Paul J. Crutzen
He won the Nobel Prize for his work on the formation and decomposition of ozone.
Most quoted
"Considering these and many other major and still growing impacts of human activities on Earth and atmosphere, and at all, including global, scales, it seems to me more than appropriate to emphasize the central role of mankind in geology and ecology by proposing to use the term 'Anthropocene' for the current geological epoch."
— from The 'Anthropocene', 2000
"For the past three centuries, the effects of humans on the global environment have escalated. Because of these, it seems to me that it is more than appropriate to emphasize the central role of mankind in geology and ecology by proposing to use the term 'Anthropocene' for the current geological epoch."
— from IGBP Newsletter, 2000
"The Anthropocene could be said to have started in the latter part of the eighteenth century, when analyses of air trapped in polar ice showed the beginning of growing global concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane."
— from Geology of Mankind, 2002
All quotes by Paul J. Crutzen (422)
From the labs of Stockholm to the skies above Antarctica, chemistry reveals uncomfortable truths.
Wisdom lies in listening to the silent signals of our planet.
I once joked that CFCs are like invisible assassins in the air—silent but deadly.
In my youth, I dreamed of stars; now, I fear the clouds they hide behind.
The Montreal Protocol was humanity's first global detox.
Art imitates life, but science dictates its survival.
To my colleagues: Let's not repeat the ozone mistake with carbon.
Humor in science? It's laughing at our own folly while saving the world.
The Earth's history is a book we're hastily rewriting with fossil fuels.
On my deathbed, if I could say one thing: Protect the blue sky for the children.
Climate change is not a theory; it's the chemistry of catastrophe.
Philosophy without science is blind; science without philosophy is lame—especially in environmental matters.
I've seen the data: denial is the real pollutant.
Life's meaning? To understand and mend what we've broken.
Aphorism of the lab: Measure twice, emit once.
In the Anthropocene, every human is a geologist by default.
Excerpt from my Nobel speech: Gratitude to Mario and Sherwood for unveiling the ozone's plight.
Letters to policymakers: Urgency is the ink of science.
Joke at a conference: Why did the CFC cross the atmosphere? To kill the ozone on the other side.
Key passage: The catalytic cycle of chlorine atoms devours ozone relentlessly.
Contemporaries of Paul J. Crutzen
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Paul J. Crutzen (1933–2021).