Top James Lovelock Quotes - Quotesmemo.com

James Lovelock Biography

James Ephraim Lovelock, CH CBE FRS (born 26 July 1919) is an independent scientist, environmentalist, and futurist who lives in Dorset, England. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system.

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James Lovelock Quotes

By the end of this century, climate change will reduce the human population to a few breeding pairs surviving near the Arctic.

Arctic, Climate, Eugenics, Human, Population, Reduce

The big threat to the planet is people: there are too many, doing too well economically and burning too much oil.

Eugenics, Oil, People, Planet, Big

Those of us who consider ourselves to be somehow involved in the birthing of a new age, should discover Gaia as well. The idea of Gaia may facilitate the task of converting destructive human activities to constructive and cooperative behavior. It is an idea which deeply startles us, and in the process, may help us as a species to make the necessary jump to planetary awareness.

Ideas, Age, Tasks, Involved, Gaia, Facilitate

The apologists for space science always seem over-impressed by engineering trivia and make far too much of non-stick frying pans and perfect ball-bearings. To my mind, the outstanding spin-off from space research is not new technology. The real bonus has been that for the first time in human history we have had a chance to look at the Earth from space, and the information gained from seeing from the outside our azure-green planet in all its global beauty has given rise to a whole new set of questions and answers.

Beauty, Gained, Make, Real, Space, Technology

We are the intelligent elite among animal life on earth and whatever our mistakes, [Earth] needs us. This may seem an odd statement after all that I have said about the way 20th century humans became almost a planetary disease organism. But it has taken [Earth] 2. 5 billion years to evolve an animal that can think and communicate its thoughts. If we become extinct she has little chance of evolving another.

20Th, Billion, Intelligent, Mistake, Taken, Thinking

What I tend to do is to wake about five in the morning-this happens quite often-think about the invention, and then image it in my mind in 3D, as a kind of construct. Then I do experiments with the image. . . sort of rotate it, and say, 'Well what'll happen if one does this?' And by the time I get up for breakfast I can usually go to the bench and make a string and sealing wax model that works straight off, because I've done most of the experiments already.

Image, Imagination, Morning, Sealing, Thinking, Wake

The problem is we don’t know what the climate is doing. We thought we knew 20 years ago. That led to some alarmist books – mine included – because it looked clear-cut, but it hasn’t happened. The climate is doing its usual tricks. There’s nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now. The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium. Twelve years is a reasonable time… it (the temperature) has stayed almost constant, whereas it should have been rising - carbon dioxide is rising, no question about that.

Book, Cutting, Should Have, Temperature, Climate, Constant

This programme to stop nuclear by 2020 is just crazy. If there were a nuclear war, and humanity were wiped out, the Earth would breathe a sigh of relief.

Crazy, War, Sigh Of Relief, Stop, Programme

Nowadays if you're dependent on a grant - and 99% of them are - you can't make mistakes as you won't get another one if you do.

Mistake, Grants, Dependent, Make, Mistakes

The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful.

Huge, Humans, Inertia, Meaningful

I've got personal views on the '60s. You can't have freedom without paying the price for it.

60S, Paying, Personal Views, Price, Views

There is little evidence that our individual intelligence has improved through recorded history.

Littles, Individual, Evidence, Improved

We need a more authoritative world. . . What's the alternative to democracy? There isn't one. But even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while.

War, Issues, Feelings, Hold, Democracy, Severe

We rushed into renewable energy without any thought. The schemes are largely hopelessly inefficient and unpleasant. I personally can't stand windmills at any price.

Wind Turbines, Energy, Windmills, Rushed, Schemes, Inefficient

Nature favors those organisms which leave the environment in better shape for their progeny to survive.

Environment, Favors, Leave, Progeny, Shapes, Survive

Esso has been the main one in America spreading the disinformation that there is no global warming problem.

America, Esso, Global, Global Warming, Problem

Evolution is a tightly coupled dance, with life and the material environment as partners. From the dance emerges the entity Gaia.

Dance, Entity, Evolution, Inspirational, Material, Tightly

Only rarely do we see beyond the needs of humanity, and he linked this blindness to our Christian and humanist infrastructure. It arose 2,000 years ago and was then benign, and we were no significant threat to Gaia. Now that we are over six billion hungry and greedy individuals, all aspiring to a first-world lifestyle, our urban way of life encroaches upon the domain of the living Earth.

Christian, Years, Humanity, Greedy, Needs, Arose

Only nuclear power can now halt global warming.

Global, Global Warming, Halt, Nuclear, Warming

I suspect any worries about genetic engineering may be unnecessary. Genetic mutations have always happened naturally, anyway.

Engineering, Genetic, Mutation, Mutations, Suspect, Worry

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