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Fossil Fuel Quotes

Browse 295 quotes about Fossil Fuel.

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Fossil Fuel Quotes

“If we want to address global warming, along with the other environmental problems associated with our continued rush to burn our precious fossil fuels as quickly as possible, we must learn to use our resources more wisely, kick our addiction, and quickly start turning to sources of energy that have fewer negative impacts.”

IfsWantUseProblemEnergySourceResourcesNegativeImpactEnvironmentalAddictionKicksFuelGlobal WarmingAddressesFewerFossilsFossil FuelEnvironmental ProblemsBurning Fossil Fuels
Author:David Suzuki
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“Just as fossil fuels from conventional sources are finite and are becoming depleted, those from difficult sources will also run out. If we put all our energy and resources into continued fossil fuel extraction, we will have lost an opportunity to have invested in renewable energy.”

IfsRunningOpportunityEnergyLostDifficultSourceBecomingResourcesFuelConventionalFiniteFossilsFossil FuelRenewable EnergyBurning Fossil FuelsExtractionRenewable Resources
Author:David Suzuki
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“The angry men know that this golden age (of fossil fuels) has gone; but they cannot find the words for the constraints they hate. Clutching their copies of Atlas Shrugged, they flail around, accusing those who would impede them of communism, fascism, religiosity, misanthropy, but knowing at heart that these restrictions are driven by something far more repulsive to the unrestrained man: the decencies we owe to other human beings.”

KnowsMenHumansHeartAgeHateHuman BeingsGoneKnowingAngryDrivenGoldenCommunismFuelCopiesFascismFossilsDecencyRestrictionConstraintsFossil FuelGolden AgeMisanthropyAtlasAccusingAngry Man
Author:George Monbiot
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“We had entered an era of limitlessness, or the illusion thereof, and this in itself is a sort of wonder. My grandfather lived a life of limits, both suffered and strictly observed, in a world of limits. I learned much of that world from him and others, and then I changed; I entered the world of labor-saving machines and of limitless cheap fossil fuel. It would take me years of reading, thought, and experience to learn again that in this world limits are not only inescapable but indispensable.”

WorldYearsReadingWonderThis WorldChangedLimitsIllusionLaborMachinesSavingErasFuelTake MeGrandfatherIndispensableFossilsLimitlessMy GrandfatherFossil Fuel
Book:Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food
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“Coal, oil and gas are called fossil fuels, because they are mostly made of the fossil remains of beings from long ago. The chemical energy within them is a kind of stored sunlight originally accumulated by ancient plants. Our civilization runs by burning the remains of humble creatures who inhabited the Earth hundreds of millions of years before the first humans came on the scene. Like some ghastly cannibal cult, we subsist on the dead bodies of our ancestors and distant relatives. - Dr. Carl Sagan”

YearsFirstsHumansKindLongMadeBodyRunningEarthEnergyMillionsCivilizationSceneCreaturesRemainsPlantAncientHumbleOilBurningFuelGasChemicalsAncestorSunlightLong AgoDrsConservationCultCoalFossilsFossil FuelGhastlyCannibalOil And GasBurning Fossil FuelsSagan
Book:Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
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“Some molecules - ammonia, carbon dioxide, water - show up everywhere in the universe, whether life is present or not. But others pop up especially in the presence of life itself. Among the biomarkers in Earth's atmosphere are ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons from aerosol sprays, vapor from mineral solvents, escaped coolants from refrigerators and air conditioners, and smog from the burning of fossil fuels. No other way to read that list: sure signs of the absence of intelligence.”

WayShowsEarthLife IsUniverseWaterAirPopsAbsenceListsBurningAtmosphereFuelDestroyingCarbonFossilsFossil FuelMoleculesSprayMineralsRefrigeratorsCarbon DioxideVaporOzoneSmogAir Conditioner
Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
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“A revolution in humanity's use of fossil fuel-based energy would be necessary sooner or later to sustain and to extend modern standards of living. It will be required sooner if we are to hold the risks of climate change to acceptable levels. The costs that we bear in making an early adjustment will bring forward, and reduce for future times, the costs of the inevitable eventual adjustment away from fossil fuels.”

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Author:Ross Garnaut
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“The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. There may still be disputes about exactly how much we're contributing to the warming of the earth's atmosphere and how much is naturally occurring, but what we can be scientifically certain of is that our continued use of fossil fuels is pushing us to a point of no return. And unless we free ourselves from a dependence on these fossil fuels and chart a new course on energy in this country, we are condemning future generations to global catastrophe.”

MayStillsCountryUseEarthCertainCoursesEnergyIssuesEnvironmentGenerationsIgnoranceReturnClimateEnvironmentalClimate ChangeAtmosphereFuelPushingDependenceCatastropheFossilsDisputesPerilFuture GenerationFossil FuelContributingCondemning
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
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“This curious faith is predicated on the notion that we will soon develop unlimited new sources of energy: domestic oil fields, shale oil, gasified coal, nuclear power, solar energy, and so on. This is fantastical because the basic cause of the energy crisis is not scarcity: it is moral ignorance and weakness of character. We don't know how to use energy or what to use it for. And we cannot restrain ourselves. Our time is characterized as much by the abuse and waste of human energy as it is by the abuse and waste of fossil fuel energy.”

KnowsHumansCharacterUseEnergyCausesMoralKnow HowFieldsIgnoranceSourceWasteWeaknessAbuseCrisisNotionOilNuclearCuriousOur TimeFuelUnlimitedCoalFossilsFossil FuelScarcityRenewable EnergyNuclear PowerEnergy SourcesSolar EnergyEnergy PolicyEnergy FieldsEnergy UseRenewable Energy SourcesEnergy CrisisOil FieldWeakness Of Character
Book:The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
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“If we want energy security, then we have to reduce our appetite for fossil fuels. There's no other way. Other issues may crowd the headlines, but this is our fundamental challenge. Big challenges require bold action and leadership. To get the United States off fossil fuels in this uneasy national climate of terrorism and conflict in the Persian Gulf, we must treat the issue with the urgence and persistance it deserves. The measure of our success will be the condition on which we leave the world for the next generation.”

IfsWorldWayWantMayStatesBigsActionNextEnergyChallengesUnitedUnited StatesIssuesGenerationsConditionsSecurityConflictDeserveTreatsFundamentalsClimateCrowdsTerrorismFuelAppetiteFossilsNext GenerationHeadlinesFossil FuelUneasyRenewable EnergyPersianBig ChallengesPersian GulfEnergy SecurityBold ActionsPersistance
Author:Robert Redford
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“Here's what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we're hooked on.”

ThinkingLittlesStatesFacesEnergyLeftLeaderCrimeColdTruth IsViolentDenialFuelAddictFossilsTurkeysFossil FuelHookedRenewable EnergyViolent CrimesCold Turkey
Book:A Man Without a Country
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“Carbon dioxide pollution is transforming the chemistry of the ocean, rapidly making the water more acidic. In decades, rising ocean acidity may challenge life on a scale that has not occurred for tens of millions of years. So we confront an urgent choice: to move beyond fossil fuels or to risk turning the ocean into a sea of weeds.”

YearsMayMovingChoicesEnergyWaterChallengesMillionsEnvironmentRiskSeaOceanClimate ChangeDecadesScalesRisingFuelChemistryWeedPollutionCarbonFossilsUrgentTransformingFossil FuelCarbon Dioxide
Author:Sigourney Weaver
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“Is the divine presence a Republican? Or is He/She/It running an inter-galactic fossil fuel conglomerate?...whatever the explanation may be, the Paraclete appears to be as determined as any terrestrial corporate frontman to prevent a successful conclusion to the climate talks. How I know? Because every time anyone gets together to try to prevent global climate breakdown, He swaths the rich, densely habited parts of the world with snow and ice, while leaving obscurer places to cook.”

KnowsWorldTryingMayRunningTogetherEnergySuccessfulRichEnvironmentDivineRepublicanClimateLeavingClimate ChangeDeterminedSnowWeatherConclusionIceCooksCorporateExplanationFuelFloodFossilsBreakdownFossil FuelDrought
Author:George Monbiot
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“Current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class…involving high meat intake, consumption of large amounts of frozen and convenience foods, ownership of motor vehicles, golf courses, small electric appliances, home and work place air-conditioning, and suburban housing are not sustainable...”

UseClassAirMiddleClimate ChangePatternsCurrentsLifestyleMeatFuelMiddle ClassConsumptionFossilsHousingConditioningInvolvingFossil FuelEugenicsAffluentAppliancesEnviromentalAir ConditioningAgenda 21Environmental PolicyEnviroment
Author:Maurice Strong
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“...chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to [should] be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature; [Hansen] accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.”

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Author:James Hansen
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“CO2 is a minor player in the total system, and human CO2 emissions are insignificant compared to total natural greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, lowering human CO2 emissions will have no measurable effect on climate, and continued CO2 emissions will have little or no effect on future temperature....While controlling CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels may have some beneficial effects on air quality, it will have no measurable effect on climate, but great detrimental effects on the economy and our standard of living.”

HumansMayLittlesNaturalQualityEconomyPlayerAirEffectsStandardsClimateBurningFuelGlobal WarmingGasMinorsInsignificantFossilsBeneficialTemperatureFossil FuelEmissionsStandards Of LivingGreenhousesGreenhouse GasesCo2DetrimentalBurning Fossil FuelsAir QualityCo2 Emissions
Author:Jonathan Duhamel
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“Now we are all learning what it's like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence... Our destructive addiction has given us a catastrophic war in the Middle East and - now - Katrina is giving our nation a glimpse of the climate chaos we are bequeathing our children.”

GivingChildrenWarGivenNationsMiddleOur ChildrenClimateChaosAddictionEastFuelGlobal WarmingDestructiveMiddle EastDependenceGlimpseFossilsReapFossil FuelKatrinaWhirlwind
Author:Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
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“Human use of fossil fuels is altering the chemistry of the atmosphere; oceans are polluted and depleted of fish; 80 per cent of Earth's forests are heavily impacted or gone yet their destruction continues. An estimated 50,000 species are driven to extinction each year. We dump millions of tonnes of chemicals, most untested for their biological effects, and many highly toxic, into air, water and soil. We have created an ecological holocaust. Our very health and survival are at stake, yet we act as if we have plenty of time to respond.”

IfsYearsHumansUseEarthWaterMillionsGoneAirEffectsOceanSurvivalDestructionSpeciesClimate ChangeFishesDrivenForestsPlentyAtmosphereSoilFuelChemistryChemicalsStakesToxicHolocaustCentsFossilsExtinctionFossil FuelEcologicalDump
Author:David Suzuki
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“We of the richer societies, who have had access to more energy than we have the experience to wield intelligently are making decisions we are not qualified to make almost every time we enter the voting booth, go to the grocery store or step into a car show room. We do not know what is "normal." Because our whole life and in some respects a generation or two before us have only known this era of fossil fuel exploitation and resource grabbing; we call this normal.”

KnowsTwoWholeShowsEnergyDecisionRoomsKnownStepsGenerationsCarNormalResourcesClimate ChangeStoresAccessWhole LifeErasFuelVotingExploitationFossilsQualifiedGroceriesFossil FuelMaking DecisionsGrocery StoresGrabbing
Author:Alfred W. Crosby
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“Rome wasn't built in a day, and we won't replace fossil fuels with clean energy based on the events of a single week, either. But the important thing to remember is that, once they happen, clean energy victories are irreversible. No one will tear down wind farms because they are nostalgic for fracking in our watersheds. And nobody will pull down their solar panels because they miss having mercury in their tuna or asthma inhalers for their kids. Because once we leave fossil fuels behind, we are never going back.”

ImportantHappensKidsRememberEnergyBehindsWeekMissingEventsTearsWindVictoryBuiltImportant ThingsCleanFuelFarmsRomeFossilsFossil FuelNostalgicMercuryClean EnergyIrreversibleAsthmaTunaFrackingSolar PanelsWatershedsWind Farms
Author:Michael Brune
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“I have not been one who believed in the global warming. But I tell you, they are making a convert out of me as these blistering summers. They have broken heat records in a number of cities already this year and broken all-time records and it is getting hotter and the ice caps are melting and there is a build up of carbon dioxide in the air. We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels.”

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Author:Pat Robertson
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“Because of the industrialization of agriculture -- using massive amounts of fossil fuel -- only 2 percent of Americans work in farming. And yet they produce enough food to feed all 300 million Americans, with plenty left over for export. When are liberals going to break the news to their friends in Darfur that they all have to starve to death to save the planet?”

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Author:Ann Coulter
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