Earth Day

If we do not discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.

-- William A. Feather Sr. (1889-1981), American writer, publisher, and businessman

Traffic

If I'm having trouble with my wife, I come here and watch the traffic. I thought I had problems, but look at these poor people. They sit in this traffic every day. These people have it so bad compared to me.

-- Angelo Ramirez, a retired police officer, on the Cross Bronx Expressway, New York Times, 2 April 2010

Walking And Bicycling

The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide -- including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life -- transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum
standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.

-- Secretary Ray LaHood, in the US Department of Transportation Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations, 11 March 2010

A House Of One Room

How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountaintop it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make -- leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone -- we all dwell in a house of one room -- the world with the firmament for its roof -- and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track.

-- John Muir (1838-1914) American environmentalist, naturalist, traveler, writer, and scientist, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir (1938)

Less Fun

It's simply less fun pulling up to the stoplight in a Hummer than it used to be. It's a change in norms.

-- Robert Barbera, chief economist at research and trading firm ITG, on the shift in consumer tastes created by the recession, New York Times, 29 August 2009

A Living Planet

A living planet is a much more complex metaphor for deity than just a bigger father with a bigger fist. If an omniscient, all-powerful Dad ignores your prayers, it's taken personally. Hear only silence long enough, and you start wondering about his power. His fairness. His very existence. But if a world mother doesn't reply, Her excuse is simple. She never claimed conceited omnipotence. She has countless others clinging to her apron strings, including myriad species unable to speak for themselves. To Her elder offspring She says - go raid the fridge. Go play outside. Go get a job. Or, better yet, lend me a hand. I have no time for idle whining.

-- David Brin, Ph.D. (born 6 October 1950), American scientist and Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula award-winning author of science fiction

Even Trash

Even trash has become worthless.

-- Tian Wengui, who collects refuse for recycling in Beijing, New York Times, 12 March 2009

Save The Earth?

Myth: we have to save the earth. Frankly, the earth doesn't need to be saved. Nature doesn't give a hoot if human beings are here or not. The planet has survived cataclysmic and catastrophic changes for millions upon millions of years. Over that time, it is widely believed, 99 percent of all species have come and gone while the planet has remained. Saving the environment is really about saving our environment - making it safe for ourselves, our children, and the world as we know it. If more people saw the issue as one of saving themselves, we would probably see increased motivation and commitment to actually do so.

-- Robert M. Lilienfeld (1953-), management consultant and author, and William L. Rathje (1945-), archaeologist and author