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Home > Dictionary of Science Quotations > Scientist Names Index C > Charles, Prince of Wales Quotes

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Charles, Prince of Wales
(14 Nov 1948 - )

British prince who, while heir apparent to the British throne, takes an active interest in civic issues such as architecture, the environment, education and disadvantaged people.

Science Quotes by Charles, Prince of Wales (9 quotes)


Conservation must come before recreation.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
In The Times (5 Jul 1989).
Science quotes on:  |  Conservation (187)  |  Must (1525)

Forests … are in fact the world’s air-conditioning system—the very lungs of the planet—and help to store the largest body of freshwater on the planet … essential to produce food for our planet’s growing population. The rainforests of the world also provide the livelihoods of more than a billion of the poorest people on this Earth… In simple terms, the rainforests, which encircle the world, are our very life-support system—and we are on the verge of switching it off.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Presidential Lecture (3 Nov 2008) at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Indonesia. On the Prince of Wales website.
Science quotes on:  |  Air (366)  |  Billion (104)  |  Body (557)  |  Deforestation (50)  |  Earth (1076)  |  Essential (210)  |  Fact (1257)  |  Food (213)  |  Forest (161)  |  Freshwater (3)  |  Growing (99)  |  Largest (39)  |  Life (1870)  |  Life-Support (2)  |  Livelihood (13)  |  Lung (37)  |  More (2558)  |  People (1031)  |  Planet (402)  |  Population (115)  |  Population Growth (9)  |  Poverty (40)  |  Rain Forest (34)  |  Simple (426)  |  Storage (6)  |  Store (49)  |  Support (151)  |  Switch (10)  |  System (545)  |  Term (357)  |  Terms (184)  |  Verge (10)  |  World (1850)

It is baffling, I must say, that in our modern world we have such blind trust in science and technology that we all accept what science tells us about everything—until, that is, it comes to climate science. All of a sudden, and with a barrage of sheer intimidation, we are told by powerful groups of deniers that the scientists are wrong and we must abandon all our faith in so much overwhelming scientific evidence. So thank goodness for our young entrepreneurs here this evening, who have the far-sightedness and confidence in what they know is happening to ignore the headless chicken brigade and do something practical to help.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Speech, awards ceremony for green entrepreneurs, Buckingham Palace (30 Jan 2014). As quoted in Benn Quinn, 'Climate Change Sceptics are ‘Headless Chickens’, Says Prince Charles', The Guardian (31 Jan 2014).
Science quotes on:  |  Abandon (73)  |  Accept (198)  |  Acceptance (56)  |  Baffling (5)  |  Barrage (2)  |  Blind (98)  |  Brigade (3)  |  Chicken (12)  |  Climate (102)  |  Climate Change (76)  |  Confidence (75)  |  Do (1905)  |  Entrepreneur (5)  |  Everything (489)  |  Evidence (267)  |  Faith (209)  |  Goodness (26)  |  Happening (59)  |  Help (116)  |  Ignore (52)  |  Ignoring (11)  |  Intimidation (3)  |  Know (1538)  |  Modern (402)  |  Must (1525)  |  Overwhelming (30)  |  Powerful (145)  |  Practical (225)  |  Say (989)  |  Science And Technology (46)  |  Scientific (955)  |  Scientist (881)  |  Something (718)  |  Sudden (70)  |  Technology (281)  |  Tell (344)  |  Thank (48)  |  Trust (72)  |  World (1850)  |  Wrong (246)  |  Young (253)

My Rainforests Project … has three main elements. Firstly, to determine how much funding the rainforest countries need to re-orientate their economies so that the trees are worth more alive than dead.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Presidential Lecture (3 Nov 2008) at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Indonesia. On the Prince of Wales website.
Science quotes on:  |  Alive (97)  |  Dead (65)  |  Deforestation (50)  |  Determine (152)  |  Economy (59)  |  Element (322)  |  Funding (20)  |  More (2558)  |  Project (77)  |  Rain Forest (34)  |  Tree (269)  |  Worth (172)

Scientists themselves readily admit that they do not fully understand the consequences of our many-faceted assault upon the interwoven fabric of atmosphere, water, land and life in all its biological diversity. But things could also turn out to be worse than the current scientific best guess. In military affairs, policy has long been based on the dictum that we should be prepared for the worst case. Why should it be so different when the security is that of the planet and our long-term future?
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Speech, 'Global Security Lecture' at Cambridge University (28 Apr 1993).
Science quotes on:  |  Admit (49)  |  Assault (12)  |  Atmosphere (117)  |  Best (467)  |  Biodiversity (25)  |  Biological (137)  |  Biology (232)  |  Consequence (220)  |  Current (122)  |  Dictum (10)  |  Different (595)  |  Diversity (75)  |  Do (1905)  |  Fabric (27)  |  Future (467)  |  Guess (67)  |  Interwoven (10)  |  Land (131)  |  Life (1870)  |  Long (778)  |  Military (45)  |  Planet (402)  |  Policy (27)  |  Scientific (955)  |  Scientist (881)  |  Security (51)  |  Term (357)  |  Themselves (433)  |  Thing (1914)  |  Turn (454)  |  Understand (648)  |  Understanding (527)  |  Water (503)  |  Why (491)  |  Worst (57)

The simple fact is that the world is not paying for the services the forests provide. At the moment, they are worth more dead than alive–for soya, for beef, for palm oil and for logging, feeding the demand from other countries. … I think we need to be clear that the drivers of rainforest destruction do not originate in the rainforest nations, but in the more developed countries which, unwittingly or not, have caused climate change.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Presidential Lecture (3 Nov 2008) at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Indonesia. On the Prince of Wales website.
Science quotes on:  |  Alive (97)  |  Beef (5)  |  Change (639)  |  Climate (102)  |  Climate Change (76)  |  Dead (65)  |  Deforestation (50)  |  Demand (131)  |  Destruction (135)  |  Develop (278)  |  Do (1905)  |  Fact (1257)  |  Forest (161)  |  Logging (3)  |  Moment (260)  |  More (2558)  |  Nation (208)  |  Oil (67)  |  Originate (39)  |  Other (2233)  |  Pay (45)  |  Rain Forest (34)  |  Service (110)  |  Simple (426)  |  Think (1122)  |  World (1850)  |  Worth (172)

The world's forests need to be seen for what they are—giant global utilities, providing essential public services to humanity on a vast scale. They store carbon, which is lost to the atmosphere when they burn, increasing global warming. The life they support cleans the atmosphere of pollutants and feeds it with moisture. They act as a natural thermostat, helping to regulate our climate and sustain the lives of 1.4 billion of the poorest people on this Earth. And they do these things to a degree that is all but impossible to imagine.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Speech (25 Oct 2007) at the World Wildlife Fund gala dinner, Hampton Court Palace, announcing the Prince's Rainforests Project. On the Prince of Wales website.
Science quotes on:  |  Act (278)  |  Atmosphere (117)  |  Billion (104)  |  Burn (99)  |  Carbon (68)  |  Carbon Cycle (5)  |  Clean (52)  |  Climate (102)  |  Deforestation (50)  |  Degree (277)  |  Do (1905)  |  Earth (1076)  |  Essential (210)  |  Forest (161)  |  Giant (73)  |  Global (39)  |  Global Warming (29)  |  Humanity (186)  |  Imagine (176)  |  Impossible (263)  |  Increase (225)  |  Life (1870)  |  Live (650)  |  Loss (117)  |  Moisture (21)  |  Natural (810)  |  People (1031)  |  Pollution (53)  |  Poverty (40)  |  Public Service (6)  |  Regulation (25)  |  Scale (122)  |  Service (110)  |  Store (49)  |  Support (151)  |  Sustain (52)  |  Thermostat (2)  |  Thing (1914)  |  Utility (52)  |  Vast (188)  |  Warming (24)  |  World (1850)

We have spent the best part of the past century enthusiastically testing the world to utter destruction; not looking closely enough at the long-term impact our actions will have.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Speech, awards ceremony for green entrepreneurs, Buckingham Palace (30 Jan 2014). As quoted in Benn Quinn, 'Climate Change Sceptics are ‘Headless Chickens’, Says Prince Charles', The Guardian (31 Jan 2014).
Science quotes on:  |  Action (342)  |  Best (467)  |  Century (319)  |  Climate Change (76)  |  Destruction (135)  |  Enough (341)  |  Enthusiasm (59)  |  Impact (45)  |  Long (778)  |  Looking (191)  |  Past (355)  |  Spent (85)  |  Term (357)  |  Testing (5)  |  Will (2350)  |  World (1850)

We need to be realistic. There is very little we can do now to stop the ice from disappearing from the North Pole in the Summer. And we probably cannot prevent the melting of the permafrost and the resulting release of methane. In addition, I fear that we may be too late to help the oceans maintain their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. But there is something we can do—and it could make the whole difference and buy us time to develop the necessary low carbon economies. We can halt the destruction of the world’s rainforests—and even restore parts of them—in order to ensure that the forests do what they are so good at—in other words storing carbon naturally. This is a far easier, cheaper and quicker option than imagining we can rely on as yet unproven technology to capture carbon at a cost of some $50 per tonne or, for that matter, imagining we can achieve what is necessary through plantation timber.
— Charles, Prince of Wales
Presidential Lecture (3 Nov 2008) at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Indonesia. On the Prince of Wales website.
Science quotes on:  |  Ability (162)  |  Absorb (54)  |  Absorbing (3)  |  Addition (70)  |  Carbon (68)  |  Carbon Dioxide (25)  |  Cheaper (6)  |  Climate Change (76)  |  Cost (94)  |  Deforestation (50)  |  Destruction (135)  |  Develop (278)  |  Development (441)  |  Difference (355)  |  Disappearance (28)  |  Do (1905)  |  Easier (53)  |  Economy (59)  |  Ensure (27)  |  Fear (212)  |  Forest (161)  |  Global Warming (29)  |  Good (906)  |  Halt (10)  |  Ice (58)  |  Late (119)  |  Little (717)  |  Low (86)  |  Maintain (105)  |  Matter (821)  |  Melting (6)  |  Methane (9)  |  Natural (810)  |  Necessary (370)  |  Necessity (197)  |  North Pole (5)  |  Ocean (216)  |  Order (638)  |  Other (2233)  |  Plantation (2)  |  Pole (49)  |  Prevent (98)  |  Prevention (37)  |  Rain Forest (34)  |  Realism (7)  |  Release (31)  |  Restore (12)  |  Result (700)  |  Something (718)  |  Stop (89)  |  Storage (6)  |  Summer (56)  |  Technology (281)  |  Through (846)  |  Timber (8)  |  Time (1911)  |  Unproven (5)  |  Whole (756)  |  Word (650)  |  World (1850)


See also:
  • Prince Charles - Context of the “Forests are the worlds air-conditioning system” quote - with medium image (500 x 350px).
  • Prince Charles - Context of the “Forests are the worlds air-conditioning system” quote - with large image (800 x 600px).
  • Prince Charles - Context of the “Rainforest countries need to re-orientate their economies so that the trees are worth more alive than dead” quote - with medium image (500 x 350px).
  • Prince Charles - Context of the “Rainforest countries need to re-orientate their economies so that the trees are worth more alive than dead” quote - with large image (800 x 600px).

Carl Sagan Thumbnail In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) -- Carl Sagan
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