--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Environmentalism, I'd always been told…" description: "\"Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was just rich white people.\" — Bill McKibben" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg" --- # Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was just rich… ![“Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was just rich white people.” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg) > “Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was just rich white people.” [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Environmentalism is often perceived as a concern of affluent white people, ignoring broader participation. **In simple terms:** Eco‑activism isn’t only for the rich. Key Takeaway Include diverse voices in environmental movements. Themes environment class activism Mood hopeful urgent Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - educational outreach - policy advocacy Key Concepts social equity climate justice public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can movements become more inclusive? - What barriers exist for underrepresented groups? A Different Perspective The perception can discourage marginalized involvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Environmentalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmentalism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [I think I've been in situations where they looked at me and just see some rich white guy - they don't see me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/i-think-i-ve-been-in-situations-where-they-looked-at-me-and-just-see/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [“But it’s such a rich white,” I say, forcing my lips to stay curved. “Well, this is Tribeca,” Grip deadpans. “There’s bound to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kennedy-ryan/but-it-s-such-a-rich-white-i-say-forcing-my-lips-to-stay-curved-well/) [Kennedy Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kennedy-ryan/) > [“What happened to the good old days when rich white men just bought their way into office?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/what-happened-to-the-good-old-days-when-rich-white-men-just-bought/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [It is a complete embarrassment and literally shameful that the country that first of all invented environmentalism and gave it to the world, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/it-is-a-complete-embarrassment-and-literally-shameful-that-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“Management" of anything as complicated as a woods requires more humility than comes easily to our species, at least in its American incarnation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/management-of-anything-as-complicated-as-a-woods-requires-more/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [ When we work all over the planet, it's mostly poor and black and brown and young people, because that's mostly what the world \[environmentalism\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/when-we-work-all-over-the-planet-it-s-mostly-poor-and-black-and-brown/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [That's the best pigment, anyways: something that works for everyone because it's just so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-mcgrath/that-s-the-best-pigment-anyways-something-that-works-for-everyone/) [Pat McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-mcgrath/) > [In Canada, we just have rich and poor, but we don't constantly remind poor people about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ryan/in-canada-we-just-have-rich-and-poor-but-we-don-t-constantly-remind/) [Katherine Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ryan/) > [“You don't have to be white to be white, you just have to be rich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lander/you-don-t-have-to-be-white-to-be-white-you-just-have-to-be-rich/) [Christian Lander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lander/) > [I'm really not that rich. I really don't know how I got the reputation of being so loaded. Maybe my business manager started it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-macmurray/i-m-really-not-that-rich-i-really-don-t-know-how-i-got-the-reputation/) [Fred MacMurray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-macmurray/) > [Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what they receive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-wright/men-become-wise-just-as-they-become-rich-more-by-what-they-save-than/) [Wilbur Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-wright/) > [Texas is just so rich with characters. Women who live alone in a little house on a thousand acres with nothing but cattle and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/texas-is-just-so-rich-with-characters-women-who-live-alone-in-a/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [If lyrics sold then truth be told/I'd probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/if-lyrics-sold-then-truth-be-told-i-d-probably-be-just-as-rich-and/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [People think, "She's just a rich kid." Until I was 18, I was. Then I was broke. I've never taken a dime off my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/people-think-she-s-just-a-rich-kid-until-i-was-18-i-was-then-i-was/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [I'm just rich. I own businesses and I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-newmar/i-m-just-rich-i-own-businesses-and-i-love-it/) [Julie Newmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-newmar/) ## More by Bill McKibben > [I try not to be either optimistic or pessimistic. I try not to think about outcomes on that scale. My job, it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-try-not-to-be-either-optimistic-or-pessimistic-i-try-not-to-think/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Oil companies are radical because they're willing to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/oil-companies-are-radical-because-they-re-willing-to-alter-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Whenever anyone challenges anything, the powers that be try to paint them as extremists or radicals or whatever. And I think that's actually nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/whenever-anyone-challenges-anything-the-powers-that-be-try-to-paint/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [My guess is that liberating the fossil fuel industry to frack anywhere they want will drive down the rate at which we're converting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/my-guess-is-that-liberating-the-fossil-fuel-industry-to-frack/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [What makes us different? We're the creature that can decide not to do something that we are capable of doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/what-makes-us-different-we-re-the-creature-that-can-decide-not-to-do/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“The snow was coming down so hard. It looked like the flakes were hurrying to get out of the sky so the next ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-snow-was-coming-down-so-hard-it-looked-like-the-flakes-were/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Most of the men and women who vote in Congress each year to continue subsidies have taken campaign donations from big energy companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/most-of-the-men-and-women-who-vote-in-congress-each-year-to-continue/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“I’ve sat behind a microphone and listened for decades as Americans learned to stop talking with each other and start shouting instead. No discussions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-ve-sat-behind-a-microphone-and-listened-for-decades-as-americans/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [People in low-lying countries like Bangladesh with almost 140 million people who are managing to feed themselves, whose carbon emissions can't really be calculated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/people-in-low-lying-countries-like-bangladesh-with-almost-140-million/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We're putting more carbon into the atmosphere than the atmosphere can absorb. And everybody told us when we started, coz we knew nothing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-re-putting-more-carbon-into-the-atmosphere-than-the-atmosphere-can/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Everything that the administration has done has been counterproductive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/everything-that-the-administration-has-done-has-been-counterproductive/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We use the web to help people organize in the flesh, and then we take the images of those events and put them back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-use-the-web-to-help-people-organize-in-the-flesh-and-then-we-take/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [everyone knows, at some level, that the sharp line between "good weather" and "bad weather" is a fiction, that we need rain as surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/everyone-knows-at-some-level-that-the-sharp-line-between-good-weather/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [The thing about global warming is that you can address it on a great number of levels - in fact you have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-thing-about-global-warming-is-that-you-can-address-it-on-a-great/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Where people aren't as deeply reliant on fossil fuel as in the United States, it's far easier for them to imagine change on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/where-people-aren-t-as-deeply-reliant-on-fossil-fuel-as-in-the-united/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) [Explore all 299 Bill McKibben quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## More Environmentalism quotes > [Environmentalism, apocalyptic environmentalism in particular, has become the dominant religion of supposedly secular people in the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shellenberger/environmentalism-apocalyptic-environmentalism-in-particular-has/) [Michael Shellenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shellenberger/) > [Truly environmentalism has displaced economics as the dismal science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-f-hayward/truly-environmentalism-has-displaced-economics-as-the-dismal-science/) [Steven F. Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-f-hayward/) > [“You wanna know why the world is f\*\*ked? This is why, this is exactly why…right here. Get a pen, write this down, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-lyndsy/you-wanna-know-why-the-world-is-f-ked-this-is-why-this-is-exactly-why/) Shannon Lyndsy > [“To save our dying earth, any government which is not environmentalist must go because on earth there are thousands of governments but there in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/to-save-our-dying-earth-any-government-which-is-not-environmentalist/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [It's really important to me to show the interconnectedness of things. I always try to illustrate how environmentalism, humanitarianism, animal rights - all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hannah/it-s-really-important-to-me-to-show-the-interconnectedness-of-things/) [Daryl Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hannah/) > [“Nothing is more important to human beings than an ecologically functioning, life sustaining biosphere on the earth. It is the only habitable place we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-guth/nothing-is-more-important-to-human-beings-than-an-ecologically/) Joseph Guth > [A good zoo," Stella said, "is a large domain. A wild cage. A safe place to be. It has room to roam and humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/a-good-zoo-stella-said-is-a-large-domain-a-wild-cage-a-safe-place-to/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [“Wolves attack the hindquarters of prey first, biting into the animal's meaty rump or ham. They stay away from the tendons near the hooves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-t-coleman/wolves-attack-the-hindquarters-of-prey-first-biting-into-the-animal-s/) Jon T. Coleman > [“When we burn fossil fuel for energy we are, in qualitative terms, doing nothing more wrong than burning wood. Our wrongdoing, if that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/when-we-burn-fossil-fuel-for-energy-we-are-in-qualitative-terms-doing/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [“There's terrible evil in the world." It comes from men," said Holly. "All other elil do what they have to do and Frith moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/there-s-terrible-evil-in-the-world-it-comes-from-men-said-holly-all/) [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) > [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“What hurt him most of all, made him feel like a sick child aware of terrible wrongness and yet incapable of explaining it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/what-hurt-him-most-of-all-made-him-feel-like-a-sick-child-aware-of/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“Pick a leader who will keep jobs in your country by offering companies incentives to hire only within their borders, not one who allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/pick-a-leader-who-will-keep-jobs-in-your-country-by-offering/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“Like many other world religions, nationalism requires its adapts to adhere to a strict dogma. They must also provide a sacrifice of blood and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamine-pearlheart/like-many-other-world-religions-nationalism-requires-its-adapts-to/) [Lamine Pearlheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamine-pearlheart/) > [Environmentalism has failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/environmentalism-has-failed/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) [Browse all 222 Environmentalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmentalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was just rich white people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-was-just-rich-white-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Environmentalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-was-just-rich-white-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/bill-mckibben-1057_environmentalism_environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-wa_1633981.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was just rich white people.” — Bill McKibben", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill McKibben", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Environmentalism, I'd always been told, was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-was-just-rich-white-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/environmentalism-i-d-always-been-told-was-just-rich-white-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```