I wonder what would happen if we sent out a questionnaire—which incidentally, is one of the things we do best in this country—to all the other animals in the kingdom asking whether or not they would be upset if their brother, homo sapien, were to disappear from the earth. My guess is that we would get back a nearly unanimous answer that not one among them would shed a tear for our passing, since we have created such an unlivable environment for them… Except, maybe the dog who is sort of the Uncle Tom of the animal kingdom.

—Walter Mondale, on the first Earth Day
Via: Charlie Pierce’s wife