Nature as Measure Quotes

“The distinction between evil and error is not always clear, and this isn’t the place to explore the distinction. What is important is that error is likely to require as much effort for rectification as evil. Redemption can follow either, for redemption is an ecological reality that must very early have become a religious notion, for whether ignorance or greed leads to overgrazing of a hillside, the result is the same. The hillside can be redeemed, probably not completely, probably not very soon, but eventually and to some degree.”
― Wes Jackson, Nature as Measure: The Selected Essays of Wes Jackson

“Optimism and pessimism are not arguments. They are opposite forms of the same surrender to simplicity. Relieved of the burden of complex options with complicated consequences, both optimists and pessimists carry on without caring about the consequences of their actions.”
― Wes Jackson, Nature as Measure: The Selected Essays of Wes Jackson