--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without a movement pressing for change…" description: "\"Without a movement pressing for change, there's little hope. We've got to work the political system to make this happen fast. The physics and chemistry..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg" --- # Without a movement pressing for change, there's little… ![“Without a movement pressing for change, there's little hope. We've got to work the political system to make this happen fast. The physics and chemistry are daunting. The resources on the other side are very large.” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg) > “Without a movement pressing for change, there's little hope. We've got to work the political system to make this happen fast. The physics and chemistry are daunting. The resources on the other side are very large.” [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. Without grassroots pressure, political change stalls; urgent action is needed despite complex scientific and resource challenges. **In simple terms:** People must push politics for climate action. Key Takeaway Mobilize climate activism now. Themes climate activism politics science resource management Mood urgent determined hopeful Type call to action strategic inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - scientific communication - fundraising campaigns Key Concepts systems thinking environmental policy collective action Questions to Reflect On - What strategies overcome political resistance? - How can we simplify complex science for public action? A Different Perspective Political inertia and vested interests can impede progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Chemistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry/) [Chemistry Daunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry-daunting-6021180/) [Daunting Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daunting-resources-6021181/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-system/) [Political systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-systems/) [Pressing Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressing-change-1067408/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Work Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-political-250320/) ## Related quotes > [The time must come when, great and pressing as change and betterment may be, they do not involve killing and hurting people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-time-must-come-when-great-and-pressing-as-change-and-betterment/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [We need to learn to work with political systems that are not perfect instead of taking the view: let's first fix the politics, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-banerjee/we-need-to-learn-to-work-with-political-systems-that-are-not-perfect/) [Abhijit Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-banerjee/) > [You don't choose a party because it's the flavour of the month. I feel I will be able to work under a political system.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nandan-nilekani/you-don-t-choose-a-party-because-it-s-the-flavour-of-the-month-i-feel/) [Nandan Nilekani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nandan-nilekani/) > [We have the leading companies and the leading sectors in the advanced industrial world, we have an incredibly dynamic society, and we have high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fareed-zakaria/we-have-the-leading-companies-and-the-leading-sectors-in-the-advanced/) [Fareed Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fareed-zakaria/) > [The political system of the People's Republic of China can make things easy. Decisions are made quickly and results come quickly, too. In our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratan-tata/the-political-system-of-the-people-s-republic-of-china-can-make/) [Ratan Tata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratan-tata/) > [If you work through the existing structures you are going to be corrupted. By working through political system that poisons the atmosphere, even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-you-work-through-the-existing-structures-you-are-going-to-be/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If the abuse be enormous, nature will rise up, and claiming her original rights, overturn a corrupt political system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-the-abuse-be-enormous-nature-will-rise-up-and-claiming-her/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I have never voted. Like most people I am utterly disenchanted by politics. Like most people I regard politicians as frauds and liars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/i-have-never-voted-like-most-people-i-am-utterly-disenchanted-by/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [Among the lessons taught by the French revolution, there is none sadder or more striking than this--that you may make everything else out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/among-the-lessons-taught-by-the-french-revolution-there-is-none/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Above all things the mass-mind is most bitterly resentful of superiority. It will not tolerate the thought of an elite; and under a political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/above-all-things-the-mass-mind-is-most-bitterly-resentful-of/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [What is the value of having millions of people in Iraq not having a repressive regime? What is the value of having the Iraqi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/what-is-the-value-of-having-millions-of-people-in-iraq-not-having-a/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [We have power... Our power isn’t in a political system, or a religious system, or in an economic system, or in a military system;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/we-have-power-our-power-isn-t-in-a-political-system-or-a-religious/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) > [But while capitalism may be a convenient scapegoat, it did not cause any of these problems. Indeed, whatever one wishes to call the unruly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaron-brook/but-while-capitalism-may-be-a-convenient-scapegoat-it-did-not-cause/) [Yaron Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaron-brook/) > [Socialism, when the last word is said, is merely a new economic and political system whereby more men can get food to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/socialism-when-the-last-word-is-said-is-merely-a-new-economic-and/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum. (Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/nihil-est-incertius-vulgo-nihil-obscurius-voluntate-hominum-nihil/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## 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 Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without a movement pressing for change, there's little hope. We've got to work the political system to make this happen fast. The physics and chemistry are daunting. The resources on the other side are very large.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-there-s-little-hope-we-ve-got/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-there-s-little-hope-we-ve-got/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/bill-mckibben-1057_change_without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-t_3214972.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without a movement pressing for change, there's little hope. We've got to work the political system to make…” — 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": "Without a movement pressing for change,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-there-s-little-hope-we-ve-got/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/without-a-movement-pressing-for-change-there-s-little-hope-we-ve-got/#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 } } ] } ```