13 great quotes to inspire a sustainability movement
As a writer, there are three specific books sitting on my desk within easy reach for good reason.
One is a dictionary (yes, the internet has not diminished my love of reference books). One is a thesaurus (why use ‘flexible’ when ‘pliable’ will do?).
The third is my absolute favourite. The Penguin Dictionary of Quotations is a book I return to most often in support of my work. If I’m struggling to find the right words, I seek out those of others. The pointed, pertinent, pithy and, sometimes, poisonous quotes of scholars, academics, celebrities, authors and educators can, more often than not, get a content creator like myself out of the tightest of editorial corners.
My ethical t-shirt business – Green Geeks – had me reaching for this invaluable tome once more in search of inspirational citations from the great and good of the sustainability world.
And there have been some dynamite proclamations over the years. Here’s my favourite 13.
And if you like these quotes, you’re gonna love my t-shirt shop. Head over there now.
“‘Comply’ is not a vision.”
Ray Anderson, founder of Interface
“I don’t want you to be hopeful, I want you to panic.”
Greta Thunberg, environmental campaigner
“In life, we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.”
Paul Newman, actor and businessman
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Peter Drucker, management consultant
“Politics hates a vacuum. If it isn’t filled with hope, someone will fill it with fear.”
Naomi Klein, author
“The future will be green, or not at all.”
Jonathon Porritt, environmentalist and author
“It’s much more important and difficult to ask the right question. Do that, and the right answer becomes obvious.”
Amory Lovins, physicist, environmental scientist and writer
“I’m not a pessimist, even though I do think awful things are going to happen.”
James Lovelock, inventor of the Gaia theory
“Being a good human being is good business.”
Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur and writer
“The Earth is a museum of divine intent.”
Bill McKibben, author and co-founder of 350.org
“When you warn people about the dangers of climate change, they call you a saint. When you explain what needs to be done to stop it, they call you a communist.”
George Monbiot, writer and activist
“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.”
Marshall McLuhan, philosopher
“What if climate change is a hoax and we’ve created a better world for nothing?”
Naomi Klein, author
