“It is not just contemporary industrial society that is dysfunctional; it is civilization itself. We humans are born to be creatures of the land and the sea and the stars; we are relations to the animals, cohorts to the plants. Our well being, and the well-being of the very planet depend on our pursuance of our given place within the natural world.” WorldHumansWellsGivenStarsBornNaturalAnimalSeaLandPlanetsDependsCivilizationCreaturesRelationPlantContemporaryWell BeingNatural World Author:Chellis Glendinning
“While ants exist in just the right numbers for the rest of the living world, humans have become too numerous. If we were to vanish today, the land environment would return to the fertile balance that existed before the human population explosion. Only a dozen or so species, among which are the crab louse and a mite that lives in the oil glands of our foreheads, depend on us entirely. But if ants were to disappear, tens of thousands of other plants and animal species would perish also, simplifying and weakening land ecosystems almost everywhere.” IfsWorldHumansTodayAnimalNumbersEnvironmentLandDependsReturnBalancePlantSpeciesPopulationOilDisappearDozenExplosionsAntsForeheadsEcosystemsFertileWeakeningCrabsPlants And AnimalsGlandsHuman PopulationPopulation Explosion Author:E. O. Wilson
“Along with the possibility of extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man's total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm-substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends.” MenWarProblemAgeAnimalEnvironmentMankindPossibilityMaterialsDependsShapesPlantEnvironmentalIncrediblesHarmNuclearCellsSubstancePollutionExtinctionPenetrateGermsTissuesNuclear WarHeredityPlants And AnimalsContamination Book:Silent Spring Source: Silent Spring
“Whether the are splashed with gold or white, striped with chartreuse or cream, or margined in light tones, they are nature's weaklings, and nature is still a matter of survival of the fittest. The survival of variegated plants depends on human intervention.” HumansStillsMatterLightWhiteDependsSurvivalGoldPlantToneCreamInterventionSurvival Of The FittestChartreuse Author:Allen Lacy
“I am quite surprised and rather disappointed by the loneliness, isolation and indeed demonisation the sadly misunderstood CO2 is experiencing. Thus, upon leaving the parliament, I am contemplating the foundation of an organisation called 'The Friends of Carbon Dioxide'. Membership will of course be open to all, including the plants whose very existence depends on CO2. I think this organisation's slogan, 'CO2 is not pollution', self-selects. It has both accuracy and melody to commend it.” ThinkingSelfCoursesExistenceLonelinessDependsFoundationPlantLeavingIncludingIsolationMelodyDisappointedContemplatingPollutionCarbonParliamentSlogansAccuracyOrganisationMembershipCarbon DioxideCo2 Author:Nick Minchin
“What a difference that extra 120 ppm has made for plants, and for animals and humans that depend on them. The more carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere, the more it is absorbed by plants of every description - - and the faster and better they grow, even under adverse conditions like limited water, extremely hot air temperatures, or infestations of insects, weeds and other pests. As trees, grasses, algae and crops grow more rapidly and become healthier and more robust, animals and humans enjoy better nutrition on a planet that is greener and greener.” HumansMadeGrowsEnjoyWaterDifferencesAnimalAirTreeConditionsPlanetsDependsHotPlantFasterAtmosphereGrassExtrasDescriptionWeedNutritionCarbonInsectsTemperatureCropsRobustAdverseCarbon DioxideHumans And AnimalsGreenerPestsHot AirAlgae Author:Paul Driessen
“Humans are a great survivor species but our survival will be pretty grim if all of the plants and animals we depend on die out. That's why any human survival strategy has to include a plan to maintain our environment roughly in the state that it's in now.” IfsHumansStatesDiesAnimalEnvironmentPlansDependsSurvivalStrategyPlantSpeciesSurvivorOur EnvironmentGrimPlants And Animals Author:Annalee Newitz
“It looks as though yields of over 10 times what we can currently grow per acre are feasible if you control the CO2 concentration, the humidity, the temperature, all the various factors that plants depend on to grow rapidly.” IfsLooksGrowsDependsPlantVariousFactorsConcentrationYieldTemperatureAcresCo2Humidity Author:Ralph Merkle
“You could think of an ecosystem as a bunch of antagonistic arms races, almost: Everything that an animal depends upon for food is the body part of some other animal or plant who would just as soon keep that body part for itself.” ThinkingBodyAnimalRaceArmsDependsPlantBunchEcosystemsArms Race Author:Steven Pinker