--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't need a War on Carbon. We need a…" description: "\"We don't need a War on Carbon. We need a new prosperity that can be shared by all while still respecting a multitude of real ecological limits - not ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/alex-steffen-10872_carbon_we-don-t-need-a-war-on-carbon-we-need-a_3044179.jpg" --- # We don't need a War on Carbon. We need a new prosperity… ![“We don't need a War on Carbon. We need a new prosperity that can be shared by all while still respecting a multitude of real ecological limits - not just atmospheric gas concentrations, but topsoil depth, water supplies, toxic chemical concentrations, and the health of ecosystems, including the…” quote by Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/alex-steffen-10872_carbon_we-don-t-need-a-war-on-carbon-we-need-a_3044179.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/alex-steffen-10872_carbon_we-don-t-need-a-war-on-carbon-we-need-a_3044179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/alex-steffen-10872_carbon_we-don-t-need-a-war-on-carbon-we-need-a_3044179.jpg) > “We don't need a War on Carbon. We need a new prosperity that can be shared by all while still respecting a multitude of real ecological limits - not just atmospheric gas concentrations, but topsoil depth, water supplies, toxic chemical concentrations, and the health of ecosystems, including the diversity of life they depend upon.” [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True prosperity must respect ecological limits beyond just carbon, including soil, water, chemicals, and biodiversity. **In simple terms:** Prosperity must respect all ecological limits. Key Takeaway Build economies within planetary boundaries. Themes sustainability ecology prosperity Mood concerned urgent Type environmental policy When to use this quote - policy making - urban planning - agricultural practices - business strategy Key Concepts Systems thinking environmental ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can we measure ecological limits? - What policies balance growth and ecological health? A Different Perspective Complex trade‑offs may hinder implementation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Carbon Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-need-5032746/) [Chemical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemical/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depend/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversity/) [Ecological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecological/) [Ecological Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecological-limits-4059552/) [Ecosystems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecosystems/) [Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Multitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multitude/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Ecological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-ecological-5032747/) [Respecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respecting/) [Shared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shared/) [Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still/) [Supplies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplies/) [Toxic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toxic/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-carbon-4421490/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [While](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/while/) ## Related quotes > [I must say that when I first learned of the existence of the Australian Greenhouse Office, I assumed it was responsible for supplying tomatoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-minchin/i-must-say-that-when-i-first-learned-of-the-existence-of-the/) [Nick Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-minchin/) > [Prosperity consists in our ability to flourish as human beings - within the ecological limits of a finite planet. The challenge for our society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/prosperity-consists-in-our-ability-to-flourish-as-human-beings-within/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [Eventually the world will no longer be divided by the ideologies of 'left' and 'right' but by those who accept ecological limits and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-sachs/eventually-the-world-will-no-longer-be-divided-by-the-ideologies-of/) [Wolfgang Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-sachs/) > [In solitude, be a multitude to thyself. Tibullus by all means use sometimes to be alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-solitude-be-a-multitude-to-thyself-tibullus-by-all-means-use/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The multitude of books is a great evil. There is no limit to this fever for writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-multitude-of-books-is-a-great-evil-there-is-no-limit-to-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Charity creates a multitude of sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/charity-creates-a-multitude-of-sins/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The cheers of the multitude frequently act like a powerful drug upon young gentlemen with inferiority complexes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/the-cheers-of-the-multitude-frequently-act-like-a-powerful-drug-upon/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [We are but one of the multitude, in no respect better than any other in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/we-are-but-one-of-the-multitude-in-no-respect-better-than-any-other/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/wherever-the-bishop-shall-appear-there-let-the-multitude-also-be-even/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [“Eirikr lies on the table, staring into the night sky, staring at the uncountable stars that are shining brightly down on him. What lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sedgwick/eirikr-lies-on-the-table-staring-into-the-night-sky-staring-at-the/) [Marcus Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sedgwick/) > [What the multitude says, is so, or soon will be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-the-multitude-says-is-so-or-soon-will-be-so/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Dar'st thou amid the varied multitude To live alone, an isolated thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/dar-st-thou-amid-the-varied-multitude-to-live-alone-an-isolated-thing/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Alexander wept when he heard from Anaxarchus that there was an infinite number of worlds; and his friends asking him if any accident had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/alexander-wept-when-he-heard-from-anaxarchus-that-there-was-an/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by Alex Steffen > [If mass media, social isolation in the suburbs, alienating workplaces and long car commutes create a bunker mentality, the Internet does the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/if-mass-media-social-isolation-in-the-suburbs-alienating-workplaces/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [By looking at climate change as a clean energy generation problem, we're setting ourselves up not to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/by-looking-at-climate-change-as-a-clean-energy-generation-problem-we/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [Cities generate most of the global economy, and most of its energy use, resource demands and climate emissions. How we build cities over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/cities-generate-most-of-the-global-economy-and-most-of-its-energy-use/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [You don't change the world by hiding in the woods, wearing a hair shirt, or buying indulgences in the form of 'Save the Earth'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/you-don-t-change-the-world-by-hiding-in-the-woods-wearing-a-hair/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [There are a lot of different ways of building a prosperous society, and some of them use much less energy than others. And it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/there-are-a-lot-of-different-ways-of-building-a-prosperous-society/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [The brutal reality is that newer, more sprawling suburbs - and especially the cheap boom-years exburbs - aren't just a bit unsustainable, they're ruinously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/the-brutal-reality-is-that-newer-more-sprawling-suburbs-and/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [Cities are responsible for the vast majority of the creation of the economy. They're also places into which we pour the vast majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/cities-are-responsible-for-the-vast-majority-of-the-creation-of-the/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [It's not that hard to imagine the natural world recovering it's health in our absence: it's more difficult, and more necessary, to imagine it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/it-s-not-that-hard-to-imagine-the-natural-world-recovering-it-s/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [There's no law of physics that says we have to be an unsustainable society - in fact, quite the opposite. The planet's ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/there-s-no-law-of-physics-that-says-we-have-to-be-an-unsustainable/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [We don't know yet how to build a society which is environmentally sustainable, which is shareable with everybody on the planet, which promotes stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/we-don-t-know-yet-how-to-build-a-society-which-is-environmentally/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [Cabbies in particular seem to like discussing the fate the Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/cabbies-in-particular-seem-to-like-discussing-the-fate-the-earth/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [I think there's a gigantic generation gap in terms of how people understand the Internet and how much they think technology is an important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/i-think-there-s-a-gigantic-generation-gap-in-terms-of-how-people/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [Climate change is not a discrete issue; it's a symptom of larger problems. Fundamentally, our society as currently designed has no future. We're chewing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/climate-change-is-not-a-discrete-issue-it-s-a-symptom-of-larger/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [We have to craft new political realities, not only in places like India, Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, but here at home as well. Another world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/we-have-to-craft-new-political-realities-not-only-in-places-like/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [It is very possible to have lives that are just as prosperous, and nicer, that use 5 percent of the fossil fuels and virgin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/it-is-very-possible-to-have-lives-that-are-just-as-prosperous-and/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) [Explore all 63 Alex Steffen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) ## More Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) [Peter Dilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dilger/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) [Marc Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-morano/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) [Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't need a War on Carbon. 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