"I was recently looking at what they can actually do to reduce consumption of petrol. It would be quite possible to build automobiles out of carbon fibre that would be just as strong, weigh 10 times less and consume 10 times less petrol"
About this Quote
The subtext is a critique of an economic order that treats waste as normal because it keeps industries humming. Carbon fibre becomes a rhetorical device as much as a material. It signals that alternatives exist, but they are fenced off by cost structures, corporate incentives, and policy choices that privilege petroleum dependence: subsidies, infrastructure built around driving, and a car market where "safety" and "performance" often mean bigger, heavier, more powerful. George is not really selling carbon fibre; she is exposing the narrowness of what counts as "realistic" in public debate.
Context matters: as an activist associated with global justice critiques, she is wary of the way environmental solutions get individualized (drive less, buy greener) while structural levers (regulation, industrial redesign, public transit, supply-chain shifts) stay politically untouchable. The exaggerated arithmetic of "10 times" is a pressure tactic, not a spec sheet. It highlights a gap between what society could prioritize and what it chooses to prioritize, suggesting that the true scarcity is not innovation but political will.
Quote Details
| Topic | Technology |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
George, Susan. (2026, January 15). I was recently looking at what they can actually do to reduce consumption of petrol. It would be quite possible to build automobiles out of carbon fibre that would be just as strong, weigh 10 times less and consume 10 times less petrol. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-was-recently-looking-at-what-they-can-actually-148085/
Chicago Style
George, Susan. "I was recently looking at what they can actually do to reduce consumption of petrol. It would be quite possible to build automobiles out of carbon fibre that would be just as strong, weigh 10 times less and consume 10 times less petrol." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-was-recently-looking-at-what-they-can-actually-148085/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I was recently looking at what they can actually do to reduce consumption of petrol. It would be quite possible to build automobiles out of carbon fibre that would be just as strong, weigh 10 times less and consume 10 times less petrol." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-was-recently-looking-at-what-they-can-actually-148085/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.




