--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From some tiny portion of the wealth the…" description: "\"From some tiny portion of the wealth the west accumulated in a hundred years of filling the atmosphere with carbon.\" — Bill McKibben" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg" --- # From some tiny portion of the wealth the west accumulated… ![“From some tiny portion of the wealth the west accumulated in a hundred years of filling the atmosphere with carbon.” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg) > “From some tiny portion of the wealth the west accumulated in a hundred years of filling the atmosphere with carbon.” [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. Western wealth has been built on centuries of carbon emissions, filling the atmosphere. **In simple terms:** Western wealth relies on carbon pollution. Key Takeaway Reduce reliance on carbon‑intensive growth. Themes environment economics history Mood urgent reflective Type analytical call‑to‑action When to use this quote - policy making - business strategy - personal consumption Key Concepts externalities climate change Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist for sustainable wealth? - How can individuals offset historic emissions? A Different Perspective Economic growth often ignores environmental costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) [Atmosphere Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere-carbon-708242/) [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Filling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filling/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Portions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portions/) [Tiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiny/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wealth West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-west-5100914/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [West Accumulated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-accumulated-5100913/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Filling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-filling-5100915/) ## Related quotes > [I am not convinced the Clean Air Act was ever intended to regulate or classify as a dangerous pollutant something as basic and ubiquitous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/i-am-not-convinced-the-clean-air-act-was-ever-intended-to-regulate-or/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“on Mars, because the atmosphere is carbon dioxide and there’s a lot of water or ice in the soil, the carbon dioxide gets you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/on-mars-because-the-atmosphere-is-carbon-dioxide-and-there-s-a-lot-of/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [Speaking for me, I think the odds of bankrupting Exxon are pretty small, but I think the odds of politically bankrupting them are higher.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/speaking-for-me-i-think-the-odds-of-bankrupting-exxon-are-pretty/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [ Scientists are telling us that 350 parts per million \[of carbon\] in the atmosphere is the upper limit. 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If you dig up huge amounts of carbon, huge amounts of ancient biology, hundreds of millions of year's worth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/there-s-no-huge-mystery-if-you-dig-up-huge-amounts-of-carbon-huge/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We're putting more carbon into the atmosphere than the atmosphere can absorb. 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Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) ## 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. 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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 Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. 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Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) [Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From some tiny portion of the wealth the west accumulated in a hundred years of filling the atmosphere with carbon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the-west-accumulated-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atmosphere" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the-west-accumulated-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/bill-mckibben-1057_atmosphere_from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the_633547.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From some tiny portion of the wealth the west accumulated in a hundred years of filling the atmosphere with…” — 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": "From some tiny portion of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the-west-accumulated-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/from-some-tiny-portion-of-the-wealth-the-west-accumulated-in-a/#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 } } ] } ```