Richard Foster Quotes

The societies of consumption and squandering of material resources are incompatible with the idea of economic growth and a clean planet.

If you're not buying recycled products, you're not really recycling.

It turns out the population issue is an easier thing to deal with than the consumption issue. Some obvious extremes in consumption we can deal with. The standard cure for a stuttering economy is to go out and buy an SUV and three more refrigerators. That's obviously not the way to go.

The throwaway economy that has been evolving over the last half-century is an aberration, now itself headed for the junk heap of history.

I mean, if cans can be recycled, why not spirits?

Reducing and reusing take nothing more than a rethink on the way we shop, and using our imagination with the things that we might once have considered junk.

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

We need a completely different type of economy - one which is truly green, sustainable, and embeds the biggest issues of the day into its heart.

We do need a 'new economy,' but one that is founded on thrift and care, on saving and conserving, not on excess and waste. An economy based on waste is inherently and hopelessly violent, and war is its inevitable by-product. We need a peaceable economy.

A massive campaign must be launched to de-develop the United States… [we] must design a stable, low-consumption economy.

Believe me, a grain is a terrible thing to waste.

If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.

Climate protection creates sustainability and jobs in the real economy - in construction, in the production of heavy machinery and in systems engineering.

After all, sustainability means running the global environment - Earth Inc. - like a corporation: with depreciation, amortization and maintenance accounts. In other words, keeping the asset whole, rather than undermining your natural capital.

Consuming less means throwing away less, while reusing things actually helps to save the planet as well as the pennies.

Environmental concern is a phenomena that tends to rise in a nation after a certain level of wealth.

Economic growth and environmental protection are not at odds. They're opposite sides of the same coin if you're looking at longer-term prosperity.

Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before him constantly. The scope of thrift is limitless.

So-called 'sustainable development'... is meaningless drivel.

When we unwrap presents, I tend to sit there with a bin liner trying to collect up the wrapping paper and thinking about which pieces I can reuse and which I will recycle.

For Pocketbook Environmentalists, financial savings are the primary motivator. However Pocketbook Environmentalists are changing the face of the market and the planet for the better by demanding that going green saves you money.

The day we dispose of the idea of disposability will be a great one for the planet.

The planet's resources are rare; we must consume more ethically and equitably.

We recycle everything in my house. I'm not into any particular organizations, but I'm doing my part and that makes me feel okay.

We learned that economic growth and environmental protection can and should go hand in hand.