“…I stand at the seashore, alone, and start to think. There are the rushing waves, mountains of molecules, each stupidly minding its own business, trillions apart, yet forming white surf in unison. Age on ages, before any eyes could see, Year after year, thunderously pounding the shore as now. For whom, for what? On a dead planet, with no life to entertain. Never at rest, tortured by energy. Wasted prodigiously by the sun, poured into space. A mite makes the sea roar. Deep in the sea, all molecules repeat the patterns of one another till complex new ones are formed. They make others like themselves and a new dance starts. Growing in size and complexity, living things, masses of atoms, DNA, protein. Dancing a pattern ever more intricate. Out of the cradle onto the dry land, Here it is standing, atoms with consciousness, matter with curiosity stands at the sea, wonders at wondering…I, a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe.”
– Richard P. Feynman
“The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place.”
― Rachel Carson
“In every out-thrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.”
― Rachel Carson
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
― Rachel Carson
“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.”
― Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”
― Rachel Carson
“In nature nothing exists alone.”
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
“But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
― Rachel Carson
“Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life.”
― Rachel Carson
My idea of the perfect, jolly splendid time on a Friday evening must include sustainable technology. Singing and cavorting with wind turbines, doing pirouettes and cartwheels with solar panels, or being assaulted by ambulating infants as I roll about in puddles with a scintillating series of electric vehicles are all absolutely stellar plans for a mind-blasting good time for me. Throw in some owl sightings and some squeaking bats swiveling in the sky, and I have reached Utopia.
So, this past Friday night, Sir and I sluiced over to an electric car celebration, er, show, rather, in Orlando, organized by I.D.E.A.S. (Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions). Local owners of the Chevy Volt, Tesla, and Nissan Leaf, along with two electric motorcycles, displayed their vehicles. Despite the drizzle of rain, there was quite an ebullient crowd, charged with the electric current of inspired ideas for the future.
I must note that I found it exceedingly difficult to resist bopping one of the fine motorcyclists off his two-wheeled, gently cooing, electric chariot so that I could proceed to ride off into the bleary sunset, squealing away pure puerile elation.
“Environmentally friendly cars will soon cease to be an option…they will become a necessity.”
–Fujio Cho
“One must generate electricity in a sustainable way, as well as consume it in a sustainable way.”
-Elon Musk
“People will say, ‘Well, don’t electric cars create pollution at the power plant level?’
“It should be noted that for any given source-fuel, it is always better to generate the power at the power plant level and then charge electric cars and run them, because power plants are much more efficient at extracting the energy than internal combustion engines in a car.
“Power plants are at least twice as efficient, and usually more like three-times as efficient. Even if the whole world were always to be powered by hydrocarbons, it would still make sense to do electric cars.
“But, of course, we must also find a sustainable means of generating energy. I think the main candidate for such energy generation is actually solar. I think the physics of this is rather obvious.” -Elon Musk, quote from a lovely Oxford talk that can be seenHere
“Sustainability is a new idea to many people, and many find it hard to understand. But all over the world there are people who have entered into the exercise of imagining and bringing into being a sustainable world. They see it as a world to move toward not reluctantly, but joyfully, not with a sense of sacrifice, but a sense of adventure. A sustainable world could be very much better than the one we live in today.”
―Donella H. Meadows, “The Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update”
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
–Margaret Mead
“I think anyone who likes fast cars will love the Tesla. And it has fantastic handling by the way. I mean this car will crush a Porsche on the track, just crush it. So if you like fast cars, you’ll love this car. And then oh, by the way, it happens to be electric and it’s twice the efficiency of a Prius”
-Elon Musk
“If we are genuinely concerned about the environment and the fellow human beings, and want to end territorial disputes, war, crime, poverty, hunger, and the other problems that confront us today, the intelligent use of science and technology are the tools with which to achieve a new direction – one that will serve all people, and not just a select few.”-Jacque Fresco
“…I stand at the seashore, alone, and start to think. There are the rushing waves, mountains of molecules, each stupidly minding its own business, trillions apart, yet forming white surf in unison. Age on ages, before any eyes could see, Year after year, thunderously pounding the shore as now. For whom, for what? On a dead planet, with no life to entertain. Never at rest, tortured by energy. Wasted prodigiously by the sun, poured into space. A mite makes the sea roar. Deep in the sea, all molecules repeat the patterns of one another till complex new ones are formed. They make others like themselves and a new dance starts. Growing in size and complexity, living things, masses of atoms, DNA, protein. Dancing a pattern ever more intricate. Out of the cradle onto the dry land, Here it is standing, atoms with consciousness, matter with curiosity stands at the sea, wonders at wondering…I, a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe.”
A Day in the Brine 