“I think this issue of climate change is truly important, and that it is a major tragedy how poorly it's been handled.” Quote by Randy Olson
“I was a scientist. I know where the joy lies. It is wonderful finding a like-minded scientist and delving deep into the language that can only be understood by the handful of experts seated in the front row of your big talk. But good lord, it can be bo-ho-horing to the rest of the world. Make no mistake.” WorldJoyLyingLanguageMistakeLordWonderfulScientist Author:Randy Olson
“The Al Gore movie cashed in on his personality and the question of where he had been in the six years since his failed US presidential bid. The same movie starring any NASA scientist would have lost money.” PersonalityScientistPresidentialMovie StarNasa Author:Randy Olson
“The science world has no such coherence, cohesion or cooperation. It's a bunch of academics who were raised on the idea of communication being a frivolous add-on.” WorldCommunicationCooperation Author:Randy Olson
“Climate definitely interests the climate crowd at some science magazines, talks or blogs. Some blogs are amazing. They will post one comment about one graph of temperature records from tree rings and get over a thousand comments. Which is boredom so purified and crystalized it's in an unadulterated form that could make even a robot want to commit suicide.” InterestTreeSuicideRingsCommitBoredomComment Author:Randy Olson
“The climate crowd did a lousy job communicating. Several reports have itemized the fact that over a billion dollars was spent on climate by the environmental side over the past decade. There is simply no excuse for the failure to communicate.” PastEnvironmentalCommunicateExcuseOver The PastNo Excuses Author:Randy Olson
“The best moment in writing any book is when you just can't wait to get back to the writing, when you can't wait to re-enter that fictional place, when your fictional town feels even more real than the town where you actually live.” WritingBookRealMomentsWaiting Author:Edwidge Danticat
“Often when you're an immigrant writing in English, people think it's primarily a commercial choice. But for many of us, it's a choice that rises out of the circumstances of our lives. These are the tools I have at my disposal, based on my experiences. It's a constant debate, not just in my community but in other communities as well. Where do you belong? You're kind of one of us, but you now write in a different language.” PeopleThinkingWritingKindDifferentChoicesLanguageCommunityCircumstancesDebate Author:Edwidge Danticat
“It's not a matter of whether the reviews of your books are good or bad, it's about being taken seriously, both as a woman writer and as a writer of color. Also, it worries me when people point to a couple of women writers or writers of color who get some attention - and I am sometimes pulled into that category - to prove that others are getting a fair shot. It's like those people who keep saying that racism no longer exists in this country because Barack Obama was a President of the United States.” PeopleBookCountrySometimesPresidentAttentionWorryTakenCoupleProveRacismBarack Author:Edwidge Danticat
“We all have a tendency to over generalize our individual experiences. After I've published something, I'll meet someone who says, "I'm Haitian, and I don't know this, so it must not be true." Even if we're talking about a work of fiction. I've gotten very angry myself reading many things about Haiti. We're not a monolithic group; no group is. Also, it's important to keep in mind the genre in which we are writing. Fiction is full of invented stories about exceptional people in exceptional situations. Those situations are not always cheery or celebratory.” PeopleWritingMindImportantReadingIndividualSituationBeing TrueExceptionalHaitian Author:Edwidge Danticat