--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write these words in May of 2011, the…" description: "\"“I write these words in May of 2011, the week after a huge outbreak of tornadoes killed hundreds across the American South; it was the second recent wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg" --- # I write these words in May of 2011, the week after a huge… ![“I write these words in May of 2011, the week after a huge outbreak of tornadoes killed hundreds across the American South; it was the second recent wave of twisters of unprecedented size and intensity. In Texas, a drought worse than the Dust Bowl has set huge parts of the state ablaze. Meanwhile…” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg) > ““I write these words in May of 2011, the week after a huge outbreak of tornadoes killed hundreds across the American South; it was the second recent wave of twisters of unprecedented size and intensity. In Texas, a drought worse than the Dust Bowl has set huge parts of the state ablaze. Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is moving explosives into place to blow up a levee along the Mississippi River, swollen by the the third “100-year-flood” in the last twenty years—though as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration noted at the end of 2010, “the term ‘100-year event’ really lost its meaning this year.” That’s because 2010 was the warmest year recorded, a year when 19 nations set new all-time high temperature records. The Arctic melted apace; Russia suffered a heat wave so epic that the Kremlin stopped all grain exports to the rest of the world; and nations from Australia to Pakistan suffered flooding so astonishing that by year’s end the world’s biggest insurance company, Munich Re, issued this statement: “The only plausible explanation for the rise in weather-related catastrophes is climate change. The view that weather extremes are more frequent and intense due to global warming coincides with the current state of scientific knowledge.” And that’s not the bad news. The bad news is that on April 6, the U.S. House of Representatives was presented with the following resolution: “Congress accepts the scientific findings of the Environmental Protection Agency that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.” The final vote on the resolution? 184 in favor, 240 against. When some future Gibbon limns the decline and fall of our particular civilization, this may be one of the moments he cites.”” [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. The quote underscores the stark contrast between mounting scientific evidence of climate change and political inaction, highlighting the urgency and resistance to address environmental crises. **In simple terms:** Science shows climate crisis; politics stalls action. Key Takeaway Recognize urgency, demand policy change. Themes climate change politics science environment policy Mood frustrated urgent concerned Type political activist environmental When to use this quote - legislative debates - public awareness campaigns - environmental activism - disaster preparedness Key Concepts anthropogenic warming extreme weather risk perception Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens influence climate legislation? - What barriers keep policymakers from acting on scientific consensus? A Different Perspective Political inertia hampers effective response despite clear evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Dust Bowl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust-bowl/) [Environmental protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-protection/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Heat wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heat-wave/) [Mississippi river](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mississippi-river/) [Public health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-health/) [Scientific knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [In 50 years, no one will care about the fiscal cliff or the Euro crisis. They'll just ask, "So the Arctic melted, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/in-50-years-no-one-will-care-about-the-fiscal-cliff-or-the-euro/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Scientists had said, "If you keep burning coal and gas and oil, you will melt the Arctic." And then the Arctic melted just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/scientists-had-said-if-you-keep-burning-coal-and-gas-and-oil-you-will/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Noah had 120 years to warn humanity of the flood. We have only 4-5 years until global warming is irreversible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosef-abramowitz/noah-had-120-years-to-warn-humanity-of-the-flood-we-have-only-4-5/) Yosef Abramowitz > [Recent warming coincides with rapid growth of human-made greenhouse gases. The observed rapid warming gives urgency to discussions about how to slow greenhouse gas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/recent-warming-coincides-with-rapid-growth-of-human-made-greenhouse/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [...2009 saw the eighth 'ten-year flood' of Fargo, North Dakota, since 1989. In Iowa, Cedar Rapids was hit last year by a flood that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/2009-saw-the-eighth-ten-year-flood-of-fargo-north-dakota-since-1989/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [I would rather put out two year-defining songs a year than flood the market with eight or nine songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-tedder/i-would-rather-put-out-two-year-defining-songs-a-year-than-flood-the/) [Ryan Tedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-tedder/) > [We know that the year 2011 is the 7000th year from the flood. We also know that God will destroy this world in that year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-know-that-the-year-2011-is-the-7000th-year-from-the-flood-we-also/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's no such thing as a 100-year flood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cuomo/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-100-year-flood/) [Andrew Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cuomo/) > [I believe the chance of any event causing Berkshire to experience financial problems is essentially zero. We will always be prepared for the thousand-year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-believe-the-chance-of-any-event-causing-berkshire-to-experience/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [The year 2011 AD will be the 7000th year from the flood of Noahs day. It will be the end of the length of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-year-2011-ad-will-be-the-7000th-year-from-the-flood-of-noahs-day/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The ripple of today’s lie is tomorrow’s wave and next year’s flood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-ripple-of-today-s-lie-is-tomorrow-s-wave-and-next-year-s-flood/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [The Woody Guthrie 'Dust Bowl' tunes were really fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-cooder/the-woody-guthrie-dust-bowl-tunes-were-really-fascinating/) [Ry Cooder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-cooder/) > [As a young girl, I saw commitment in my grandmother, who helped Grandpa homestead our farm on the Kansas prairie. Somehow they outlasted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/as-a-young-girl-i-saw-commitment-in-my-grandmother-who-helped-grandpa/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [The singer-songwriter has always played music that was stylistically rooted in the '30s and the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. But the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-earle/the-singer-songwriter-has-always-played-music-that-was-stylistically/) [Steve Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-earle/) > [Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of Africa, is now its dust bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/zimbabwe-once-the-breadbasket-of-africa-is-now-its-dust-bowl/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) ## 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 Bad news quotes > [In the wake of such bad news, it was heartening to know that what 'Sense8' stood for meant so much to so many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-smith/in-the-wake-of-such-bad-news-it-was-heartening-to-know-that-what/) [Brian J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-smith/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You never want to have to give your child bad news of any kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/you-never-want-to-have-to-give-your-child-bad-news-of-any-kind/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm utterly unsuited for bureaucracy. I don't know my passwords to anything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/if-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-about-me-it-s-that-i-m-utterly/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“The bad news is that, measured in terms of geologic time, if the Earth’s history is an accurate guide, glaciers will soon return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/the-bad-news-is-that-measured-in-terms-of-geologic-time-if-the-earth/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [I love an underdog. No, I don't necessarily mean the cartoon. I mean like David, as in Goliath, or the Bears, as in The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-lublin/i-love-an-underdog-no-i-don-t-necessarily-mean-the-cartoon-i-mean/) [Nancy Lublin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-lublin/) > [The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-good-news-is-that-economists-are-intelligent-engaging-and-often/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [For a long period of time, the media covered rap music and hip hop the same way they cover a lot of black people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/for-a-long-period-of-time-the-media-covered-rap-music-and-hip-hop-the/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [“Shifting from a superior/inferior paradigm to a strength-in-difference paradigm was kind of a good news/bad news situation. On the downside, I had to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/shifting-from-a-superior-inferior-paradigm-to-a-strength-in/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“The real secret, though, is that nobody belongs, whether they are natives or not. After expulsion from paradise all humans are in exile. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/the-real-secret-though-is-that-nobody-belongs-whether-they-are/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) Browse all 691 Bad news quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I write these words in May of 2011, the week after a huge outbreak of tornadoes killed hundreds across the American South; it was the second recent wave of twisters of unprecedented size and intensity. In Texas, a drought worse than the Dust Bowl has set huge parts of the state ablaze. Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is moving explosives into place to blow up a levee along the Mississippi River, swollen by the the third “100-year-flood” in the last twenty years—though as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration noted at the end of 2010, “the term ‘100-year event’ really lost its meaning this year.” That’s because 2010 was the warmest year recorded, a year when 19 nations set new all-time high temperature records. The Arctic melted apace; Russia suffered a heat wave so epic that the Kremlin stopped all grain exports to the rest of the world; and nations from Australia to Pakistan suffered flooding so astonishing that by year’s end the world’s biggest insurance company, Munich Re, issued this statement: “The only plausible explanation for the rise in weather-related catastrophes is climate change. The view that weather extremes are more frequent and intense due to global warming coincides with the current state of scientific knowledge.” And that’s not the bad news. The bad news is that on April 6, the U.S. House of Representatives was presented with the following resolution: “Congress accepts the scientific findings of the Environmental Protection Agency that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.” The final vote on the resolution? 184 in favor, 240 against. When some future Gibbon limns the decline and fall of our particular civilization, this may be one of the moments he cites.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-week-after-a-huge-outbreak-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad news" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-week-after-a-huge-outbreak-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/bill-mckibben-1057_bad-news_i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-w_3156660.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write these words in May of 2011, the week after a huge outbreak of tornadoes killed hundreds across the…” — 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": "“I write these words in May...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-week-after-a-huge-outbreak-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-write-these-words-in-may-of-2011-the-week-after-a-huge-outbreak-of/#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 } } ] } ```