"In nature, no organic substance is synthesized unless there is provision for its degradation; recycling is enforced."
Introduction, Ecotopia: Quote of Barry Commoner

"My assignment during the next six weeks, therefore, is to explore Ecotopian life from top to bottom - to search out the realities behind the rumors, to describe in concrete detail how Ecotopian society actually operates, to document its problems and, where that is called for, to acknowledge its achievements."
William Weston on His Way to Ecotopia, Ecotopia, page 4: Weston describes his assignment.

"Reno a sad shadow of its former good-times self. With the lucrative California gambling trade cut off by secession, the city quickly decayed. The fancy casino hotels are now mere flophouses - their owners long ago fled to Los Vegas."
From Weston's diary, Ecotopia, page 4: Weston describes Reno after the secession of Ecotopia.

"Maybe they have gone back to the stone age...