“In the days when money was backed by its face value in silver or gold, there were limits to how much wealth could flow around the world. Today, it's virtual money that the bank lends into existence on a computer… — Alan Weisman Copy Share Image
“The Panama Canal,' says Abdiel Perez, 'is like a wound that humans inflicted on the Earth--one that nature is trying to heal.” — Alan Weisman Copy Share
The fact that the infrastructure is falling apart is not necessarily because it's built poorly. The New York City subways were built in 1903.… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“Before artificial nitrogen fertilizer became widely available, the world's population was around 2 billion. When we no longer have it - or if we… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“Puszcza, an old Polish word, means “forest primeval.” Straddling the border between Poland and Belarus, the half-million acres of the Białowieża Puszcza contain Europe’s… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“In recent years, a green burial movement has protested formaldehyde, which oxidizes to formic acid, the toxic in fire ants and bee stingers, as… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“In the days when money was backed by its face value in silver or gold, there were limits to how much wealth could flow… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“Missing, however, are nearly all fauna adapted to us. The seemingly invincible cockroach, a tropical import, long ago froze in unheated apartment buildings. Without… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
All of us humans have myriad other species to thank. Without them, we couldn't exist. It's that simple, and we can't afford to ignore… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
In a future that portends stronger and more-frequent hurricanes striking North America's Atlantic coast, ferocious winds will pummel tall, unsteady structures. Some will topple,… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
The real people who hold our civilization together are the maintenance people. If it weren't for them - pumping water out of subways, painting… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“Once, we built structures entirely from the most durable substances we knew: granite block, for instance. The results are still around today to admire,… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“Arsenic turned out to work even better, and was cheaper. Until it was banned in the 1890s, it was used widely, and heavy arsenic… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
For years, I have been looking for a way to look at the whole global environmental situation, which I have the privilege and burden… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
“In New York, the European starling—now a ubiquitous avian pest from Alaska to Mexico—was introduced because someone thought the city would be more cultured… — Alan Weisman Copy Share
