William H. Calvin Quotes

• You can always spot the pioneers by the arrows in their backs.

  William H. Calvin

  Arrows, Pioneers, Spots

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• Trusting your energy policy to the fossil fuel lobby is like trusting your health care system to the tobacco lobby.

  William H. Calvin

  Energy, Climate, Fuel

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.128, William H. Calvin

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• Unless we redesign our civilization in numerous ways, all of the science in the world won't save us.

  William H. Calvin

  Civilization, Climate, World

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.142, William H. Calvin

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• Carbon-free energy is simply something we have to do. The time for talk is past. If we turn around net carbon emissions by 2020 rather than 2040, we get another 2° of fever rather than 3° - and that's a big difference.

  William H. Calvin

  Past, Differences, Carbon Emissions

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.142, William H. Calvin

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• Carrying on as usual carries enormous risks, condemning today's students to a world of constant insecurity and frequent catastrophes.

  William H. Calvin

  Insecurity, Risk, Usual

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• Perhaps we should put up posters in such places reminding people that where they stand was underwater the last time that the Earth ran a 3°F fever.

  William H. Calvin

  People, Underwater, Fever

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• The real focus needs to be on political action to stop this runaway train, real soon.

  William H. Calvin

  Real, Focus, Political

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.165, William H. Calvin

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• Our CO2 mixes with everyone else's within a year, then hangs around for centuries like a shroud.

  William H. Calvin

  Years, Climate, Century

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.173, William H. Calvin

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• Since Serengeti-scale savanna scenes are only one or two million years old, our earliest after-the-apes ancestors didn't move into this scene so much as they evolved with it, as the slower climate changes and uplift produced more grass and less forest.

  William H. Calvin

  Uplifting, Moving, Two

  William H. Calvin (2010). “A Brain for All Seasons: Human Evolution and Abrupt Climate Change”, p.90, William H. Calvin

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• If we don't start thinking big about the CO2 problem, we may miss our opportunity to stop a climate runaway that will trash the habitable parts of the earth.

  William H. Calvin

  Opportunity, Thinking, Missing

  William H. Calvin (2008). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.225, University of Chicago Press

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• It's going to be like herding stray cats, and the political leaders who can do it will be remembered as the same kind of geniuses who pulled off the American Revolution.

  William H. Calvin

  Cat, Leader, Political

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.177, William H. Calvin

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• Countries that innovate first get the new jobs, developing an economic edge over the C-free laggards that end up having to later import the technology.

  William H. Calvin

  Country, Jobs, Technology

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• Stopping emissions growth represents the most minimal of do-something responses.

  William H. Calvin

  Growth, Climate, Stopping

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.137, William H. Calvin

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• Climate change has a very high procrastination penalty that just grows with each passing year of inaction - rather like what happens if you don't pay off your credit card. But for climate, there is no such thing as a fresh start from bankruptcy.

  William H. Calvin

  Procrastination, Years, Climate

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• Anyone who would tackle our current addiction to fossil fuels is going to have to maneuver around denial.

  William H. Calvin

  Addiction, Denial, Fuel

  William H. Calvin (2010). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.31, William H. Calvin

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• Even if we stop the growth, we'd still be adding a constant amount of fossil carbon to the atmosphere each year.

  William H. Calvin

  Years, Atmosphere, Growth

  William H. Calvin (2008). “Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change”, p.225, University of Chicago Press

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