The system of nature, of which man is a part, tends to be self-balancing, self-adjusting, self-cleansing. Not so with technology. – E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful, 1973

In the sixties, you could always insult a guy by calling him “plastic.” It meant he was phony or superficial. The opposite of plastic was “real.” – Elizabeth Royte, Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash, 2005

When some high-sounding institute states that a compound is harmless or a process free of risk, it is wise to know whence the institute or the scientists who work there obtain their financial support. – Lancet, editorial on the "medical-industrial complex," 1973

We have to shift our emphasis from economic efficiency and materialism towards a sustainable quality of life and to healing of our society, of our people and our ecological systems. – Janet Holmes à Court