James Gustave Speth Quotes

• Materialism is toxic to happiness, and we are losing our connection to the natural world.

  James Gustave Speth

  Toxic, Connections, World

  "Book World: 'The Bridge at the Edge of the World'". Live chat, www.washingtonpost.com. April 29, 2008.

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• If some of these answers seem radical or far-fetched today, then I say wait until tomorrow. Soon it will be abundantly clear that it is business as usual that is utopian, whereas creating something very new and different is a practical necessity.

  James Gustave Speth

  Creating, Waiting, Usual

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• Poverty, in the end, is a state of dispossession and deprivation in which people are not only deprived of their income, but also of opportunity, empowerment and, most important, dignity.

  James Gustave Speth

  Opportunity, People, Empowerment

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• Value change can change our pathetic capitulation to consumerism, which will help us psychologically as well as environmentally.

  James Gustave Speth

  Helping, Consumerism, Wells

  "Book World: 'The Bridge at the Edge of the World'". Live chat, www.washingtonpost.com. April 29, 2008.

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• The pattern is clear: if we could speed up time, it would seem as if the global economy is crashing against the earth - the Great Collision.

  James Gustave Speth

  Growth, Earth, Patterns

  James Gustave Speth (2008). “The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability”, p.1, Yale University Press

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• My wife and I have purchased two hybrids. We bought a 3 kw photovoltaic unit. We recycle and offset our carbon emissions on the Internet. We turn things off. But we also spend two nice salaries every year, and here's the dirty little secret - our environmental footprint is HUGE, I'm sure. We've all got to do what we can in our individual lives, but we've also got to drive the systemic changes that will make the big differences.

  James Gustave Speth

  Nice, Dirty, Years

  "Book World: 'The Bridge at the Edge of the World'". Live chat, www.washingtonpost.com. April 29, 2008.

  8 Copy quote

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