Quotes

The reason why I say biomimicry is a movement rather than solely a new technological trend is that it appears to be informed by an ethos that seems to me at least to have a basis in ethics — that we learn from nature, and refrain from exploiting nature.

Many institutions have lasted multiple lifetimes—religions, cities, universities, militaries, a very few corporations—and often that was the intent, but these were not beginning-middle-end projects. What is so worth building that multiple generations would feel inspired to bear down on it for lifetimes? – Stewart Brand

The question is what synergistic technologies can we deploy to halt and then reverse the effect of human agriculture on the land? And, what would Earth look like if agriculture were offloaded, either to vertical farms or, in Gerard K. O’Neill’s vision, to orbital farms?

I would like to see more green fiction. In some of the stories that I have attempted, the current “green” fad has matured into genuine policy level cultural priority and established business practice, as well as a staple concern of urban planning. How can we make our cities more sustainable? Make urban areas coexist with…

It’d be nice to start with a clean slate, without the pressure to make everything make work with existing systems, conform to building codes, or have to make money or sense this year. But I think that such a place, if it existed, would need oversight. – Michael Burnam-Fink

I believe that the most important question we face about the future of the Internet is who will win political and economic control over the networks, platforms, and software upon which we increasingly depend.