There are times when just a few words spoken at the right moment can have a massive effect. Martin Luther King knew this when he coined the phrase, “I have a dream.”
This collection of short sustainability quotes are no different. Each one is incredibly short but packs an overwhelmingly powerful message for the recipient, which cannot be ignored.
I encourage you to read each one and stop to think about the message it conveys. Perhaps with enough time and encouragement, we can all make our dreams a reality.
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“Sustainability takes forever. And that’s the point.”
– William Donough
“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”
– Jane Goodall
“He that plants trees loves others beside himself.”
– Thomas Fuller
“Consume less; share better.”
– Hervé Kempf
FACT
Living buildings
An alternative to solar panel roofing, particularly on large open-topped buildings, is to plant a garden or a ‘living wall.’
Aside from being very aesthetically pleasing, roof gardens and walls have a huge array of benefits. These include absorbing heat, carbon dioxide, and rainwater and provide insulation.
They also conserve electricity, alongside providing a habitat for animals in an otherwise desolate urban location. With these in mind, could our cities’ future entail becoming something similar to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
It would certainly change the meaning of the urban jungle’ if so.
“Buy less, choose well, make it last.”
– Vivienne Westwood
“Live your beliefs, and you can turn the world around.”
– Henry David Thoreau
“We can’t just consume our way to a more sustainable world.”
– Jennifer Nini
“Change your thoughts, and you change your world.”
– Norman Vincent Peale
FACT
Edible alternatives
In light of the 2015 statistics that there are five trillion pieces of plastic pollution in the ocean, there is a huge ecological incentive to address this. Amongst several proposals of biodegradable alternatives to plastics, there is actually a development that makes items, such as six-pack rings, edible to marine life.
Imagine if all the plastics in the ocean were edible! We may have even increased the abundance of marine organisms by now if so.
“Buy what you need, want what you have.”
– Bea Johnson
“Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land.”
– Aldo Leopold
“Good design is sustainable design.”
– Imran Amed
” The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
– Paulo Coelho
FACT
’Solar-powered sea slugs’ can detach their heads and regenerate a whole new body.
The discovery was made entirely by accident by researchers at Nara Women’s University in Japan. The team was studying the life cycles of sacoglossans, a type of sea slug, when Ph.D. student Sayaka Mitoh noticed that one of them was moving around without its body.
The head had separated from the heart and body and had begun moving on its own immediately afterward, she said.
Within days, the wound at the back of its head closed up. Its heart started to regenerate within about a week. And after three weeks, it had completely regenerated its body…
“Waste isn’t waste until we waste it.”
– Will I Am
“We only have two choices: Do nothing or do something.”
– Tony Kirwan
“Nature displays beauty in its pure state.”
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FACT
Bio-degradable bodies
Speaking of trees, another amazing green design called Capsula Mundi is providing an eco-friendly alternative to being buried in a coffin.
Their design involves placing the deceased in a biodegradable pod with a tree planted above. Over time, the body degrades and so provides nutrients for the tree to grow. This proposes a beautiful future ideology; Instead of visiting tombstones in graveyards to remember the dead, we visit forests.
(Not the sort of information you thought you would find in an article about short sustainability quotes eh!)
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”
– W.H Auden
“Man is a complex being: he makes deserts bloom – and lakes die.”
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“The earth is over a million years old; respect your elders.”
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“For if we destroy creation, creation will destroy us.”
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FACT
Solar roof tiles
Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive, isn’t content with just churning out super-efficient electric cars. He recently unveiled some incredible new solar roof tiles. Unlike currently used solar technology, these glass tiles look almost indistinguishable from typical roof tiling and come in a broad array of shapes and colors.
Musk says they look better, generate electricity, last longer, have better insulation, and cost less than a normal roof. It seems almost definite that they will be highly integrated into housing in the future.
“Imagine a man without lungs. Imagine earth without Amazon rainforest.”
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“When the soil disappears, the soul disappears.”
– Ymber Delecto
In Summary
I hope you enjoyed my list of short but powerful sustainability quotes that agitate our brains and can shift perception. Here is one last quote. It is a little longer but is a nice thought-provoking with just a little touch of irony to end on.
“in pursuit of human happiness, we have turned this planet into a bonfire, and people aren’t even happy.”
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There are many other articles and quotes on this website to help and motivate you. But to give you a boost, here are a few links to related articles that will help you start your journey.
27 Fantastic quotes about sustainability, eco-living, & the environment.
27 Famous quotes on plastic pollution that stir the mind.
Things you should know before starting a sustainable lifestyle.
The Ultimate money-saving guide for the zero-waste home.
77 Thought-provoking quotes about ethical, sustainable, and fast fashion
Mark Aspland is a proud father of two boys and an amateur actor and green living enthusiast. He has been sharing hints, tips, and sustainable living content on his website Sustainability Dad since august 2019.
He now has an army of like-hearted individuals passionate about the environment and how to affect positive change through peaceful action.
