--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: CO2 is the exhaling breath of our…" description: "\"CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization, literally... Changing that pattern requires a scope, a scale, a speed of change that is beyond what we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/al-gore-609_activism_co2-is-the-exhaling-breath-of-our-civili_1669377.jpg" --- # CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization… ![“CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization, literally... Changing that pattern requires a scope, a scale, a speed of change that is beyond what we have done in the past.” quote by Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/al-gore-609_activism_co2-is-the-exhaling-breath-of-our-civili_1669377.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/al-gore-609_activism_co2-is-the-exhaling-breath-of-our-civili_1669377.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a79/al-gore-609_activism_co2-is-the-exhaling-breath-of-our-civili_1669377.jpg) > “CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization, literally... Changing that pattern requires a scope, a scale, a speed of change that is beyond what we have done in the past.” [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity releases CO₂ like a breath; reversing it demands unprecedented, large‑scale, rapid action. **In simple terms:** CO₂ is a breath of civilization; we need massive, fast change. Key Takeaway Act urgently on climate. Themes environment climate action Mood urgent determined Type call‑to‑action analytical When to use this quote - government policy - corporate strategy - community projects Key Concepts sustainability policy technology Questions to Reflect On - What can individuals do to accelerate change? - How can societies mobilize at required scale? A Different Perspective Scale and speed may be politically constrained. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activism/) [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) [Breath Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath-civilization-842848/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Co2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/co2/) [Co2 Exhaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/co2-exhaling-842847/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Exhaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaling/) [Exhaling Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaling-breath-842849/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Scope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scope/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) ## Related quotes > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [We face the gravest threat that civilization has ever confronted. It's global in nature and requires a global solution. Increased CO2 emissions anywhere, whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/we-face-the-gravest-threat-that-civilization-has-ever-confronted-it-s/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There's such a wide variation in tax systems around the world, it's difficult to imagine a harmonized CO2 tax that every country agrees to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/there-s-such-a-wide-variation-in-tax-systems-around-the-world-it-s/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Eventually we'll use a CO2 tax offset by a reduction in taxes elsewhere alongside a cap-and-trade plan, but the degree of difficulty associated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/eventually-we-ll-use-a-co2-tax-offset-by-a-reduction-in-taxes/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [The physical relationship between CO2 molecules and the atmosphere and the trapping of heat is as well-established as gravity, for God's sakes. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-physical-relationship-between-co2-molecules-and-the-atmosphere/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [We need to put a price on carbon, and that's what cap-and-trade does and that's also what a CO2 tax does. As long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/we-need-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-and-that-s-what-cap-and-trade-does/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Receiving and giving are opposite energies that are inextricably linked together in the natural flow of life, like inhaling and exhaling. If one aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/receiving-and-giving-are-opposite-energies-that-are-inextricably/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [“I believe, if there is some sort of higher power, the universe is it. Whenever religious people ask me where the universe came from,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-gaspirtz/i-believe-if-there-is-some-sort-of-higher-power-the-universe-is-it/) [Oliver Gaspirtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-gaspirtz/) > [When exhaling this air, we announced Jesus Christ risen by the same Spirit. No one can live without breathing. It is the same for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/when-exhaling-this-air-we-announced-jesus-christ-risen-by-the-same/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [He also didn't mind Piper's using him for a pillow. She had a cute way of breathing when she slept - inhaling through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/he-also-didn-t-mind-piper-s-using-him-for-a-pillow-she-had-a-cute-way/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [She was perfect. I knew this the moment she emerged from my body, white and wet and wailing. Beyond the requisite ten fingers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-diffenbaugh/she-was-perfect-i-knew-this-the-moment-she-emerged-from-my-body-white/) [Vanessa Diffenbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-diffenbaugh/) > [More and more, I am pulled reluctantly towards a strong horizontal current, which is a place where time is moving at such high velocity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akram-khan/more-and-more-i-am-pulled-reluctantly-towards-a-strong-horizontal/) [Akram Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akram-khan/) > [You are sitting and smoking; you believe that you are sitting in your pipe, and that your pipe is smoking you; you are exhaling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/you-are-sitting-and-smoking-you-believe-that-you-are-sitting-in-your/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [I am safe and secure. I exhale any anxiety and inhale calm. As my world expands so do my heart and mind. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-carr/i-am-safe-and-secure-i-exhale-any-anxiety-and-inhale-calm-as-my-world/) [Kris Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-carr/) > [“It is often thought that spirits in the after-world do not breathe as we might do - and that in being dead, one does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/it-is-often-thought-that-spirits-in-the-after-world-do-not-breathe-as/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) ## More by Al Gore > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Mother Nature does not do bailouts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/mother-nature-does-not-do-bailouts/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-climate-crisis-is-not-a-political-issue-it-is-a-moral-and/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [I decided to pick the diet that I thought would maximize my chances of long-term survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/i-decided-to-pick-the-diet-that-i-thought-would-maximize-my-chances/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [You know there's an old african proverb that i made up: "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/you-know-there-s-an-old-african-proverb-that-i-made-up-if-you-want-to/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [One tragic example of the loss of forests and then water is found in Ethiopia. The amount of its forested land has decreased from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/one-tragic-example-of-the-loss-of-forests-and-then-water-is-found-in/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [The ten hottest years in the atmospheric record, going back only 160 years, have been in the last eleven years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-ten-hottest-years-in-the-atmospheric-record-going-back-only-160/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Hey, you know what, I've gotta go on that 'Letterman' show. That show is so lame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/hey-you-know-what-i-ve-gotta-go-on-that-letterman-show-that-show-is/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [When you talk about President Trump, the cable networks turned over so many hours of prime time to him. Why? Because he was entertaining,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/when-you-talk-about-president-trump-the-cable-networks-turned-over-so/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Iraq does pose a serious threat to the stability of the Persian Gulf and we should organize an international coalition to eliminate his access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/iraq-does-pose-a-serious-threat-to-the-stability-of-the-persian-gulf/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There are skeptics who do not come to their view because they have a source of income from carbon polluters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/there-are-skeptics-who-do-not-come-to-their-view-because-they-have-a/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Our civilization is experiencing unprecedented changes across many realms, largely due to the rapid advancement of information technology. The ability to code and understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/our-civilization-is-experiencing-unprecedented-changes-across-many/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There are many who would much prefer that the word 'climate' never be mentioned and that the issue be eliminated from our national conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/there-are-many-who-would-much-prefer-that-the-word-climate-never-be/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [As many know, the Chinese expression for "crisis" consists of two characters side by side. The first is the symbol for "danger," the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/as-many-know-the-chinese-expression-for-crisis-consists-of-two/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [I think George W. Bush has a warm, engaging personality. But, you know, the presidency is more than just a popularity contest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/i-think-george-w-bush-has-a-warm-engaging-personality-but-you-know/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) [Explore all 447 Al Gore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) ## More Activism quotes > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“All struggles against oppression in the modern woeld begin by redefining what had previously been consideered private, non-public and non-political issues as matters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyla-benhabib/all-struggles-against-oppression-in-the-modern-woeld-begin-by/) [Seyla Benhabib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyla-benhabib/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. 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