--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was huge mistake to avoid working with…" description: "\"It was huge mistake to avoid working with the rest of the world because (a) we're the largest source of the problem: 4% of us who are in the U.S. produ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg" --- # It was huge mistake to avoid working with the rest of the… ![“It was huge mistake to avoid working with the rest of the world because (a) we're the largest source of the problem: 4% of us who are in the U.S. produce 25% of the world's carbon dioxide.” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg) > “It was huge mistake to avoid working with the rest of the world because (a) we're the largest source of the problem: 4% of us who are in the U.S. produce 25% of the world's carbon dioxide.” [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. Individual nations’ emissions disproportionately drive global climate crisis; collective responsibility is required. **In simple terms:** U.S. emissions are a large share of global problem. Key Takeaway Reduce national carbon footprint urgently. Themes climate responsibility policy global equity Mood urgent serious motivational Type advocacy inspirational When to use this quote - government policy reform - corporate sustainability initiatives - public awareness campaigns Key Concepts environmental justice carbon accounting international cooperation Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals influence national policy? - What incentives could lower emissions? A Different Perspective Economic interests may resist emission cuts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Carbon dioxide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-dioxide/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [Huge Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge-mistake-1136885/) [Largest Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/largest-source-3289573/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-carbon-4155728/) ## Related quotes > [These things are happening in large measure because of us. We in this country burn 25 percent of the world's fossil fuel, create 25…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/these-things-are-happening-in-large-measure-because-of-us-we-in-this/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [At the moment, the 4 percent of us in this country produce a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide - once you look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/at-the-moment-the-4-percent-of-us-in-this-country-produce-a-quarter/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We finally know where the red line for climate really is. After the rapid melt of arctic ice in the summer of 2007, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-finally-know-where-the-red-line-for-climate-really-is-after-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [The models that have been constructed agree that when, as has been predicted, the level of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-models-that-have-been-constructed-agree-that-when-as-has-been/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [The Midwest is home to the world's largest source of freshwater, and the GLRI has helped our nation to preserve our abundant natural resource.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-james/the-midwest-is-home-to-the-world-s-largest-source-of-freshwater-and/) [John E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-james/) > [There's no question that tar sands in Canada are probably the largest source of oil available to the U.S. over a long period of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-boone-pickens/there-s-no-question-that-tar-sands-in-canada-are-probably-the-largest/) [T. Boone Pickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-boone-pickens/) > [We tour the world and my carbon footprint is massive. I feel like it's my responsibility to do something - not just to offset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sykes/we-tour-the-world-and-my-carbon-footprint-is-massive-i-feel-like-it-s/) [Oliver Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sykes/) > [Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-over-26-billion/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Centuries-old habitats such as coral gardens are destroyed in an instant by bottom trawls, pulverized by weighted nets into barren plains. And global carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/centuries-old-habitats-such-as-coral-gardens-are-destroyed-in-an/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [I know that nuclear is better than fossil fuels when it comes to carbon dioxide, but nuclear energy is by no means clean. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-know-that-nuclear-is-better-than-fossil-fuels-when-it-comes-to/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-petrini/if-food-was-no-longer-obliged-to-make-intercontinental-journeys-but/) [Carlo Petrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-petrini/) > [ \[The doctrine of air\] I was led into in consequence of inhabiting a house adjoining to a public brewery, where I at first amused… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-priestley/the-doctrine-of-air-i-was-led-into-in-consequence-of-inhabiting-a/) [Joseph Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-priestley/) > [As we pump greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, making the seawater acidic and hostile for shellfish and corals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/as-we-pump-greenhouse-gases-into-our-atmosphere-the-ocean-absorbs/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [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/) ## 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 Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) [Peter Dilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dilger/) > [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/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) [Marc Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-morano/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) [Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was huge mistake to avoid working with the rest of the world because (a) we're the largest source of the problem: 4% of us who are in the U.S. produce 25% of the world's carbon dioxide.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-with-the-rest-of-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carbon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-with-the-rest-of-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ac/bill-mckibben-1057_carbon_it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-wit_2980065.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was huge mistake to avoid working with the rest of the world because (a) we're the largest source of 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": "It was huge mistake to avoid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-with-the-rest-of-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/it-was-huge-mistake-to-avoid-working-with-the-rest-of-the-world/#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 } } ] } ```