--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To support an adequate standard of…" description: "\"“To support an adequate standard of living, humankind still needs huge quantities of wood and wood products, from planking and beams and fibreboard to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png" --- # To support an adequate standard of living, humankind still… ![“To support an adequate standard of living, humankind still needs huge quantities of wood and wood products, from planking and beams and fibreboard to paper. We need trees, lots of them, and we must therefore use a good fraction of Earth’s surface as cropland for tree farms. Indeed, British…” quote by Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png) > ““To support an adequate standard of living, humankind still needs huge quantities of wood and wood products, from planking and beams and fibreboard to paper. We need trees, lots of them, and we must therefore use a good fraction of Earth’s surface as cropland for tree farms. Indeed, British Columbia’s terrain and temperate climate are ideal for growing softwood suitable for construction. I know that we can grow and harvest trees sensibly: during his career in B.C., my father worked as a forester and built a reputation as an innovator of logging and reforestation techniques that cause minimal damage to the land. As a child and young man, I spent many hours watching his employees use these techniques, and for two summers I worked in the B.C. forest industry myself, surveying tracts of timber for logging. But on that sunny afternoon, the clear-cuts southeast”” [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sustainable wood production requires large land use, but responsible forestry can balance demand and environmental impact. **In simple terms:** We need trees, but must harvest responsibly. Key Takeaway Practice and forestry and reforestation. Themes sustainability resource management environment Mood concerned optimistic Type analysis reflective When to use this quote - construction industry - policy planning - community forestry Key Concepts forestry land use economics Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to wood exist? - How can reforestation be scaled? A Different Perspective Balancing demand with limited land is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British columbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-columbia/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sunny afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunny-afternoon/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [“I missed my mother and Elysius. It wasn't that I wanted them with me at that very moment. I wanted them in the past.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-asher/i-missed-my-mother-and-elysius-it-wasn-t-that-i-wanted-them-with-me/) [Bridget Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-asher/) > [Taken everything I've got, all I've got's this sunny afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/taken-everything-i-ve-got-all-i-ve-got-s-this-sunny-afternoon/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) > [Someone has somewhere commented on the fact that millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/someone-has-somewhere-commented-on-the-fact-that-millions-long-for/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [The story of Harold Fry and his unlikely pilgrimage began as an afternoon play for radio. For many years, I have been writing plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/the-story-of-harold-fry-and-his-unlikely-pilgrimage-began-as-an/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“You are, of course, allowed to love food and music and champagne and rare sunny afternoons in October. You can love the sight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/you-are-of-course-allowed-to-love-food-and-music-and-champagne-and/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/we-all-have-these-places-where-shy-humiliations-gambol-on-sunny/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I was testing a P-51 fighter in Minneapolis when I spotted this object. I was at about 10,000 feet on a nice, bright, sunny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deke-slayton/i-was-testing-a-p-51-fighter-in-minneapolis-when-i-spotted-this/) [Deke Slayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deke-slayton/) > [“Like no one else... you share that part of my mind that associates itself mostly with ideal things and places... The impression thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/like-no-one-else-you-share-that-part-of-my-mind-that-associates/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“I don’t know why she broke up with me. I was always there when she needed me. Well, aside for about 3/4ths of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-don-t-know-why-she-broke-up-with-me-i-was-always-there-when-she/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I don’t think I have dreams anymore. I think they all died the same day I did, back on that sunny afternoon in spring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-geissinger/i-don-t-think-i-have-dreams-anymore-i-think-they-all-died-the-same/) [J.T. Geissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-geissinger/) > [“At the front door I see Tommy, a dark, unhappy shape in the middle of the sunny afternoon. We match, I think. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-maciel/at-the-front-door-i-see-tommy-a-dark-unhappy-shape-in-the-middle-of/) Amanda Maciel > [“Author describes one character's optimism as, that quiet well-being which perhaps you and I have felt on a sunny afternoon when, in our brightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/author-describes-one-character-s-optimism-as-that-quiet-well-being/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is it about a beautiful sunny afternoon, with the birds singing and the wind rustling through the leaves, that makes you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/what-is-it-about-a-beautiful-sunny-afternoon-with-the-birds-singing/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Leisure is gone,--gone where the spinning-wheels are gone, and the pack-horses, and the slow wagons, and the peddlers, who brought bargains to the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/leisure-is-gone-gone-where-the-spinning-wheels-are-gone-and-the-pack/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Spend sunny afternoons writing. Take weekends in the country. Dream. Drink good wine, eat fabulous cheese and great bread. Make the kind of love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hauck/spend-sunny-afternoons-writing-take-weekends-in-the-country-dream/) [Rachel Hauck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hauck/) ## More by Thomas Homer-Dixon > [hen the price of carbon reaches $100 a tonne, then it will become an economically viable business proposition to start taking COâ‚‚ out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/hen-the-price-of-carbon-reaches-100-a-tonne-then-it-will-become-an/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“As ingenuity gaps widen the gulfs of wealth and power among us, we need imagination, metaphor and empathy more than ever, to help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/as-ingenuity-gaps-widen-the-gulfs-of-wealth-and-power-among-us-we/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [Our marvelous new information technologies boost our power and opportunities for political engagement, but they can also disempower us by contributing to extreme political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/our-marvelous-new-information-technologies-boost-our-power-and/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“Conventional economics is the dominant intellectual rationalization of today’s world order. As we’ve overextended the growth phase of our global adaptive cycle, this rationalization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/conventional-economics-is-the-dominant-intellectual-rationalization/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“As I looked over this curious document, I was particularly struck by a band of text across the bottom. It bore the title “Paperwork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/as-i-looked-over-this-curious-document-i-was-particularly-struck-by-a/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“We can see how our world is, in many ways, becoming more complex, fast-paced, and unpredictable. As a result, the problems we face are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/we-can-see-how-our-world-is-in-many-ways-becoming-more-complex-fast/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“Today’s overwhelming volume and variety of information makes it possible—by selecting and connecting data points carefully—to paint practically any picture of the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/today-s-overwhelming-volume-and-variety-of-information-makes-it/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“Writing and repairing software generally takes far more time and is far more expensive than initially anticipated. “Every feature that is added and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/writing-and-repairing-software-generally-takes-far-more-time-and-is/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“The result is a dangerous lag between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The natural sciences and the technologies they spawn carry us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/the-result-is-a-dangerous-lag-between-the-natural-sciences-and-the/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“We might be excused our ignorance in this case, because ocean-atmosphere systems are, after all, almost inconceivably complex. Less easy to excuse is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/we-might-be-excused-our-ignorance-in-this-case-because-ocean/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [Bitumen is junk energy. A joule, or unit of energy, invested in extracting and processing bitumen returns only four to six joules in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/bitumen-is-junk-energy-a-joule-or-unit-of-energy-invested-in/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [Human beings have been smart enough to turn nature to their ends, generate vast wealth for themselves, and double their average life span. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/human-beings-have-been-smart-enough-to-turn-nature-to-their-ends/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“The combined activities of our enormous population are already producing breathtaking effects. Our planet is only 12,700 kilometers in diameter—about three times the distance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/the-combined-activities-of-our-enormous-population-are-already/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“Some people argue that economics is an exception to this general story. Economics, they say, provides a much more analytically precise and tightly integrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/some-people-argue-that-economics-is-an-exception-to-this-general/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [New information technologies-including email, the web, and computerized blast-faxes and phone calls-have fundamentally changed the landscape of political competition in modern democracies. They've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/new-information-technologies-including-email-the-web-and-computerized/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) [Explore all 16 Thomas Homer-Dixon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) ## More British columbia quotes > [In 1986, I was asked by the then-Dean of Science at the University of British Columbia, Dr. R.C. Miller, Jr., to establish a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/in-1986-i-was-asked-by-the-then-dean-of-science-at-the-university-of/) [Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/) > [“Psychologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that the better educated and wealthier a nation is, the less likely its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-russell/psychologists-at-the-university-of-british-columbia-in-vancouver/) [Helen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-russell/) > [As many as three million people are expected to attend the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. The security concerns and economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-larsen/as-many-as-three-million-people-are-expected-to-attend-the-2010/) [Rick Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-larsen/) > [Marriage commissioners who choose not to marry homosexuals are being fired. A Knights of Columbus chapter in British Columbia is in court because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stockwell-day/marriage-commissioners-who-choose-not-to-marry-homosexuals-are-being/) [Stockwell Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stockwell-day/) > [“Dr. Cai Song is an internationally known researcher at the University of British Columbia and co-author of a recent textbook, Fundamentals of Psychoneuroimmunology. “I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/dr-cai-song-is-an-internationally-known-researcher-at-the-university/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [My youngest brother and I went on a ten-day canoe trip in Bowron Provincial Park in British Columbia years ago. Believe it or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hobbs/my-youngest-brother-and-i-went-on-a-ten-day-canoe-trip-in-bowron/) [Will Hobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hobbs/) > [I live in a beautiful part of British Columbia, and I run through the rainforest. I do have to look over my shoulder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/i-live-in-a-beautiful-part-of-british-columbia-and-i-run-through-the/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“fathers who regularly do household chores, according to a University of British Columbia study, have daughters who are more likely to aspire to less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jancee-dunn/fathers-who-regularly-do-household-chores-according-to-a-university/) [Jancee Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jancee-dunn/) > [“There have existed, and for the time being still exist, many cultures whose members refuse to cut the vocal cords of the planet, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/there-have-existed-and-for-the-time-being-still-exist-many-cultures/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [When I was a crusade director in British Columbia, all of our meetings were at 9:03. Somebody said 'That's ridiculous. Why did you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/when-i-was-a-crusade-director-in-british-columbia-all-of-our-meetings/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [“The officer looked at her. “So, to recap, you carried a package of, you don’t know what, for a girl you’ve never seen before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-hall/the-officer-looked-at-her-so-to-recap-you-carried-a-package-of-you/) Alyssa Hall > [I was born in a little town called Lund in British Columbia. It's like a fishing village. My parents were hippies. They tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-butterfield/i-was-born-in-a-little-town-called-lund-in-british-columbia-it-s-like/) [Stewart Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-butterfield/) > [ To put it in context, the federal government was, at the beginning \[of the Vancouver meeting\], talking about a $15-per-tonne floor for carbon emissions.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-clark/to-put-it-in-context-the-federal-government-was-at-the-beginning-of/) [Christy Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-clark/) > [“Professional Bio of Shahin Shardi, P.Eng. Materials Engineer Welding and Pressure Equipment Inspector, QA/QC Specialist Shahin Shardi is a Materials Engineer with experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahin-shardi/professional-bio-of-shahin-shardi-p-eng-materials-engineer-welding/) Shahin Shardi > [Among the worst examples is that of the Alberni Indian Residential School (British Columbia) where, during the 1920s, children caught talking Indian suffered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-churchill/among-the-worst-examples-is-that-of-the-alberni-indian-residential/) [Ward Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-churchill/) [Browse all 57 British columbia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-columbia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To support an adequate standard of living, humankind still needs huge quantities of wood and wood products, from planking and beams and fibreboard to paper. We need trees, lots of them, and we must therefore use a good fraction of Earth’s surface as cropland for tree farms. Indeed, British Columbia’s terrain and temperate climate are ideal for growing softwood suitable for construction. I know that we can grow and harvest trees sensibly: during his career in B.C., my father worked as a forester and built a reputation as an innovator of logging and reforestation techniques that cause minimal damage to the land. As a child and young man, I spent many hours watching his employees use these techniques, and for two summers I worked in the B.C. forest industry myself, surveying tracts of timber for logging. But on that sunny afternoon, the clear-cuts southeast”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Homer-Dixon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-living-humankind-still-needs-huge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "British columbia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-living-humankind-still-needs-huge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_british-columbia_to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-livin_1985042.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To support an adequate standard of living, humankind still needs huge quantities of wood and wood products…” — Thomas Homer-Dixon", "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": "Thomas Homer-Dixon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To support an adequate standard of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-living-humankind-still-needs-huge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/to-support-an-adequate-standard-of-living-humankind-still-needs-huge/#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 } } ] } ```