When thinking about the future, it is fashionable to be pessimistic. Yet the evidence unequivocally belies such pessimism. Over the past centuries, humanity's lot has improved dramatically - in the developed world, where it is rather obvious, but also in the developing world, where life expectancy has more than doubled in the past 100 years.
Bjorn Lomborg
Related When you live in the present, the past is forgotten & the future takes care of itself. MANDY HALE We fall back into the past, we jump ahead into the future, and in this we lose our entire lives. THICH NHAT HANH I had a best friend once 20 years down the line a friendship that you just do not get now, i regarde... GARY F EVANS... All the things that are in the past are in the past. PABLO SANDOVAL There's no sustenance in the past. VIOLETTE LEDUC To get over the past, you first have to accept that the past is over. No matter how many times you r... MANDY HALE Time that is spent dwelling on the past will surely continue in your present moment - and the future... MICHELLE CRUZ-ROSADO The things i know now, i never knew then. I wish i knew. SOTONYE ANGA I have always wished the present to resemble memory: because the present can be flat at times, and b... LYDIA MILLET To have the time to reminisce is one of the futures gifts. Don't think to much, don't live to fast, ... CALVIN WILSON We are the masters of our own destinies we shape and mould our lives into to the circumstances surro... GARY F EVANS... I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future. DAN QUAYLE Just because you believe something was true in the past does not mean it will be true in the future. JEFFREY FRY She was intimidating and all I could do was sit back on the couch as she paced back and forth, slowl... IN THE MAKING The present is an eternal attempt to separate the past from the future. MOKOKOMA MOKHONOANA Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but to save the world. When we come with condemn... TONY CAMPOLO I can't re-examine work I did in the past with pride. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS What happened in the past is just that, the past. Champion or not. STEVE NASH You can't make footprints in the sands of time by sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave buttp... BOB MOAWAD Your past, is your past, it has come and gone so stop worrying about it SOTONYE ANGA In magic - and in life - there is only the present moment, the now. You can't measure time the way y... PAULO COELHO Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over. RICHARD CARLSON In the beginning, there was nothing and from nothing came our species then behold the dawn of music.... GARY F EVANS... Integrity is not everything, but it is the only thing that matters. JEFFREY FRY I have had shoulder injuries in the past, but usually it's from training. WARREN CUCCURULLO I mean, I've been stupid in the past, and I've learned from that. AIDAN QUINN That's history. I say history because it happened in the past. MURRAY WALKER Mankind has two immense problems, they forget to use logic and begin at the root of each trouble. K.R. ROYAL aimed at developing Christian professionals who will use their skills to transform urban communities... TONY CAMPOLO Learning more about where the water is today and where it was in the past will also guide future stu... ALFRED MCEWEN While the technology revolution has yet to reach far into the households of those in developing coun... CAROL BELLAMY Everybody is somebobdy and I chanllenge anybody to deny it. KATHERINE PATERSON If you are a misfit in one place, you will be a great fit in another. ALAN COHEN You're full of contradictions, Ms. Wallace." I looked up at him and arched a brow. "I'm a girl... TAMMARA WEBBER I know more now than I did in the past about the process of democratization. I know more about the p... MELES ZENAWI History...becomes present, if we can see the past with Augmented Reality CLYDE DESOUZA Remembering something from the past? you are creating it right now as evidence for who you are now. FREDERICK DODSON Time is a teacher which in the end it kills all it's students. (Synchronicity 2015 Film) DEYTH BANGER I’d wish it were easier to not allow other people’s pasts to create my own present. JONATHAN HARNISCH For as much as you can, build the past and the future that you can carry yourself. MARIANA FULGER I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES There is no such thing as objectivity. We are all just interpreting signals from the universe and tr... BONES THE DOCTOR IN THE PHOTO Present-day Spain translates as many books into Spanish, annually, as the Arab world has translated ... MARTIN AMIS Honesty,moral standards ,and principles all partner up with truth be the best you can be. In this wo... GARY F EVANS... A ship does not sail with yesterday's wind. LOUIS L'AMOUR No matter what they wish for, no matter how far they go, people can never be anything but themselves... HARUKI MURAKAMI I think I have more patience now than I did in the past. T. BOONE PICKENS God is not impressed with what PRECEDES your name, but how you PROCEED in His Name." BJ NELSON When Luke had descended into the River Styx, he would've had to focus on something important that wo... RICK RIORDAN The hardships that I encountered in the past will help me succeed in the future. PHILIP EMEAGWALI It is correct that I overlooked the contamination of the party, not just now but also in the past. BELA KUN Living in the past is a Jethro Tull album, not a smart poker strategy. RICHARD ROEPER Children have in the past and continue to influence policy makers. CAROL BELLAMY In the past 10 years, I've looked at life as this Pollock stuff. And now I'm almost in the p... ED HARRIS Reinvent yourself. Don't let your past weigh you down. MARTY RUBIN It is said that nothing in our lives is ever lost, that nothing can prevent its having been. That is... MARCEL PROUST You can't judge the present by the past. Each day is different, and you live it differently. MARTY RUBIN Today is about the now, the moment you live in, so do now what you want to do SOTONYE ANGA Savor the moment. Set a goal that you value and plan the steps to of getting there in a way that you... TERENCE T. GORSKI Over the past few years, many of us have increasingly begun to question the direction and meaning of... ALEX CAMPBELL The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a myste... KATE CHOPIN That’s what I liked about those nuns. You could tell, for one thing, that they never went anywhere... J.D. SALINGER Now is the only time we have, and the only time we have any control over. RICHARD CARLSON Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, ... IDA SCOTT TAYLOR MCKINNEY The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment. LAUREN KATE For some, excavating the past isn’t an adventure, it’s more akin to tearing a Band-Aid off an op... RAQUEL CEPEDA No, of course not. But surely you know your affair couldn't go on forever." "Forever has no mea... ELLEN HOPKINS A perfectly decent fellow may be driven by circumstances to commit a crime and if he's found out he'... W.SOMERSET MAUGHAM Let me repeat. I have not read all the work of this present generation of writing. I have not had ti... WILLIAM FAULKNER I hate saying corny things like "traveling incognito." But when I'm with somebody that's corny, I al... J.D. SALINGER “Love is not to be discovered but felt.It is brewing in air across universe.One needs only open ey... ANUJ SOMANY I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live. THICH NHAT HANH You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have is...now. JAY ASHER Life is a journey, not a destination. RALPH WALDO EMERSON It is so torturous to be in the crowd not only because the voice there is usually loud, but also oft... ANUJ SOMANY When you grow up there are things that you would love to do make your father proud is one and have f... GARY F EVANS... It seems like all the best people have all the worst habits. THOMAS WALLACE SCHERZER A person who lives truly in present time is dependent on oneself only not on sycophants’ people. ANUJ SOMANY Tongues are a miraculous manifestations of being filled with the Holy Ghost. PST ADELAJA SUNDAY The Buddha told him, "When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. Whe... THICH NHAT HANH She plucked the blossoms from the bag and arranged them, one by one, in the water glass on her dress... SARAH JIO Tomorrow is tomorrow. Future cares have future cures, And we must mind today. SOPHOCLES To him, even the momentary was momentous. G.K. CHESTERTON You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the... JAN GLIDEWELL I’m pretty sure there are some things in the dark that we’re not meant to see. KARINA HALLE I know,” said November. He was pale and thin lipped. He helped October out of the wooden chair. �... NEIL GAIMAN I used to like humorous people in the past, but these days, I like serious people more. PARK SHIN-HYE Without those who tapped into the invisible world, humanity would have remained in the dark and back... ASSEGID HABTEWOLD VIEW FROM A HILL I am not yet quite over it. I am lying down on top of it. Surv... JOHN TOTTENHAM Creativity is not just thinking outside the box but living outside it. VICTOR SHAMAS You know, I don't think my music is important, I don't think it's changing the world, I ... SUFJAN STEVENS Dive into the river of the present, but don't thrash about, go with the flow. JIM GENOVESE I believe one of the most important reasons I am here today is to practice forgiveness and to learn ... LISA J. SHULTZ I believe that for the past twenty years there has been a creeping socialism spreading in the United... DWIGHT DAVID EISENHOWER An emotionally locked person refuses to let go of their sad memories and live in the now. KILROY J. OLDSTER I've become a less brave traveller since I became a dad, but in the past I was more foolhardy th... DAVID MITCHELL Now is everything Now is the essence Now is the focus Focus on the now For that ... KAREN HACKEL The ravine is [also] one of the last open areas left in Wyckoff. A lot has been developed in the pas... CLARE SCANLAN Art must be parochial in the beginning to be cosmopolitan in the end. GEORGE A. MOORE The one thing we know today is we can't continue to do business the way we have in the past. BUD SELIG
More Bjorn Lomborg
In the rich world, the environmental situation has improved dramatically. In the United States, the ... BJORN LOMBORG Just because there is a problem doesn't mean that we have to solve it, if the cure is going to b... BJORN LOMBORG Money spent on carbon cuts is money we can't use for effective investments in food aid, micronut... BJORN LOMBORG To prepare adequately for the challenge of global warming, we must acknowledge both the good and the... BJORN LOMBORG Just because there is a problem doesn't mean that we have to solve it, if the cure is going to be mo... BJORN LOMBORG It seems incontrovertible to me that there is a global warming effect and that it is going to be ser... BJORN LOMBORG In the same way, we have to investigate the solar mechanism, but right now, the IPC claims that it's... BJORN LOMBORG I think it's great that we have organisations like Greenpeace. In a pluralistic society, we want to ... BJORN LOMBORG I really try to say things as they basically are and it so happens that it is a good message that th... BJORN LOMBORG I really have to stress, I don't have a positive view. I'm not here to cheer people up. If the botto... BJORN LOMBORG I certainly worry and feel uncomfortable that people I have very little in common with politically w... BJORN LOMBORG Even if I was a bad right wing guy, to the extent of whether my arguments are right or wrong, they'r... BJORN LOMBORG But this is an occupational hazard of being a scientist. You say this is the best information I have... BJORN LOMBORG A review was published in Nature, very scathing, essentially calling me incompetent, though they did... BJORN LOMBORG My suggestion is that we should first work to ensure the Third World has clean drinking water and sa... BJORN LOMBORG The obvious issue is providing clean drinking water and sanitation to every single human being on ea... BJORN LOMBORG We need to invest dramatically in green energy, making solar panels so cheap that everybody wants th... BJORN LOMBORG On average, global warming is not going to harm the developing world. BJORN LOMBORG Listen, global warming is a real problem, but it' s not the end of the world. A 30-centimetre se... BJORN LOMBORG Global warming is real - it is man-made and it is an important problem. But it is not the end of the... BJORN LOMBORG We have to be aware that the scientific community throws up tons of different hypotheses and at a ce... BJORN LOMBORG It seems incontrovertible to me that there is a global warming effect and that it is going to be ser... BJORN LOMBORG I found university a little dispiriting. I thought I would enter the great halls of Plato, but inste... BJORN LOMBORG If we invest in researching and developing energy technology, we'll do some real good in the lon... BJORN LOMBORG Even if every major government were to slap huge taxes on carbon fuels - which is not going to happe... BJORN LOMBORG I think Al Gore has done a great service in making global warming cool. He's basically taken it ... BJORN LOMBORG I'm an old member of Greenpeace. I worried intensely, as I think most of my friends did, that th... BJORN LOMBORG I think it's great that we have organisations like Greenpeace. In a pluralistic society, we want... BJORN LOMBORG There is no question that global warming will have a significant impact on already existing problems... BJORN LOMBORG Wishful thinking is not sound public policy. BJORN LOMBORG The second thing is, if you want to do something about global warming, you have to think much more l... BJORN LOMBORG I tentatively believe in a god. I was brought up in a fairly religious home. I think the world is co... BJORN LOMBORG Even if I was a bad right wing guy, to the extent of whether my arguments are right or wrong, they... BJORN LOMBORG Of course, the world is full of problems. But on the other hand it's important to get the sense.... BJORN LOMBORG A review was published in Nature, very scathing, essentially calling me incompetent, though they did... BJORN LOMBORG There is no doubt that we should take solar radiation into account. We have seen ground temperatures... BJORN LOMBORG The saddest fact of climate change - and the chief reason we should be concerned about finding a pro... BJORN LOMBORG When a business group tells us there is nothing wrong with the environment, naturally they may have ... BJORN LOMBORG The only thing that will really change global warming in the long run is if we radically increase th... BJORN LOMBORG We worry about the seemingly ever-increasing number of natural catastrophes. Yet this is mainly a co... BJORN LOMBORG So it's mainly a question of helping the Third World overcome the effects of global warming. 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It is good for every reason we can think of. BJORN HANSON People see value in having these intensive services. If you are flying in and get home late, they wa... BJORN HANSON Although the maintenance and general condition of U.S. hotels is the best it has ever been, the indu... BJORN HANSON What we've seen is demand growing at three and a half to four and a half percent in some recent year... BJORN HANSON Everyone is asking for favors, for special consideration, BJORN HANSON What will happen, daily, is that the general manager or the director of sales or the representative ... BJORN HANSON [But it doesn't end there.] Guests will pay more for food and beverage and the use of fitness facili... BJORN HANSON It's not easy to part with the trophies. However, I do need to have some long-term financial securit... BJORN BORG If you're afraid of losing, then you daren't win. BJORN BORG You have to find it. No one else can find it for you. BJORN BORG When John McEnroe called me several times and wondered what I was doing, I guess I woke up. BJORN BORG If that doomsday scenario happens, will it help if you have heaps of paper money? I don't think ... BJORN ULVAEUS I'm so incredibly tired of giving respect to a lot of delusions and crazy ideas just because the... BJORN ULVAEUS Sweden is an open, liberal, secular and democratic country. We strive towards achieving equality; we... BJORN ULVAEUS My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until th... BJORN BORG You never know how long Federer is going to play, but in my opinion he has at least one or two more ... BJORN BORG Roger Federer is stylish. BJORN BORG As tennis players, we work and we sacrifice many things. To lose, that's not a happy thing - I m... BJORN BORG It's not easy to part with the trophies. However, I do need to have some long-term financial sec... BJORN BORG I looked at a plaque in the clubhouse earlier in the week and I saw who shot 63 here. THOMAS BJORN Everyone should pursue whatever is original in oneself. That's the way for a long life in music. BJORN ULVAEUS Let's put a lid on it. My results this year have shown I'm way beyond it. I've left those things beh... THOMAS BJORN He's not a one-major guy, he's a 10-major guy. He's going to go on now and contend for majors as he'... THOMAS BJORN We all saw how important Tiger was for the game on Friday, THOMAS BJORN It isn't a fit nickname. It is, in a way. He's an easy guy. He goes with the flow. But he's a very p... THOMAS BJORN It's not a great slot, but what can you do? It's difficult at this time of year with so much going o... THOMAS BJORN The music of ABBA is not that happy. It might sound happy, in some strange way, but deep within, it&... BJORN ULVAEUS 1998 is turning out to be a transition year for the lodging industry, ... After seven consecutive ye... BJORN HANSON There are several reasons why these data are not available. In many parts of the world there are sim... BJORN HANSON [But will such balancing acts work? Analysts are doubtful.] No one is doing a great job, ... It's ve... BJORN HANSON There are some cities where there are still extraordinary discounts, BJORN HANSON We are in the early days of what could turn into a major humanitarian catastrophe. The alarm has bee... BJORN LJUNGQVIST But clearly McEnroe convinced me. BJORN BORG After great consideration and reasoning, I have decided that I will never sell my Wimbledon trophies... BJORN BORG I now realize how closely connected they are to my success as Wimbledon's winner in 1976-1980 and th... BJORN BORG Obviously, it is not easy to part with the trophies that symbolize all the tremendous effort, both p... BJORN BORG However, I do need to have some long-term financial security for those close to me and now believe t... BJORN BORG Even though the symbols of my victories are being sold, what I will always retain is the knowledge t... BJORN BORG I hope people will enjoy watching us because we are definitely coming to Dubai to communicate our ow... BJORN BORG I don't know what we are going to do to find more speed. If I try to drive the car faster, I end up ... BJORN WIRDHEIM Montreal is the only track that we visit this year that I have raced on before, BJORN WIRDHEIM I was there last year with Jaguar for the Formula One race, and I did the Friday practice. BJORN WIRDHEIM Large deals just aren't getting done. We continue to see smaller deals, but companies are still hesi... BJORN TURNQUIST Depressed valuations may help fuel acquisitions in specialty finance and asset management and broker... BJORN TURNQUIST M&A in insurance was bleak this quarter. Equity market jitters combined with accounting and reserve ... BJORN TURNQUIST There's uncertainty within the insurance industry, as companies are currently unwilling to take the ... BJORN TURNQUIST We live in a world increasingly shaped by sustainable growth issues. BJORN STIGSON Business has a key role to play. Here we are. It is up to us to create a sustainable path in the wor... BJORN STIGSON I grew up watching and admiring Agassi. He is a legend. So this definitely is the biggest win of my ... BJORN PHAU The total number of people in need of food assistance will be just below 10 million for 2006. BJORN LJUNGQVIST Already we have an emerging crisis in the pastoral regions of Ethiopia with about 1.7 million people... BJORN LJUNGQVIST This is the largest non-food appeal since the drought emergency of 2003 in Ethiopia. BJORN LJUNGQVIST As ever, women and children will bear the brunt of this disaster. BJORN LJUNGQVIST The alarm has been raised in time but if we don't get the support we need, the results could be cata... BJORN LJUNGQVIST Without urgent help the drought could spiral. Urgent emergency intervention in the form of food, wat... BJORN LJUNGQVIST There are days when I walk through the center of Stockholm when I get this sudden feeling of happine... BJORN ULVAEUS I hear a really good pop song every now and then. 'ROAR' by Katy Perry, I love that! 'Po... BJORN ULVAEUS Basically I started playing double handed on both my forehand and backhand side because my first rac... BJORN BORG Mostly, in song writing, my experience is that there isn't so much inspiration as hard work. You... BJORN ULVAEUS Well mostly in song writing my experience is that there isn't so much inspiration as hard work. ... BJORN ULVAEUS There is a very vibrant cultural scene in Stockholm. There are lots of places where there are concer... BJORN ULVAEUS Wild horses couldn't drag me away from a summer on the Stockholm archipelago. BJORN ULVAEUS And also a lot of Muslims are no more religious then the average Swede. For them it's natural th... BJORN ULVAEUS Religion is the root of so much misery in the world, and I've always thought there is lack of cr... BJORN ULVAEUS Of course, we wore silly outfits, the pictures were corny, and some people still focus on that. But ... BJORN ULVAEUS In my career the push has always been to take another step, to try something new. BJORN ULVAEUS I believe that religion should be totally separated from the state. That's not the way it is tod... BJORN ULVAEUS In the beginning of my career, I wanted to be chased by girls more than anything - that's why I ... BJORN ULVAEUS There are still many places I haven't seen that I'd like to travel to. I've never seen t... BJORN ULVAEUS In a way, I'm kind of a bystander looking at this phenomenon that is ABBA, which is still around... BJORN ULVAEUS Critics used to say that ABBA were formulaic or that our songs were rubbish. We never had time for t... BJORN ULVAEUS I want people to remember ABBA as we were. I don't think that four geriatrics wheeled on stage i... BJORN ULVAEUS All these years later, I have almost no memory of the shows themselves. It's a blur. I remember ... BJORN ULVAEUS When I retired from tennis I wanted to do other things with my life. BJORN BORG I'm amazed that years after I stopped playing tennis, people still recognize me in restaurants a... BJORN BORG I'm an actor who plays an intriguing character, not a political pundit. BJORN BORG I enjoy fashion. BJORN BORG I was fascinated by a compelling character embroiled in a controversial topic that told the story fr... BJORN BORG You know growing up in Sweden meant we had a lot of rain when we played tennis. We were taught on cl... BJORN BORG I just hated to lose. BJORN BORG I had a great tennis career. I have no regrets. But to find peace with yourself, and to finally be w... BJORN BORG It's tough when you're No. 1. You don't have any private life, you can't even walk a... BJORN BORG I wanted to win, even in practice. BJORN BORG If you're afraid of losing, then you daren't win. BJORN BORG I play tennis five hours a week, from Monday to Friday, for one hour every day. I like to be fit. If... BJORN BORG But what little we did know, we brandished wildly like cavemen’s clubs, slinging out stuff we felt... BJORN SHEN I think nothing is inherent. BJORN G. AMELAN There's a multitude of things happening on stage. It's OK not so see everything. People should treat... BJORN G. AMELAN So it's a positive symbol of beauty. BJORN G. AMELAN Dance is powerful because it's a visual art form that's entirely body-based. A body - it's something... BJORN G. AMELAN