"It is undoubtedly the case that the expansionary dynamics of capital
accumulation have led to widespread ecological degradation and social
hardship. One of the most basic reasons for this is that the profit motive
demands that firms 'grow or die.' This imperative for continual economic
growth does not respect physical limits to growth or ecological carrying
capacity. The upshot is that there are many situations in which market
rationality gives rise to 'negative externalities' such as resource
depletion and pollution, which are the unintended and unwanted side-effects
of capital acumulation. These externalities are usually borne by those who
do not produce or consume the goods or services in question. However, there
are some situations, such as the exploitation of common property or 'free
environmental goods,' where market rationality creates outcomes that are
worse for all agents. This is illustrated in game theory by the
Prisoners' Dilemma and by Garrett Hardin's oft-quoted parable of the 'tragedy
of the commons.'"
"Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone
into a new place, there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and
excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the
unknown, and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going
into. What you are doing is exploring. You are undertaking the first
experience of our essential loneliness, for nobody can explore the world
for anybody else. It is only after we have discovered it for ourselves
that it becomes a common ground and a common bond, and we cease to be
alone."
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong
man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is
marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and
comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and
shortcomings, who knows the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy
cause, who at best knows in the end the high achievement of triumph and who
at worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place shall never be
with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Teddy Roosevelt