--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must waste less. We must do more for…" description: "\"We must waste less. We must do more for ourselves and for each other. It is either that or continue merely to think and talk about changes that we are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/wendell-berry-236_addict_we-must-waste-less-we-must-do-more-for-o_1074158.jpg" --- # We must waste less. We must do more for ourselves and for… ![“We must waste less. We must do more for ourselves and for each other. It is either that or continue merely to think and talk about changes that we are inviting catastrophe to make. The great obstacle is simply this: the conviction that we cannot change because we are dependant on what is wrong…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/wendell-berry-236_addict_we-must-waste-less-we-must-do-more-for-o_1074158.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/wendell-berry-236_addict_we-must-waste-less-we-must-do-more-for-o_1074158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/wendell-berry-236_addict_we-must-waste-less-we-must-do-more-for-o_1074158.jpg) > “We must waste less. We must do more for ourselves and for each other. It is either that or continue merely to think and talk about changes that we are inviting catastrophe to make. The great obstacle is simply this: the conviction that we cannot change because we are dependant on what is wrong. But that is the addict's excuse, and we know that it will not do.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## 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 act instead of merely talking, because believing we cannot change is an excuse that prevents progress. **In simple terms:** Act now, stop making excuses. Key Takeaway Take responsibility and act. Themes environment action responsibility collective change Mood determined urgent Type motivational call to action When to use this quote - community projects - personal habits - policy advocacy - education campaigns Key Concepts sustainability agency social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What concrete step can you take today? - How do you overcome the belief that change is impossible? A Different Perspective Excuses can mask deeper systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Obstacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacle/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Overconsumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overconsumption/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest obstacle is simply this: the belief that we cannot change because we are dependent on what is wrong. That is the addict's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wink/the-greatest-obstacle-is-simply-this-the-belief-that-we-cannot-change/) [Walter Wink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wink/) > [The economy is still substantially that of the fur trade, still based on the same general kinds of commercial items: technology, weapons, ornaments, novelties,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-economy-is-still-substantially-that-of-the-fur-trade-still-based/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Commercial conquest is far more thorough and final than military defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/commercial-conquest-is-far-more-thorough-and-final-than-military/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [In this state of total consumerism-which is to say a state of helpless dependence on things and services and ideas and motives that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-this-state-of-total-consumerism-which-is-to-say-a-state-of/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The answers to the human problems of ecology are to be found in economy. And the answers to the problems of economy are to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-answers-to-the-human-problems-of-ecology-are-to-be-found-in/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The religion and the environmentalism of the highly industrialized countries are at bottom a sham, because they make it their business to fight against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-religion-and-the-environmentalism-of-the-highly-industrialized/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [When humans act like animals, they become the most dangerous of animals to themselves and other humans, and this is because of another critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/when-humans-act-like-animals-they-become-the-most-dangerous-of/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [There are not enough rich and powerful people to consume the whole world; for that, the rich and powerful need the help of countless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/there-are-not-enough-rich-and-powerful-people-to-consume-the-whole/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To me, an economy that sees the life of a community or a place as expendable, and reckons its value only in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-me-an-economy-that-sees-the-life-of-a-community-or-a-place-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [However destructive may be the policies of the government and the methods and products of the corporations, the root of the problem is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/however-destructive-may-be-the-policies-of-the-government-and-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I think of the old slavery, and of the way The Economy has now improved upon it. The new slavery has improved upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-think-of-the-old-slavery-and-of-the-way-the-economy-has-now/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/love-the-quick-profit-the-annual-raise-vacation-with-pay-want-more-of/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To the extent that we consume, in our present circumstances, we are guilty. To the extent that we guilty consumers are conservationists, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-the-extent-that-we-consume-in-our-present-circumstances-we-are/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Over-consumption is a cancer eating away at our spiritual vitals. It distances us from the great masses of broken bleeding humanity. It converts us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/over-consumption-is-a-cancer-eating-away-at-our-spiritual-vitals-it/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Addict quotes > [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Taxpayers would likely be responsible for treating addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/taxpayers-would-likely-be-responsible-for-treating-addicts/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [They said a drug addict needs rehabilitation, they never said what a broken heart needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satyajit-chhotaray/they-said-a-drug-addict-needs-rehabilitation-they-never-said-what-a/) [Satyajit Chhotaray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satyajit-chhotaray/) > [I was ashamed. My son is a drug addict. What does this mean about me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/i-was-ashamed-my-son-is-a-drug-addict-what-does-this-mean-about-me/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [So many kids are fat drug addicts these days, it's almost as if Rush Limbaugh had puppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/so-many-kids-are-fat-drug-addicts-these-days-it-s-almost-as-if-rush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I'm a complete addict of The 'X Factor,' so I can see why everyone gets so inspired. But there's a downside to celebrity: your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-quick/i-m-a-complete-addict-of-the-x-factor-so-i-can-see-why-everyone-gets/) [Diana Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-quick/) > [“I don’t fundamentally understand why people give a shit about what other people put up their noses or what other people put in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/i-don-t-fundamentally-understand-why-people-give-a-shit-about-what/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [It doesn't have the ability to think rationally this economic model. It thinks like a drug addict: 'Where can I get my next fix?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/it-doesn-t-have-the-ability-to-think-rationally-this-economic-model/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/it-is-not-heroin-or-cocaine-that-makes-one-an-addict-it-is-the-need/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [… an outlaw gulch, a haven for draft resisters, struggling artists, and drug addicts…a camp for semi-demented adults… Venice is like the legendary Phoenix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-davidson/an-outlaw-gulch-a-haven-for-draft-resisters-struggling-artists-and/) Sara Davidson > [I had to come to terms about becoming an addict, which, for a long time, I lied to myself about the status of until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/i-had-to-come-to-terms-about-becoming-an-addict-which-for-a-long-time/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [“Addiction is a decision. An individual wants something, whatever that something is, and makes a desicion to get it. Once they have it, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/addiction-is-a-decision-an-individual-wants-something-whatever-that/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) Browse all 634 Addict quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must waste less. We must do more for ourselves and for each other. It is either that or continue merely to think and talk about changes that we are inviting catastrophe to make. The great obstacle is simply this: the conviction that we cannot change because we are dependant on what is wrong. 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