--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human society sustains itself by…" description: "\"Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png" --- # Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into… ![“Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png) > “Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human civilization turns natural resources into waste, showing a pattern of consumption that harms the environment. **In simple terms:** Society turns nature into trash. Key Takeaway Reduce waste and protect nature. Themes environment consumption sustainability Mood reflective concerned Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - urban living - product design - policy making Key Concepts ecology industrialization Questions to Reflect On - What steps can reduce waste? - How does consumer culture affect the planet? A Different Perspective Changing habits is difficult amid convenience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garbage/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Nature Garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-garbage-2012424/) [Society Sustains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-sustains-2012425/) [Transforming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transforming/) [Transforming Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transforming-nature-2012426/) ## Related quotes > [“Whenever new knowledge of a transforming nature permeates the race, the standard of world culture rises.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/whenever-new-knowledge-of-a-transforming-nature-permeates-the-race/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [The organic gardener does not think of throwing away the garbage. She knows that she needs the garbage. She is capable of transforming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/the-organic-gardener-does-not-think-of-throwing-away-the-garbage-she/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [I am a stronger follower of Veganism by principle, not just because of moral and aesthetic reasons. I truly believe in a Vegetarian lifestyle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-am-a-stronger-follower-of-veganism-by-principle-not-just-because-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-drive-to-be-useful-is-encoded-in-our-genes-but-when-we-gather-in/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [There's a reason why every human society has fiction. It teaches us how to be 'good,' to behave in a way that is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/there-s-a-reason-why-every-human-society-has-fiction-it-teaches-us/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The desire to understand the world and the desire to reform it are the two great engines of progress, without which human society would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-desire-to-understand-the-world-and-the-desire-to-reform-it-are/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [History is no easy science; its subject, human society, is inifinitely complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/numa-denis-fustel-de-coulanges/history-is-no-easy-science-its-subject-human-society-is-inifinitely/) [Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/numa-denis-fustel-de-coulanges/) > [Religion and virtue are the only foundations, not of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all government and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/religion-and-virtue-are-the-only-foundations-not-of-republicanism-and/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [ Human society is not a machine, and it must not be made such, even in the economic field… Access to employment \[shall not be\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/human-society-is-not-a-machine-and-it-must-not-be-made-such-even-in/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [It is always the minorities that hold the key of progess; it is always through those who are unafraid to be different that advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-b-fosdick/it-is-always-the-minorities-that-hold-the-key-of-progess-it-is-always/) [Raymond B. Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-b-fosdick/) > [I may remind you that history is not a branch of literature. The facts of history, like the facts of geology or astronomy, can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-bury/i-may-remind-you-that-history-is-not-a-branch-of-literature-the-facts/) [J. B. Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-bury/) > [It crosses my mind that our generation may leave problems that are simply too hard for human society in the generations that follow. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-garnaut/it-crosses-my-mind-that-our-generation-may-leave-problems-that-are/) [Ross Garnaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-garnaut/) > [Life and human society are the chief concern of Confucianism and, through it, the chief concern of the Chinese people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/life-and-human-society-are-the-chief-concern-of-confucianism-and/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [I think we are all interested in end-times ideas and also in the current climate that we are all living in, where money is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/i-think-we-are-all-interested-in-end-times-ideas-and-also-in-the/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [“Free love may try to dissolve, and the concubinate to desecrate, the holiest tie, as it pleases; but, for the vast majority of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/free-love-may-try-to-dissolve-and-the-concubinate-to-desecrate-the/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Garbage quotes > [I'd take garbage, and I'd glue them together and create inventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-makosinski/i-d-take-garbage-and-i-d-glue-them-together-and-create-inventions/) [Ann Makosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-makosinski/) > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I take apart restaurant menus everywhere I go. I kind of tick off a lot of chefs in restaurants because I'll say, 'You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montel-williams/i-take-apart-restaurant-menus-everywhere-i-go-i-kind-of-tick-off-a/) [Montel Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montel-williams/) > [Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/guns-cause-crime-like-flies-cause-garbage/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I will be known forever as the Puppy who chased a cutpurse and caught fish garbage instead. My descendants will pretend I'm not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/i-will-be-known-forever-as-the-puppy-who-chased-a-cutpurse-and-caught/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [Many musicals you can take and throw in the garbage can because no one took the time to write a song you can care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/many-musicals-you-can-take-and-throw-in-the-garbage-can-because-no/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Currently, it was leading him through a neighborhood that was on the downside of whatever curve you hoped you'd bought your property on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/currently-it-was-leading-him-through-a-neighborhood-that-was-on-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out! She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans, Candy the yams and spice the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/sarah-cynthia-sylvia-stout-would-not-take-the-garbage-out-she-d-scour/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [Seasides so beautiful! Look at the garbage!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauly-d/seasides-so-beautiful-look-at-the-garbage/) [Pauly D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauly-d/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I don't know if it's fair to say that it's a bad time for movies. It seems to me that throughout the entire history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-fair-to-say-that-it-s-a-bad-time-for-movies-it/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [I would love to say there was some contemporary artist who's work really got me thinking, but lately I have just been trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-arcangel/i-would-love-to-say-there-was-some-contemporary-artist-who-s-work/) [Cory Arcangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-arcangel/) > [I hope we're not just human garbage drifting toward a big sewer. But I think so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-hope-we-re-not-just-human-garbage-drifting-toward-a-big-sewer-but-i/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Browse all 613 Garbage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garbage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/human-society-sustains-itself-by-transforming-nature-into-garbage/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Garbage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/human-society-sustains-itself-by-transforming-nature-into-garbage/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/mason-cooley-92_garbage_human-society-sustains-itself-by-transfo_988976.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.” — Mason Cooley", "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": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human society sustains itself by transforming...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/human-society-sustains-itself-by-transforming-nature-into-garbage/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/human-society-sustains-itself-by-transforming-nature-into-garbage/#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 } } ] } ```