So all in all we have been careless caretakers of our ward. We have slashed forests, dirtied skies, drained wetlands, overgrazed pastures, stunted mountains, acidified rain, degraded rivers, turned cities into smudge-pots, and driven once abundant species to the brink of extinction or over it…. 

            It’s a hell of a record.

“Memos to a New Millennium” broadcast December 31, 1999 on NPR