Annie Leonard Quotes

Recycling is what we do when we're out of options to avoid, repair, or reuse the product first. Firstly: Reduce. Don't buy what we don't need. Repair: Fix stuff that still has life in it. Reuse: Share. Then, only when you've exhausted those options, recycle.

Annie Leonard

• Reduce
• Recycling
• Repair

We've got to rescue our democracy by using it.

Annie Leonard

• Democracy
• Rescue
• Using

Bottled water costs about 2000 times more than tap water. Can you imagine paying 2000 times the price of anything else? How about a $ 10,000 sandwich?

Annie Leonard

• Water
• Costs
• Sandwich

Solid information is necessary, but insufficient. We also need to present that information in ways that are inspiring and accessible. That's where stories come in.

Annie Leonard

• Stories
• Information
• Insufficient

You cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely.

Annie Leonard

• Run
• System
• Indefinitely

Right now, American government has stepped back from offering any kinds of protection for human rights and public health. And the fossil fuel industry thinks that they have just absolute free rein to go for it. The one thing in the way is public opposition. It's civil society. It's activism.

Annie Leonard

• Government
• Opposition
• Activism

Turns out, people's brains are not nearly as powerful a motivator as our hearts. Facts, data, and economic models don't move people to courageous action the way that powerful stories can.

Annie Leonard

• Powerful
• Hearts
• Motivator

Shop smarter and shop less. But please don't let that dissuade you from engaging in campaigns to make real lasting change.

Annie Leonard

• Change
• Campaigns
• Dissuade

There is no such thing as away. When you throw something away, it must go somewhere.

Annie Leonard

• Go
• Away
• Throw

Our primary identity has become that of being consumers – not mothers, teachers, or farmers, but of consumers. We shop and shop and shop.

Annie Leonard

• Identity
• Consumers
• Shop