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Paul Hawken

Paul Hawken Books

Environmentalist

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“If you look at the science that describes what is happening on earth today and aren't pessimistic, you don't have the correct data. If you meet people in this unnamed movement and aren't optimistic, you haven't got a heart.”

ScienceSocial JusticeClimate ChangeActivism
Book:Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
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“Sustainability is an economic state where the demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations. It can also be expressed in the simple terms of an economic golden rule for the restorative economy: Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do.”

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Author:Paul Hawken
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“We have reached a point where the value we do add to our economy is now being outweighed by the value we are removing, not only from future generations in terms of diminished resources, but from ourselves in terms of unlivable cities, deadening jobs, deteriorating health, and rising crime. In biological terms, we have become a parasite and are devouring our host.”

JobsValuesTermCitiesEconomyGenerationsCrimeResourcesAddEnvironmentalRisingHostSustainabilityFuture GenerationParasitesDevouringDeteriorating
Author:Paul Hawken
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“We can just as easily have an economy that is based on healing the future instead of stealing it. We can either create assets for the future or take the assets of the future. One is called restoration and the other exploitation. And whenever we exploit the earth we exploit people and cause untold suffering. Working for the earth is not a way to get rich, it is a way to be rich.”

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“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead, the stars come out every night, and we watch television.”

IfsWorldLifeInspirationalYearsMadeWould BeNightCoursesStarsReligiousSleepWatchesTelevisionThousandGloryEvery NightThousand YearsGlory Of GodEcstaticDeliriousWaldo EmersonRalph WaldoBest Night Of My Life
Author:Paul Hawken
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“When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.”

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Author:Paul Hawken
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“The great thing about the dilemma we're in is that we get to re-imagine every single thing we do...There isn't a single thing that doesn't require a complete remake. There are two ways of looking at that. One is: Oh my gosh, what a big burden. The other way, which I prefer, is: What a great time to be born! What a great time to be alive! Because this generation gets to essentially completely change the world.”

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Author:Paul Hawken
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“Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and persistence. It is not a liberal or conservative activity; it is a sacred act.”

PeopleDoeEarthPoliticalPartyHealingActivitySacredClimate ChangeConservativeWoundsPersistencePolitical PartiesGumption
Book:Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beau ty to the World
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“How is it that we have created an economic system that tells us it is cheaper to destroy the earth and exhaust its people than to nurture them both? Is it rational to have an pricing system which discounts the future and sells off the past? How did we create an economic system that confused capital liquidation with income?”

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Book:Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution
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