“The farmer and the farm, like "the environment," are looked upon, for example, as means to offset trade deficits. The farm is a place where we can externalize costs. The cost of pesticides to the farmer and the cost of the pesticides to the soil and groundwater are regarded similarly by the public: "a serious problem that something ought to be done about." But the problem is more fundamental than this glib statement would indicate, for soil pollution is an expense of production. So are pesticides and nitrates in our farm wells. So is the loss of farmers from the land.” WellsMeanDoneProblemLossEnvironmentLandExampleSeriousOughtCostFundamentalsTradeProductionsStatementsSoilExpensesFarmsFarmersPollutionDeficitPesticidesGroundwater Author:Wes Jackson
“It's worth remembering that all technology leaves a footprint. For example, our own technology is leaving a footprint in terms of global warming, which could be detected from a long way away. One assumes that a very advanced civilization that has been around maybe millions and millions of years would have an even bigger footprint that might extend beyond its planet to its immediate astronomical environment.” WayYearsLongHas BeensMightRememberTermMillionsTechnologyEnvironmentExamplePlanetsCivilizationBiggerAssumingLeavingGlobal WarmingLong WayFootprintAdvanced Civilization Author:Paul Davies
“Throughout his last half-dozen books, for example, Arthur Koestler has been conducting a campaign against his own misunderstanding of Darwinism. He hopes to find some ordering force, constraining evolution to certain directions and overriding the influence of natural selection. [...] Darwinism is not the theory of capricious change that Koestler imagines. Random variation may be the raw material of change, but natural selection builds good design by rejecting most variants while accepting and accumulating the few that improve adaptation to local environments.” MayHas BeensBookLastsCertainForceNaturalHalfAcceptingEnvironmentImagineInfluenceExampleDesignMaterialsTheoryEvolutionCampaignsLocalsDozenSelectionMisunderstandingAdaptationVariationNatural SelectionArthurRejectingRaw MaterialsConductingDarwinismGood DesignCapricious Author:Stephen Jay Gould
“There is, perhaps, one universal truth about all forms of human cognition: the ability to deal with knowledge is hugely exceeded by the potential knowledge contained in man's environment. To cope with this diversity, man's perception, his memory, and his thought processes early become governed by strategies for protecting his limited capacities from the confusion of overloading. We tend to perceive things schematically, for example, rather than in detail, or we represent a class of diverse things by some sort of averaged "typical instance.” MenHumansFormProcessMemoriesAbilityDealsClassEnvironmentExampleDiversityPerceptionCapacityUniversalStrategyDetailsConfusionInstancePerceiveDiverseTypicalCognitionThought ProcessUniversal Truth Book:On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand Source: On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand
“Apple has never allowed ad-blocking software on the iPhone or iPad. This is one among many reasons that I ditched both. Not because I hate ads all that passionately, but because it's an example of the obsessive corporate control Apple maintains over its environment.” ReasonHateEnvironmentExampleI HateBlockCorporateApplesOver ItSoftwareAdsObsessiveIphoneIpads Author:Kevin Drum
“Papa Roach is actually a band that's great at playing arenas. Not every band is suited for that environment. But besides the huge energy you guys bring, the songs are very grand and anthemic. "Kick in the Teeth" being an example as a song that's made for huge crowd sing-alongs, not tiny little club shows.” LittlesMadeShowsGuySongEnergyEnvironmentExampleHugeBandCrowdsClubsTinyTeethKicksArenaPapaRoachesPapa Roach Author:Tony Palermo
“I've heard plenty of Christians try to answer the why question by going back to the what. "You have to believe because Jesus is the Son of God." But that's answering the why with more what. Increasingly we live in a time in which you can't avoid the why question. Just giving the what (for example, a vivid gospel presentation) worked in the days when the cultural institutions created an environment in which Christianity just felt true or at least honorable. But in a post-Christendom society, in the marketplace of ideas, you have to explain why this is true, or people will just dismiss it.” PeopleGivingTryingBelieveIdeasChristianJesusFeltAnswersChristianityEnvironmentHeardExampleSonInstitutionsPlentyPostsHonorableVividMarketplacePresentationChristendom Author:Timothy Keller
“In terms of fiction, there are a number of writers who are thinking about the future of the environment whose work complements mine. Kim Stanley Robinson's novel 2312 is a great example, as is Tobias Buckell's novel Arctic Rising.” ThinkingTermNumbersFictionNovelEnvironmentExampleMinesRisingKimArcticComplementStanleyTobiasThinking About The Future Author:Annalee Newitz