---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that what we need to do is we…"
description: "\"I think that what we need to do is we need to think about what scale makes sense for dealing with our need to live within a habitable zone and to do so..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg"
---

#  I think that what we need to do is we need to think about…

![“I think that what we need to do is we need to think about what scale makes sense for dealing with our need to live within a habitable zone and to do so without using air conditioning and heating in the way that is so incredibly expensive to the environment.” quote by Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg)

> “I think that what we need to do is we need to think about what scale makes sense for dealing with our need to live within a habitable zone and to do so without using air conditioning and heating in the way that is so incredibly expensive to the environment.”

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

We must design living spaces that stay habitable without costly heating or cooling, aligning scale with environmental limits.

**In simple terms:** Design climate‑efficient habitats.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize sustainable architecture.

Themes

environment design energy scale

Mood

analytical forward‑looking

Type

technical inspirational

When to use this quote

- urban planning
- building design
- home renovation
- policy making

Key Concepts

systems thinking ecology thermal comfort

Questions to Reflect On

- What design strategies reduce energy use?
- How can societies adopt low‑energy living?

A Different Perspective

Balancing comfort and sustainability may require lifestyle changes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Air conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-conditioning/) [Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive/) [Expensive Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive-environment-5381395/) [Heating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heating/) [Live Habitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-habitable-5381396/) [Make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sense/) [Need Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-think-235420/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Think Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-need-287733/) [Think Scale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-scale-2788695/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Without u](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-u/) [Zone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zone/)

## Related quotes

> [I think scale is about, in a way, the apprehension of proportion, and all the proportions that mean things to us as human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-think-scale-is-about-in-a-way-the-apprehension-of-proportion-and/)

[Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/)

> [Better use of space, improving the insulation, getting more daylight into the buildings, reducing the energy consumption of the air conditioning and heating systems,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-yeang/better-use-of-space-improving-the-insulation-getting-more-daylight/)

[Ken Yeang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-yeang/)

> [I did something rather innovative that my competitors didn't like: I took out a full-page advertisement in the Yellow Pages that listed an office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-harrington/i-did-something-rather-innovative-that-my-competitors-didn-t-like-i/)

[Kevin Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-harrington/)

> [We have a group of friends of the museum who try to raise, if they can, periodically something to help us. Of course, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/we-have-a-group-of-friends-of-the-museum-who-try-to-raise-if-they-can/)

[Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/)

> [If an aircraft is able to fly day and night without fuel, propelled only by solar energy, let no one claim that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-piccard/if-an-aircraft-is-able-to-fly-day-and-night-without-fuel-propelled/)

[Bertrand Piccard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-piccard/)

> [You have the insanity that is geo-engineering which is a case in which you say the planet is heating up. Let's spray some aerosol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/you-have-the-insanity-that-is-geo-engineering-which-is-a-case-in/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [Here's who it's okay to share a bed with: . . . A heating pad. An empty bag of pita chips. The love of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/here-s-who-it-s-okay-to-share-a-bed-with-a-heating-pad-an-empty-bag/)

[Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/)

> [“we have developed a series of emotional thermostats as well, by far the most potent of which is television itself. instead of really experiencing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-have-developed-a-series-of-emotional-thermostats-as-well-by-far/)

[Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/)

> [Hunts Point Revival's reuse of the existing structure as part of the new development was conceptually bold and challenging. Overall, the project contained a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mazria/hunts-point-revival-s-reuse-of-the-existing-structure-as-part-of-the/)

[Edward Mazria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mazria/)

> [ \[Tar water\] is of a nature so mild and benign and proportioned to the human constitution, as to warm without heating, to cheer but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/tar-water-is-of-a-nature-so-mild-and-benign-and-proportioned-to-the/)

[George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/)

> [All that stuff about flatness - it's this idea that painting is a specialized discipline and that modernist painting increasingly refers to painting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-martin/all-that-stuff-about-flatness-it-s-this-idea-that-painting-is-a/)

[Chris Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-martin/)

> [This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through radioactive materials and a steady increase in carbon dioxide from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/this-generation-has-altered-the-composition-of-the-atmosphere-on-a/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

> [But we must also look at renewable heat technology. More combined heat and power schemes, putting waste heat to better use. More district heating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-huhne/but-we-must-also-look-at-renewable-heat-technology-more-combined-heat/)

[Chris Huhne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-huhne/)

> [Anyone who's tried to pay a heating bill, fill a prescription, or simply buy groceries knows all too well that the current minimum wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrod-brown/anyone-who-s-tried-to-pay-a-heating-bill-fill-a-prescription-or/)

[Sherrod Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrod-brown/)

> [At home, when the heating pipes made noises, I imagined a tiny person was in there skipping with a rope. The fantasy world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-wigan/at-home-when-the-heating-pipes-made-noises-i-imagined-a-tiny-person/)

[Willard Wigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-wigan/)

## More by Jonathon Keats

> [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller was an independent operator coming up with these madcap ways of combining things with absolutely no strings attached and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-was-an-independent-operator-coming-up-with-these/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [ We clearly recognize the need for something that is what \[Buckminster Fuller\] represents and therefore it becomes really useful and really interesting to look… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/we-clearly-recognize-the-need-for-something-that-is-what-buckminster/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [I think that I feel that I have no choice but to operate under the illusion, which may be a delusion, that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-i-feel-that-i-have-no-choice-but-to-operate-under-the/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller said that everything at the time was basically a horse and buggy in the form of an automobile and it had that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-said-that-everything-at-the-time-was-basically-a/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [I don't think that I am hopeful because I have some data that you don't, that I am going to share with you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-don-t-think-that-i-am-hopeful-because-i-have-some-data-that-you-don/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [I would argue that search has made the world a better place. It has done so for reasons that arbitrarily could completely change that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-argue-that-search-has-made-the-world-a-better-place-it-has/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [ Architects in urban planning are talking about this but they're not talking about it yet I don't think at that level that \[Buckminster\] Fuller… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/architects-in-urban-planning-are-talking-about-this-but-they-re-not/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [ I would certainly never want to inflict anything on the world exactly as \[Buckminster Fuller\] envisioned it because there is a technocratic worldview that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-certainly-never-want-to-inflict-anything-on-the-world-exactly/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [You have those who have been living and breathing Buckminster Fuller ever since he converted them to his cult and to be honest, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/you-have-those-who-have-been-living-and-breathing-buckminster-fuller/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [ There were other auto manufacturers that were confabulating as much as \[Buckminster Fuller\] was, making claims about how cars resembled this or that aspect… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/there-were-other-auto-manufacturers-that-were-confabulating-as-much/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [On the other hand, the way in which that car fit into this whole very roundabout way of attempting to solve the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/on-the-other-hand-the-way-in-which-that-car-fit-into-this-whole-very/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [I do not think that technology is our salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-do-not-think-that-technology-is-our-salvation/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [ Where Google and \[Buckminster\] Fuller overlap are in the potential for putting together disparate technologies in ways that can lead to something that might… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/where-google-and-buckminster-fuller-overlap-are-in-the-potential-for/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [I set my life since then attempting to figure out how to do that, basically how to have a sort of public discourse in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-set-my-life-since-then-attempting-to-figure-out-how-to-do-that/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [I was totally taken in and totally taken by that myth starting in 1999, rather carelessly writing about this archive and starting to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-was-totally-taken-in-and-totally-taken-by-that-myth-starting-in/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

[Explore all 63 Jonathon Keats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

## More Air quotes

> [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/)

[Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/)

[Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/)

> [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/)

[Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/)

> [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/)

[Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/)

> [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/)

[N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/)

> [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/)

[Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/)

> [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/)

[Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/)

> [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/)

[Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/)

> [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [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/)

> [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

[Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think that what we need to do is we need to think about what scale makes sense for dealing with our need to live within a habitable zone and to do so without using air conditioning and heating in the way that is so incredibly expensive to the environment.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jonathon Keats"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-need-to-think-about-what-scale/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Air"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-need-to-think-about-what-scale/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cb/jonathon-keats-10822_air_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-ne_2290796.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think that what we need to do is we need to think about what scale makes sense for dealing with our need…” — Jonathon Keats",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jonathon Keats",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think that what we need...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-need-to-think-about-what-scale/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-need-to-think-about-what-scale/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
