Killer Quotes

Humans as disease

"We have grown in number to the point where our presence is perceptibly disabling the planet like a disease. As in human disease there are four possible outcomes: destruction of the invading disease organisms; chronic infection; destruction of the host; or symbiosis - a lasting relationship of mutual benefit to the host and the invader."
From James Lovelock, who is a fellow of the Royal Society and one of the world's leading environmentalists. He is also the originator of Gaia Theory.

Does Sustainable Development mean population reduction?

"The root of our problems with the environment comes from a lack of constraint on the growth of population. There is no single right number of people that we can have has a goal; the number varies with our way of life on the planet and the state of its health. It has varied naturally from a few million when we were hunters and gatherers to a fraction of a billion as simple farmers; but now it has grown to over six billion, which is wholly unsustainable in the present state of Gaia, even if we had the will and ability to cut back."
James Lovelock from his book The Revenge of Gaia

Strange nuances: human herd reduction, women's liberation and sterilisation

"Personally I think we would be wise to aim at a stabilized population of of about half to one billion, and then we'd be free to live in many different ways without harming Gaia. At first this may seem a difficult, unpalatable, even hopeless task, but events of the last century suggest that it might be easier than we think. Thus in prosperous societies, when women are given the chance to develop their potential they choose voluntarily to be less fecund."
James Lovelock from his book The Revenge of Gaia

Does this man have Gaia's ear?

"In the end, as always, Gaia will do the culling and eliminate those that breaks her rules. We have the choice to accept this fate or plan our own destiny within Gaia."
James Lovelock from his book The Revenge of Gaia


Euthanasia?

"The regulation of fecundity is part of population control, but the regulation of the death rate is also important. Here,too, people in affluent societies are choosing voluntarily seemly ways to die. Traditionally, hospitals have for the elderly been places for dying in comparative comfort and painlessness; the hospice movement has served to set standards and make this otherwise unmentionable role of the health systems acceptable. According to Hodkinson,in his book An Outline of Geriatrics, about 25% of the elderly entering hospitals die withing two months. Now that the Earth is imminent danger of a transition to a hot inhospitable state, it seems amoral to strive ostentatiously to extend our personal lifespan beyond its normal biological limit of about 100 years. "
James Lovelock from his book The Revenge of Gaia