Home / Quotes / Quote by Lester R. Brown

Quote by Lester R. Brown

“Children whose developing lungs are particularly vulnerable suffer the most from air pollution. For children, breathing the air in cities with the worst pollution, such as Beijing, Calcutta, Mexico City, Shanghai, and Tehran, is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.”

Quote by Lester R. Brown

Author

Lester R. Brown

Lester R. Brown, born on March 28, 1934, is a renowned environmentalist and sustainable development advocate. He is a prominent environmental policy analyst and has dedicated his career to studying global environmental issues and proposing solutions. more

You May Also Like

“Corporate polluters, their phony think tanks and political toadies like to marginalize environmentalists as tree huggers, or radicals. But there is nothing radical about clean air or water.”

Thinking Political Water Air Tree Clean Environmental Radical Corporate Pollution Tanks Phony Environmentalist Clean Air Toady

Author:Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“Draconian limits on economic growth and on the use of the automobile should not be necessary in order to give Americans clean air at levels they are willing to pay for, but it will require significant Federal, State, and local leadership and innovative approaches from government and industry.”

“Finally, since human beings are uniquely capable of producing materials not found in nature, environmental degradation may be due to the resultant intrusion into an ecosystem of a substance wholly foreign to it.”

Humans May Found Human Beings Materials Capable Environmental Dues Substance Pollution Degradation Ecosystems Intrusion Environmental Degradation

Author:Barry Commoner

“Perhaps the simplest example is a synthetic plastic, which unlike natural materials, is not degraded by biological decay. It therefore persists as rubbish or is burned-in both cases causing pollution. In the same way, a substance such as DDT or lead, which plays no role in the chemistry of life and interferes with the actions of substances that do, is bound to cause ecological damage if sufficiently concentrated.”

“In general, any productive activity which introduces substances foreign to the natural environment runs a considerable risk of polluting it.”

Running Natural Environment Risk Activity Environmental Substance Productive Introducing Pollution Natural Environment

Book:The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology

Source: The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology

“If we are really serious about protecting the environment, the discharge pipes and stacks of industry would all plug directly into their intake side, and costs would not be externalized to a voiceless environment.”

Ifs Sides Environment Serious Industry Cost Environmental Pollution Pipe Plugs Discharge Voiceless

Author:Wes Jackson

“Tragically, some people are genetically more susceptible than others to agripoisons and industrial pollutants. Genetic engineering to correct these medical problems is a narrow (reductionistic) and instrumental (mechanistic) response to a problem that is fundamentally conceptual: namely, our attitude toward life and our mistreatment of the Earth, plants, and animals-and ourselves in the process.”

People Problem Earth Process Animal Attitude Plant Response Environmental Medical Engineering Pollution Susceptible Plants And Animals Genetic Engineering Mistreatment Medical Problems

Author:Michael Fox

“If you visit American city, You will find it very pretty. Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air. Pollution, pollution, They got smog and sewage and mud. Turn on your tap and get hot and cold running crud. See the halibuts and the sturgeons Being wiped out by detergents. Fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly, But they don't last long if they try. Pollution, pollution, You can use the latest toothpaste, And then rinse your mouth with industrial waste.”

“Industrial vomit...fills our skies and seas. Pesticides and herbicides filter into our foods. Twisted automobile carcasses, aluminum cans, non-returnable glass bottles and synthetic plastics form immense middens in our midst as more and more of our detritus resists decay. We do not even begin to know what to do with our radioactive wastes - whether to pump them into the earth, shoot them into outer space, or pour them into the oceans. Our technological powers increase, but the side effects and potential hazards also escalate.”

“Just a little rain falling all around The grass lifts its head to the heavenly sound Just a little rain, just a little rain What have they done to the rain? Just a little boy standing in the rain The gentle rain that falls for years And the grass is gone and the boy disappears And the rain keeps falling like helpless tears And what have they done to the rain? Just a little breeze out of the sky The leaves nod their heads as the breeze blows by Just a little breeze with some smoke in its eye And what have they done to the rain?”