“There are millions of different species of animals and plants on earth--possibly as many as forty million. But somewhere between five and fifty BILLION species have existed at one time or another. Thus, only about one in a thousand species is still alive--a truly lousy survival record: 99.9 percent failure!” StillsDifferentEarthAnimalMillionsRecordsFiveAliveThousandSurvivalPercentPlantSpeciesBillionsFiftyFortyOne Time Author:David M. Raup
“Among other things I think humor is a shield, a weapon, a survival kit. So here we are several billion of us, crowded into our global concentration camp for the duration. How are we to survive? Solemnity is not the answer, any more than witless and irresponsible frivolity is. I think our best chance lies in humor, which in this case means a wry acceptance of our predicament. We don't have to like it but we can at least recognize its ridiculous aspects, one of which is ourselves.” ThinkingMeanLyingChanceAnswersCasesAcceptanceWeaponsSurvivalAspectBillionsRidiculousConcentrationCampsShieldsCrowdedIrresponsibleDurationPredicamentsConcentration CampSolemnityFrivolityWry Author:Ogden Nash
“Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates run as high as fifty billion - more than ninety-nine per cent have disappeared. In the light of this, it is sometimes joked that all of life today amounts to little more than a rounding error.” LittlesSometimesLightRunningTodayEarthEnvironmentAmountSurvivalErrorsSpeciesBillionsNineFiftyCentsNinetyNinety Nine Author:Elizabeth Kolbert
“Allowing women the power to decide when and whether to have children is the only way to solve the 7 billion human load on this planet that threatens to destroy it. Women's equality is also men's survival.” MenWayHumansChildrenPlanetsSurvivalSolveBillionsAllowingLoad Author:Gloria Steinem
“Human beings are hardwired by however many millions or billions of years to orient toward their own survival. That's why we're tribal people. That's why we're prejudiced people. That's why we treat women as second-class citizens, that's why we are homophobic, and that's why we make religion a weapon to prove we're superior to other people.” PeopleYearsHumansHuman BeingsClassMillionsCitizensProveWeaponsSurvivalTreatsBillionsSuperiorsHomophobicSecond Class Citizens Author:John Shelby Spong
“Present global culture is a kind of arrogant newcomer. It arrives on the planetary stage following four and a half billion years of other acts, and after looking about for a few thousand years declares itself in possession of eternal truths. But in a world that is changing as fast as ours, this is a prescription for disaster. No nation, no religion, no economic system, no body of knowledge, is likely to have all the answers for our survival. There must be many social systems that would work far better than any now in existence. In the scientific tradition, our task is to find them.” WorldYearsKindBodyCultureNationsSocialAnswersExistenceHalfFourEconomicStageThousandEternalSurvivalTraditionTasksFollowingPossessionBillionsDisasterArrogantThousand YearsPrescriptionsEconomic SystemsSocial SystemsNewcomers Author:Carl Sagan
“I've been seeing the change. It's been steady. It's been more controlled than people think. And my own belief is that China knows it also needs to be part of the world, and that it needs to be able to have trade with Europe and the United States in order to house and feed a billion people. That's really kind of single-mindedly what they see their role as being.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWorldNeedsBelieveKindStatesAbleOrderHouseBeliefChangeMy OwnUnitedBusinessRolesUnited StatesSeeingSurvivalEuropeTradeChinaBillionsControlledSteadyBelive Author:Jeffrey R. Immelt
“If the age of the Earth were a calendar year and today were a breath before midnight on New Year's Eve, we showed up a scant fifteen minutes ago, and all of recorded history has blinked by in the last sixty seconds. Luckily for us, our planet-mates--the fantastic meshwork of plants, animals, and microbes--have been patiently perfecting their wares since March, an incredible 3.8 billion years since the first bacteria. ...After 3.8 billion years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival.” IfsYearsFirstsHas BeensAgeTodayEarthLastsNatureAnimalSecretMinutesPlanetsDevelopmentSurvivalResearchBreathsPlantIncrediblesBillionsFantasticMarchSurroundSecondsMatesNew YearSixtyFifteenMidnightFossilsOur PlanetCalendarsNew Years EveBacteriaResearch And DevelopmentMicrobes Author:Janine Benyus
“Naturepitiless in a pitiless universeis certainly not concerned with the survival of Americans or, for that matter, of any of the two billion people now inhabiting this earth. Hence, our destiny, with the aid of God, remains in our own hands.” PeopleTwoMatterGodHandsEarthDestinySurvivalConcernedRemainsAidsBillionsOur Destiny Author:J. William Fulbright
“The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every problem on Earth - social and environmental.” IfsHumansMeanProblemEarthSocialRaceMillionsSurvivalSpeciesEnvironmentalClimate ChangeSolveBillionsHuman RaceGlobal WarmingExtinctionDwellingHomo Sapiens Author:Ingrid Newkirk
“Oil depletion and climate change will create an entirely new context in which political struggles will be played out. Within that context, it is not just freedom, democracy, and equality that are at stake, but the survival of billions of humans and of whole ecosystems.” HumansWholePoliticalStruggleDemocracySurvivalClimateClimate ChangeOilBillionsStakesEcosystemsPolitical StrugglePeak Oil Author:Richard Heinberg
“In a world where nearly one billion people live near the edge of physical survival the relevance of intentional simplicity by the more affluent people of the world cannot be over estimated.” PeopleWorldSimpleSurvivalSimplicityEdgesBillionsRelevanceSimple LivingAffluent Author:Duane Elgin
“Ninety percent of cancers are curable in stage one. We spend billions of dollars and over 40 years searching for a cure, and we're not really that close. So why aren't we teaching people the only cure we have now? Early detection is one sh**ty year, versus the rest of your life.” PeopleYearsTeachingStageSurvivalPercentDollarsCancerBillionsCuresVersusNinetyRest Of Your LifeDetectionCancer Survival Author:Yael Cohen
“The cell, over the billions of years of her life, has covered the earth many times with her substance, found ways to control herself and her environment, and insure her survival.” WayYearsEarthFoundEnvironmentSurvivalEnvironmentalBillionsCellsSubstanceCovered Author:Albert Claude
“After approximately two decades and several billion dollars....Among the various types of cancer that account for 78% of the incidence..the upward trend in survival rates has not exceeded a few %....a far gloomier picture than has been generally conveyed to a hopeful public by our leading cancer research institutions...A generally passive lay press has been the means of transmission.” MeanHas BeensTwoAgeDarkTypeSurvivalResearchAccountsInstitutionsPressesLaysDollarsRateCancerVariousDecadesMedicalBillionsHopefulTrendsPassiveDark AgesTransmissionIncidenceCancer Research Author:Daniel S. Greenberg
“The planet earth has a life span of eight billion years, give or take a few million. People have been around for approximately forty thousand years-a virtual blink in the cosmos. It is sad that we as a species are ravaging the natural world so fast that we are jeopardizing our survival. If we wipe ourselves out, it would be the height of folly, but the earth will survive even us. It will eventually restore itself. It might take a few thousand years, and it won't be just as it was before, but its life is stronger than death.” PeopleIfsWorldGivingYearsHas BeensMightWould BeEarthLife IsNaturalMillionsPlanetsThousandSurvivalStrongerSpeciesEightBillionsHeightFollyCosmosFortyThousand YearsNatural WorldWipePlanet EarthBlinkLife Span Author:Charlotte Sophia Kasl