Quotes by James Lovelock

About James Lovelock:

James Ephraim Lovelock is an independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist who lives in Devon, England. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I suspect any worries about genetic engineering may be unnecessary. Genetic mutations have always happened naturally, anyway.

James Lovelock

Esso has been the main one in America spreading the disinformation that there is no global warming problem.

James Lovelock

Civilization in its present form hasn't got long.

James Lovelock

Let's make hay while it lasts.

James Lovelock

I'm not a pessimist, even though I do think awful things are going to happen.

James Lovelock

An inefficient virus kills its host. A clever virus stays with it.

James Lovelock

All the modelling we do shows that the climate is poised on the jump up to a new hot state. It is accelerating so fast that you could say that we are already in it.

James Lovelock

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

James Lovelock

We rushed into renewable energy without any thought. The schemes are largely hopelessly inefficient and unpleasant. I personally can't stand windmills at any price.

James Lovelock

The tropical rain forests are a telling example. Once cut down, they rarely recover. Rainfall drops, deserts spread, the climate warms.

James Lovelock

You never know with politicians what they are really saying. And I don't say that in a negative way-they have an appalling job.

James Lovelock

Florida will be gone altogether, the whole damned place, in not too long.

James Lovelock

The problem is we don't know what the climate is doing. We thought we knew 20 years ago. That led to some alarmist books - mine included - because it looked clear-cut, but it hasn't happened.

James Lovelock

The climate is doing its usual tricks. There's nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now.

James Lovelock

The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium.

James Lovelock

Nowadays if you're dependent on a grant - and 99% of them are - you can't make mistakes as you won't get another one if you do.

James Lovelock

Climatologists are all agreed that we'd be lucky to see the end of this century without the world being a totally different place, and being 8 or 9 degrees hotter on average.

James Lovelock

Gas is almost a give-away in the U.S. at the moment. They've gone for fracking in a big way. This is what makes me very cross with the greens for trying to knock it... Let's be pragmatic and sensible and get Britain to switch everything to methane. W...

James Lovelock

I would only have been too pleased if someone had asked me for my data. If you really believed in your data, you wouldn't mind someone looking at it. You should be able to respond that if you don't believe me go out and do the measurements yourself.

James Lovelock

A billion could live off the earth; 6 billion living as we do is far too many, and you run out of planet in no time.

James Lovelock

Nature favors those organisms which leave the environment in better shape for their progeny to survive.

James Lovelock

Author Bio

  • NameJames Lovelock
  • Descriptionindependent scientist, environmentalist and futurist
  • BornJuly 26, 1919
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionBiologist; Chemist
  • AwardsFellow Of The Royal Society; Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire; ; Volvo Environment Prize