The Once-ler from the book "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss wants to convey the danger of human greed causing environmental destruction 12.

Through the story, the Once-ler's actions of cutting down trees to create a product called a Thneed and polluting the environment are shown to have severe consequences, forcing animals to leave their habitat 13. At the end of the story, the Once-ler realizes the error of his ways and tries to make amends by giving the last Truffula seed to a boy, hoping to start a new forest 13.

Thus, the message is that unless someone cares a lot, nothing will get better 1.