I suspect that happiness is not a state but rather a transition. David Attenborough More Quotes by David Attenborough More Quotes From David Attenborough The climate suits me, and London has the greatest serious music that you can hear any day of the week in the world - you think it's going to be Vienna or Paris or somewhere, but if you go to Vienna or Paris and say, 'Let's hear some good music', there isn't any. David Attenborough parisclimatethinking People talk about doom-laden scenarios happening in the future: they are happening in Africa now. You can see it perfectly clearly. Periodic famines are due to too many people living on land that can't sustain them. David Attenborough doomlandpeople It is vital that there is a narrator figure whom people believe. That's why I never do commercials. If I started saying that margarine was the same as motherhood, people would think I was a liar. David Attenborough motherhoodliarsbelieve I would love to go and see the Himalayan Mountain Kingdoms. There are very few left now. I would loved to have gone to Tibet and Nepal. And there are still parts of central Asia that are utterly unexplored. David Attenborough mountainkingdomsgone It was regarded as a responsibility of the BBC to provide programs which have a broad spectrum of interest, and if there was a hole in that spectrum, then the BBC would fill it. David Attenborough programholesresponsibility Crying wolf is a real danger. David Attenborough cryrealdanger You'll discover in countries where women have control over their own bodies, where they have education, where they have birth control, where they have facilities and where they are literate, when those things happen, the birth rate falls. David Attenborough birth-ratecountryfall I've been bitten by a python. Not a very big one. I was being silly, saying: 'Oh, it's not poisonous' Then, wallop! But you have fear around animals. David Attenborough pythonsillyanimal You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for. David Attenborough environmentdecisionnatural Steve Irwin did wonderful conservation work but I was uncomfortable about some of his stunts. Even if animals aren't aware that you are not treating them with respect, the viewers are. David Attenborough conservationwonderfulanimal I don't approve of sunbathing, and it's bad for you. David Attenborough sunbathingappreciate The idea that the Lord had given us a present, that the world is a gift from God... well, the amount of stuff, back then, that the Lord was giving away was limited. We do not have dominion. David Attenborough godgivingideas I'm luckier than my grandfather, who didn't move more than five miles from the village in which he was born. David Attenborough villagegrandfathermoving The more you go on, the less you need people standing between you and the animal and the camera waving their arms about. David Attenborough camerasanimalpeople The reverse side of the coin in having this extraordinary ability to go anywhere, is that no one anywhere is remote any more. David Attenborough abilitycoinssides I remember when we were in the World Cup in Australia and I had to win the singles against Tony Payne, best of seven legs, to win it. I was 2-0 down but ended up beating him I suffer much less than many of my colleagues. I am perfectly able to go to Australia and film within three hours of arrival. David Attenborough australiasufferingwinning We keep putting on programmes about famine in Ethiopia; that’s what’s happening. Too many people there. They can’t support themselves — and it’s not an inhuman thing to say. It’s the case. Until humanity manages to sort itself out and get a coordinated view about the planet it’s going to get worse and worse. David Attenborough supportviewspeople All we can hope for is that the thing is going to slowly and imperceptibly shift. All I can say is that 50 years ago there were no such thing as environmental policies. David Attenborough environmentalpolicyyears I've never actually met one in the wild, but I have seen a king cobra. They go towards people, they rear up six feet tall and they're very aggressive and they are very fast. And one bite means certain death. So if I encountered a king cobra in the wild I would be very alarmed. David Attenborough kingsfeetmean I don't think whole populations are villainous, but Americans are just extraordinarily unaware of all kinds of things. If you live in the middle of that vast continent, with apparently everything your heart could wish for just because you were born there, then why worry? [...] If people lose knowledge, sympathy and understanding of the natural world, they're going to mistreat it and will not ask their politicians to care for it. David Attenborough heartpeoplethinking
