Miguel McKelvey Quotes

I'm a strong proponent of green tech for anyone who can afford it, having spent the last 40 years working toward achieving a smaller and smaller eco-impact for myself.

It is very possible to have lives that are just as prosperous, and nicer, that use 5 percent of the fossil fuels and virgin materials we do now. But if we're living anything like the average McMansion-ite, SUV-driving suburbanites, there's simply no way that can be powered in a climate-friendly way.

I am involved in Greenpeace. And I just recently completely switched my diet over to near-veganism. So you try to do little things that you can. I recycle every single day. Every single thing in my house that can be recycled is.

You can drive an SUV, but there's a balance. If you do that, maybe use energy-efficient light bulbs at home or just be conscious of switching off lights. If you can afford to drive an SUV, maybe you can afford to make a donation to a wind farm or plant some trees. It's all about balance.

It's funny: being green to me was ingrained because my parents were always trying to save money, save water, turn off the lights, or arrange a carpool. I don't think my parents even know what it means to be green, but they were.

I am an eco-friendly person and a vegetarian.

I was writing a book about sustainable energy, and a friend asked me, 'Well, how much energy do you use at home?' And I was embarrassed. I didn't actually know.

I try to leave a light footprint. I'm involved with Global Green, which aims to educate people about sustainable building and the greening of schools. I try to be aware about the consumption of unnecessary things in a consumptive culture.

I support the Surfrider Foundation, which is focused on protecting the oceans and beaches. I also recycle and use mass transit, ride my bike as often as I can, or I walk, which is one of the best parts about living in New York City.

By 1990 I went back to no gasoline; I was just riding around on my bike, taking the bus. I had a tiny little electric car that didn't go very far or very fast. People thought I'd lost my mind. Even my own family thought I'd lost my mind.

There's this very vulnerable planet of ours with finite resources. Architects and designers have, I think, a fair responsibility for conserving energy and materials, and making things durable.

If we have any hope of finding ways for seven billion people to live well on planet with finite resources, we have to learn to use our resources efficiently. Plastic bags are neither efficient nor environmentally friendly.

'Green' does not have to mean the sort of hair-shirt, wood-burning-stove sensibility of the '70s. Green can and should be sleek and modern.

Dealing with global warming doesn't mean we have all got to suddenly stop breathing. Dealing with global warming means that we have to stop waste, and if you travel for no reason whatsoever, that is a waste.

I want to show people that environmentalism can be fun!

You'll know the green revolution has been won when the word 'green' disappears.

A shift is necessary toward lifestyles less geared to environmental damaging consumption patterns.

With all this talk of Going Green, Buying Green, Living Green, and Green being the new whatever, I've come to realize that, although we had no green, my grandmother was actually the 'greenest' person I've ever known.

We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature's inexhaustible sources of energy…. I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy.

I'm adamant about recycling in my house, and I'm always making sure to turn off the lights.

We try to be conscious of the amount of trash we have. Having a water filter allows us to be aware of not using too many water bottles. Since I am not able to hand wash due to my schedule, I use Seventh Generation laundry detergent, and I feel less guilty.

You can't be a perfect environmentalist unless you're Ed Begley, Jr., whom I once saw on TV using a bicycle to power his toaster. He's amazing.

People need to realise that their governments are sitting on finite resources that will run out one day. Subsidising power and water is not an ideal solution and does not help reduce consumption. We need to educate people, from a young age, about the importance of conserving energy in their daily lives.

We survived on natural resources, so we should take care of the earth. When I leave home, I do things like switching off the heat and lights.

Reducing our personal impact on the Earth via our ecological footprint, stop driving cars, eat less meat, all these things matter.