black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Technologists practice faith too; ‘Faith that problems have solutions before having the knowledge to solve them.’

Barry Commoner

The modern technologist is less ‘sorcerer’ and more ‘sorcerer’s apprentice’.
BARRY COMMONER

Apprentice Modern Technology
In certain ways, I’m not very different than I was when I was a teenager.
BARRY COMMONER

Different Teenager Way
It is simply economically impossible to require controls that even approach zero emissions.
BARRY COMMONER

Approach Impossible Zero
The gap between brute power and human need continues to grow, as the power fattens on the same faulty technology that intensifies the need.
BARRY COMMONER

Gaps Needs Technology
No action is without its side effects.
BARRY COMMONER

Action Effect Sides
Everything is connected to everything else. Everything must go somewhere. Nature knows best. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
BARRY COMMONER

Environment Lunch Nature
The environmental crisis arises from a fundamental fault: our systems of production – in industry, agriculture, energy and transportation – essential as they are, make people sick and die.
BARRY COMMONER

Agriculture People Sick
As the earth spins through space, a view from above the North Pole would encompass most of the wealth of the world – most of its food, productive machines, doctors, engineers and teachers. A view from the opposite pole would encompass most of the world’s poor.
BARRY COMMONER

Doctors Teacher Views
The first law of ecology is that everything is related to everything else.—->I dont believe in environmentalism as the solution to anything. What I believe is that environmentalism illuminates the things that need to be done to solve all of the problems together.
BARRY COMMONER

Believe Environmentalism Law Together
If environmentalism is a fad, it will be the last one.
BARRY COMMONER

Environment Fads Lasts
In nature, no organic substance is synthesized unless there is provision for its degradation; recycling is enforced.
BARRY COMMONER

Degradation Recycling Substance
The AEC had at its command an army of highly skilled scientists.
BARRY COMMONER

Army Command Scientist
Recycling is a good thing to do. It makes people feel good to do it. The thing I want to emphasize is the vast difference between recycling for the purpose of feeling good and recycling for the purpose of solving the trash problem.
BARRY COMMONER

Differences Feel Good People
The age of innocent faith in science and technology may be over.
BARRY COMMONER

Age May Technology
In general, any productive activity which introduces substances foreign to the natural environment runs a considerable risk of polluting it.
BARRY COMMONER

Environmental Risk Running
Science is triumphant with far-ranging success, but its triumph is somehow clouded by growing difficulties in providing for the simple necessities of human life on earth.
BARRY COMMONER

Difficult Growing Simple Triumph

Technologists practice faith too; ‘Faith that problems have solutions before having the knowledge to solve them.’

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Technologists practice faith too; ‘Faith that problems have solutions before having the knowledge to solve them.’

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Barry Commoner Quotes