Jane Goodall

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I hated it at first. It's very British, you know, not to like that kind of thing. But I gradually began to realize that it was important for the media to be on my side if I wanted to get a message across. I don't think I've ever had a bad relation with the media. I've faced what I might call intelligently penetrating questions, but I've never been addressed in a hostile way. I recall a time when AIDS activists were protesting my position against the use of chimps for medical testing. They argued that those trying to protect the animals were condemning people to die instead. But even in that highly charged instance I found that the protesters and the press were willing to discuss the issue with me.

What do you do in your down time?

I talk to journalists.

As a private person with a very public life, what sustains you?

First, I don't think I've chosen this life, I feel I've been pushed into it. And what nourishes and sustains me, primarily, is the sense of my life as a mission. I feel I'm meant to be doing what I do. Second, there are the amazing people I meet, including the children I've encountered through Roots & Shoots. Today, for instance, I talked to 700 kids, and all of them sat in silence, listening intently for 50 minutes. Afterward, one of them came up and whispered in my ear, "I loved your talk and I love you, and you inspire me." And I'm inspired by them.

If you had to make one law, what would it be?

Laws alone are useless. We already have animal-protection laws that mean nothing because they're not enforced--and they never will mean anything until we get to people's hearts. That's why I put so much energy into working with children. But if I could wish one thing into being, never mind the law, it would be that we'd stop overpopulating the planet. It's a terrible situation, compounded in some places by the vast numbers of people who can't afford to move and thus totally destroy the land they're trapped on. Meanwhile, the affluent societies are overconsuming in the most horrifyingway. In either case, there are just too many people.

What is the essence of the message you're trying to deliver today?

That every individual can make a difference, and that if we continue to leave decision making to the so-called decision makers, things will never change.

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