented weather events and rising temperatures caused by climate change, we must all pitch in and do our part to help preserve the planet.

Whether that’s shopping sustainably, recycling, or composting, our environmental efforts should be prioritized because without the earth, all living things would cease to exist. That’s why it’s important to get the facts and raise awareness to save our beloved planet.

In celebration of Earth Month, we’ve rounded up some of the best Earth Day quotes to inspire and promote a healthier, greener, and more vibrant environment.

While Earth Day is a good starting point, let’s make honoring Mother Nature an ongoing effort so that future generations can live long, full lives for centuries to come.

• “Earth breathes in us.” ― Matthew Edward Hall
• “The time to protect a species is while it is still common.” ― Rosalie Edge
• “Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” — Khalil Gibran
  
• “If the environment is happy, people will laugh and your grief will go away.”― Srinivas Mishra
• “The earth is always changing...readjusting to our existence. Each era is full of unique challenges”― Val Uchendu
• “Land really is the best art.” —Andy Warhol
• “The Earth is what we all have in common.”—Wendell Berry
• “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” —Albert Einstein
• “To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people’s trash.” —Bill Nye
• “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and my soul.” —John Muir
• “Nature does not hurry yet everything is accomplished.” —Lao Tzu
• “The sun does not forget a village just because it is small.” —African Proverb
• “The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful”. —E. E. Cummings
• “You don’t live on earth, you are passing through.” —Rumi
• “We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” —Albert Einstein
• “The miracle is not to fly in the air or to walk on water, but to walk on the earth.” —Chinese proverb
• “I firmly believe nature brings solace in all troubles.” —Anne Frank
• “No one comes from the earth like grass. We come like trees. We all have roots.” —Maya Angelou
• “Nature is an infinite sphere of which the centre is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.” —Blaise Pascal
• “It looks big, Earth. But there are lots of us on here (7,523,458,567 and counting) so be kind.” —Oliver Jeffers
• “The most environmentally friendly product is the one you didn’t buy.” —Joshua Becker
• “We are on Earth to take care of life. We are on Earth to take care of each other.” — Xiye Bastida
• “You can never see a plant grow, but they do.” —Carol Plum-Ucci

• “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall
• “The time to answer the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet is now. You can make history or be vilified by it.” ― Leonardo DiCaprio
• “I know for sure I’m merely the steward of this land. It’s a treasure no person could ever own.” —Oprah Winfrey
• “Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again. And suddenly we take the hint.” — Robert Frost
  
• “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” — Henry David Thoreau
  
• “The ultimate test of a man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” — Gaylord Nelson
• “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”— Robert Swan
• “If every day were Earth Day we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in.”— Neil deGrasse Tyson
• “I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.”— Mother Teresa
• “A vibrant, fair, and regenerative future is possible — not when thousands of people do climate justice activism perfectly but when millions of people do the best they can.”— Xiye Bastida
• “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.”— Barack Obama
• “You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulder. It is good to remember that the planet is carrying you.”— Vandana Shiva
• “Together we can preserve the forest, securing this immense treasure for the future of all these children.”— Chico Mendes
• “Earth rejoices our words, breathing and peaceful steps. Let every breath, every word and every step make the mother earth proud of us.”― Amit Ray
• “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
• “The real you is loving, joyful and free. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.” —Don Miguel Ruiz
• “Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and it will destroy you.” —Aboriginal Proverb
• “And He knows what is in the land and sea. Not even a leaf falls without His knowledge, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth or anything—green or dry—but is ˹written˺ in a perfect Record.” —Quran 6:59
• “Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.” —Eckhart Tolle
• “For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
• “There is no medicine you can take that has such a direct influence on your health as a walk in a beautiful forest.” —Dr. Qing Li
• “You don’t have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.” — Annie Dillard
• “Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.” —Dr. Sylvia Earle
• “The wanting was a wilderness and I had to find my own way out of the woods.” —Cheryl Strayed
• “Every day is Earth Day, and I vote we start investing in a secure climate future right now.” —Jackie Speier
• “All we have to do is to wake up and change.” —Greta Thunberg

• “Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.” — Lilly Pulitzer
• “I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just not on impact.” —Elon Musk
• “I don’t know whether nice people tend to grow roses or growing roses makes people nice.” —Roland A. Browne
• “If you can’t be in awe of Nature, there’s something wrong with you.” —Alex Trebek
• “Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do.”—Michel de Montaigne
• “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” —Carl Sagan
• “It is a blessing to be the color of the earth; do you know how often flowers confuse me for home?” —Rupi Kaur
• “What about naming trees?…if we have a tree in our name, we want that tree to live.” —Jane Goodall
• “One reason I wanted to go vegetarian was to help save the environment…I highly recommend it. You’re saving animals, you’re saving the planet, you’re saving a lot of time at Thanksgiving.” —Lily Singh
• “It's Earth day. I wonder if we can plant more trees than people for a change?” —Stanley Victor Paskavich
• “Nature gives a free lunch, yet just in the event that we control our cravings.” —William Ruckelshaus

Lilli Iannella

Editorial Intern

Lilli (she/her) is an editorial intern at Good Housekeeping and a senior undergraduate student at Syracuse University majoring in magazine, news and digital journalism. When she’s not looking into the latest news and trends, she’s seeking her new favorite ice cream flavor or dream travel destination. She has previously covered news at The Daily Orange and The Evening Sun and lifestyle content at The Fit Magazine and Jerk Magazine.