--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we as Americans know there's a…" description: "\"I think we as Americans know there's a much better alternative than the 17th century practice of burning rocks to power our economy.\" — Robert F. Kenne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/robert-f-kennedy-jr-12408_17th-century_i-think-we-as-americans-know-there-s-a-m_2284770.png" --- # I think we as Americans know there's a much better… ![“I think we as Americans know there's a much better alternative than the 17th century practice of burning rocks to power our economy.” quote by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/robert-f-kennedy-jr-12408_17th-century_i-think-we-as-americans-know-there-s-a-m_2284770.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/robert-f-kennedy-jr-12408_17th-century_i-think-we-as-americans-know-there-s-a-m_2284770.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/robert-f-kennedy-jr-12408_17th-century_i-think-we-as-americans-know-there-s-a-m_2284770.png) > “I think we as Americans know there's a much better alternative than the 17th century practice of burning rocks to power our economy.” [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker suggests that America should move beyond outdated, harmful energy practices like rock burning, implying better modern alternatives exist. **In simple terms:** America needs better energy solutions than old rock‑burning methods. Key Takeaway Advocate for sustainable energy transition. Themes energy environment innovation policy Mood concerned optimistic Type persuasive informative When to use this quote - government hearings - environmental activism - business strategy - public education Key Concepts renewables climate change technology adoption Questions to Reflect On - What viable alternatives could replace outdated energy methods? - How can policy accelerate sustainable energy adoption? A Different Perspective The statement lacks specifics on alternatives and may oversimplify complex energy issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The technologies for the alternative energy sources exists today. The economics are compelling. The public health is compelling. Why would we maintain a focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-technologies-for-the-alternative-energy-sources-exists-today-the/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [“The balance of power in the economy is shifting toward a small number of companies and very definitely away from policy makers and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haydn-shaughnessy/the-balance-of-power-in-the-economy-is-shifting-toward-a-small-number/) Haydn Shaughnessy > [There's probably a tendency to view power... to be either based on size or the size and power of your economy. I think New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinda-ardern/there-s-probably-a-tendency-to-view-power-to-be-either-based-on-size/) [Jacinda Ardern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinda-ardern/) > [Money, amazingly, is losing its power... Our economy is rapidly changing from a money economy to a satisfaction economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/money-amazingly-is-losing-its-power-our-economy-is-rapidly-changing/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [We'll have a public power authority, which will also have the ability to build power or finance power. And more importantly, we'll have more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gray-davis/we-ll-have-a-public-power-authority-which-will-also-have-the-ability/) [Gray Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gray-davis/) > [The Fed has a lot of power in the economy because it has a big impact on the supply and cost of credit, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-epstein/the-fed-has-a-lot-of-power-in-the-economy-because-it-has-a-big-impact/) [Gerald Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-epstein/) > [“Although—given the idea that my dad is alive—going mad seems a better alternative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-mcgowan/although-given-the-idea-that-my-dad-is-alive-going-mad-seems-a-better/) Maureen McGowan > [My aim is to project that the BJP is not only an alternative but a better alternative to the Congress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushma-swaraj/my-aim-is-to-project-that-the-bjp-is-not-only-an-alternative-but-a/) [Sushma Swaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushma-swaraj/) > [I preach nonviolence because it's the better alternative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/i-preach-nonviolence-because-it-s-the-better-alternative/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [A book I often refer to by Naomi Klein is called 'No Is Not Enough'. It's not enough to be against something. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-swinson/a-book-i-often-refer-to-by-naomi-klein-is-called-no-is-not-enough-it/) [Jo Swinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-swinson/) > [Ageing's alright, better than the alternative, which is not being here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/ageing-s-alright-better-than-the-alternative-which-is-not-being-here/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [Anger - a better alternative to caffeine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/anger-a-better-alternative-to-caffeine/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Perhaps people need to understand some history here. Rene Descartes, in the late 16th, early 17th century, postulated that body, mind, physicality and spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/perhaps-people-need-to-understand-some-history-here-rene-descartes-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [With Brexit, and I think the extraordinary strain it's put on our constitution and our representative democracy, I do sometimes feel like I'm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/with-brexit-and-i-think-the-extraordinary-strain-it-s-put-on-our/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [Recently I was reading somewhere or other an Italian curio-dealer who attempted to sell a 17th century crucifix to J.P. Morgan. Inside it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/recently-i-was-reading-somewhere-or-other-an-italian-curio-dealer-who/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr > [While communism is the control of business by government, fascism is the control of government by business,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/while-communism-is-the-control-of-business-by-government-fascism-is/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [The journalists in America are no longer covering critical stories. Investigative journalism is gone. Foreign-news coverage is gone. The press is owned by five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-journalists-in-america-are-no-longer-covering-critical-stories/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [The next time you see John Stossel or Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, these flat-Earthers, these corporate toadies, lying to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-next-time-you-see-john-stossel-or-glenn-beck-or-rush-limbaugh-or/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Corporate polluters, their phony think tanks and political toadies like to marginalize environmentalists as tree huggers, or radicals. But there is nothing radical about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/corporate-polluters-their-phony-think-tanks-and-political-toadies/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Some corporations don't want free markets, and they don't want democracy. They want profits. And they use our campaign finance system to loot our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/some-corporations-don-t-want-free-markets-and-they-don-t-want/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Investigative journalism has been relegated to a very, very tiny space in America. We don't really have much investigative journalism left. And the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/investigative-journalism-has-been-relegated-to-a-very-very-tiny-space/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [One out of every six American women has so much mercury in her womb that her children are at risk for a grim inventory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/one-out-of-every-six-american-women-has-so-much-mercury-in-her-womb/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [We protect nature not for nature's sake but for our own sake because it's the infrastructure of our communities...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/we-protect-nature-not-for-nature-s-sake-but-for-our-own-sake-because/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [GE is the biggest polluter of the Hudson.. years ago they killed all the fish dumping millions of lbs. of pcb's into our waterways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/ge-is-the-biggest-polluter-of-the-hudson-years-ago-they-killed-all/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Those guys are doing the Koch Brothers bidding and are against all the evidence of the rational mind, saying global warming does not exit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/those-guys-are-doing-the-koch-brothers-bidding-and-are-against-all/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [The way you get democracy to function is by informing the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-way-you-get-democracy-to-function-is-by-informing-the-public/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [You show me pollution and I will show you people who are not paying their own way, people who are stealing from the public,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/you-show-me-pollution-and-i-will-show-you-people-who-are-not-paying/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Corporations are a good thing. But corporations should not be running our government... They have driven the American economy since its founding, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/corporations-are-a-good-thing-but-corporations-should-not-be-running/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [These are facts that would make every American upset. Our birthright is being stolen, the legacy of our country is at stake, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/these-are-facts-that-would-make-every-american-upset-our-birthright/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Everyone knows that we're doing a science experiment with Earth. And the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 contributors to it are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/everyone-knows-that-we-re-doing-a-science-experiment-with-earth-and/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) [Explore all 55 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) ## More 17th century quotes > [Recently I was reading somewhere or other an Italian curio-dealer who attempted to sell a 17th century crucifix to J.P. Morgan. Inside it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/recently-i-was-reading-somewhere-or-other-an-italian-curio-dealer-who/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [With Brexit, and I think the extraordinary strain it's put on our constitution and our representative democracy, I do sometimes feel like I'm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/with-brexit-and-i-think-the-extraordinary-strain-it-s-put-on-our/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [Perhaps people need to understand some history here. Rene Descartes, in the late 16th, early 17th century, postulated that body, mind, physicality and spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/perhaps-people-need-to-understand-some-history-here-rene-descartes-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“It combined corrupt simplicity with delicate ferocity, a curious variety of civilization; a tiger with a simper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-combined-corrupt-simplicity-with-delicate-ferocity-a-curious/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I'm from Holland and the history of "Admiral" is something you would read about when you're at school. Nobody knows about these stories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roel-reine/i-m-from-holland-and-the-history-of-admiral-is-something-you-would/) Roel Reine > [Yes, I would agree that America, just like Spain was in the 17th Century, is the main empire of the world and they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/yes-i-would-agree-that-america-just-like-spain-was-in-the-17th/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) > [I would love to do a period piece - in the 18th or 17th century. To me, it would be such an incredible challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-smart/i-would-love-to-do-a-period-piece-in-the-18th-or-17th-century-to-me/) [Amy Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-smart/) > [I'd share a pic if the digital camera battery wasn't as flat as 17th century Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-haynes/i-d-share-a-pic-if-the-digital-camera-battery-wasn-t-as-flat-as-17th/) [Simon Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-haynes/) > [You cannot gauge the intelligence of an American by talking with him; you must work with him. The American polishes and refines his way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/you-cannot-gauge-the-intelligence-of-an-american-by-talking-with-him/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Technologically I live in the 17th century. I have a very simple cell phone. I say I live through the kindness of strangers, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/technologically-i-live-in-the-17th-century-i-have-a-very-simple-cell/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [Each of us have things and thoughts and descriptions of an amazing universe in our possession that kings in the 17th Century would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/each-of-us-have-things-and-thoughts-and-descriptions-of-an-amazing/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Order can arise from chaos without anyone or anything directing the process when unstable combinations of atoms perish and others persist. In the 17th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/order-can-arise-from-chaos-without-anyone-or-anything-directing-the/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [The data, however, do indicate that Christians who see Jews through a 17th-century lens, believing that most are thoroughly religious, are thoroughly wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/the-data-however-do-indicate-that-christians-who-see-jews-through-a/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [The technologies for the alternative energy sources exists today. The economics are compelling. The public health is compelling. Why would we maintain a focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-technologies-for-the-alternative-energy-sources-exists-today-the/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Religion is a practical discipline and in the 17th century in the West, we turned it onto a head trip. But it's like dancing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/religion-is-a-practical-discipline-and-in-the-17th-century-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) Browse all 43 17th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think we as Americans know there's a much better alternative than the 17th century practice of burning rocks to power our economy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert F. 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