Jane Goodall Explains Why She Hasn’t Lost ‘Hope’​ Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close

An Interview With Jane Goodall About Her Book of Hope

The famous naturalist explains why she s optimistic about the fate of the planet

Courtesy Andrew Zuckerman s status as the world’s most famous and beloved naturalist has only grown in the six decades since she first went to Tanzania to begin her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees. Now, as the effects of global warming have become more visible and alarming, she’s using her international celebrity to urge against despair in The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, written with journalist Douglas Abrams. Without hope, she argues, people won’t be inspired to take action.
Goodall, 87, talked to AARP by phone from her home in England — the same house where she was raise d — about her remarkable career, how she still struggles with fame, and why she continues to feel optimistic about the planet’s future. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

She hopes young people will devote themselves to a better world

I truly believe that we have a window of time during which we can start healing the harm we have inflicted on the planet, and loss of biodiversity. It is not a big window and it is closing, but we do have a chance if we get together and take action now. My greatest reason for hope is the energy and commitment of young people. I’m truly impressed by the way they are facing the problems we have created for them. I’m also encouraged by the resilience of nature, having seen places we destroyed once again supporting plant and animal life. on ourselves just like climate change and loss of biodiversity and it’s all our fault, with our disrespect of nature and the disrespect of animals. The trouble is there are a lot of corporations and government leaders who just want to get back to business as usual: short-term gain and power.

She learned gratitude growing up during WWII

I learned to take nothing for granted, even life. Food, clothing, everything was rationed, you wouldn’t ever dream of wasting a tiny piece of food. You wore clothes until they wore out. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Children today in affluent societies, it’s not their fault that they take everything for granted. Why wouldn’t they have three meals a day? When you think of the millions of people who don’t get one good meal a day, even in the U .K . … Taking things for granted has led to much waste. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS