--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's possible that we'll screw up the…" description: "\"It's possible that we'll screw up the climate so badly that most of us will die and a few breeding pairs will remain somewhere in the arctic. What's mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/dale-jamieson-4075_accustomed_it-s-possible-that-we-ll-screw-up-the-cl_1167957.jpg" --- # It's possible that we'll screw up the climate so badly… ![“It's possible that we'll screw up the climate so badly that most of us will die and a few breeding pairs will remain somewhere in the arctic. What's more likely is that we'll continue remaking the planet, driving many species to extinction, killing millions of people through the indirect effects…” quote by Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/dale-jamieson-4075_accustomed_it-s-possible-that-we-ll-screw-up-the-cl_1167957.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/dale-jamieson-4075_accustomed_it-s-possible-that-we-ll-screw-up-the-cl_1167957.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/dale-jamieson-4075_accustomed_it-s-possible-that-we-ll-screw-up-the-cl_1167957.jpg) > “It's possible that we'll screw up the climate so badly that most of us will die and a few breeding pairs will remain somewhere in the arctic. What's more likely is that we'll continue remaking the planet, driving many species to extinction, killing millions of people through the indirect effects of climate change, making life even harder for the poor and powerless than it is now, and making it a little more difficult for the global middle class to live the lives to which they have become accustomed - in other words, business as usual, only worse.” [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity threatens ecosystems, causing species loss, human suffering, and widening inequality, while business continues unchanged. **In simple terms:** Human actions harm planet and people, yet business persists. Key Takeaway Address climate impacts and shift from business‑as‑usual. Themes environment justice inequality future policy Mood concerned urgent Type ethical activist When to use this quote - policy making - corporate strategy - activism - education Key Concepts anthropogenic climate change systemic risk social equity Questions to Reflect On - What policies could curb harmful business practices? - How can individuals influence systemic change? A Different Perspective Economic interests often outweigh ecological concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arctic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arctic/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Powerless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerless/) [Screw ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screw-ups/) ## Related quotes > [As a professional snowboarder, my livelihood obviously depends on snow. And for me, traveling around the world, chasing the snow, I see the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-bleiler/as-a-professional-snowboarder-my-livelihood-obviously-depends-on-snow/) [Gretchen Bleiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-bleiler/) > [Being told about the effects of climate change is an appeal to our reason and to our desire to bring about change. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-gabriel/being-told-about-the-effects-of-climate-change-is-an-appeal-to-our/) [Sigmar Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-gabriel/) > [We see the effects of climate change on food prices and in so many other ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-crenn/we-see-the-effects-of-climate-change-on-food-prices-and-in-so-many/) [Dominique Crenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-crenn/) > [Some global hazards are insidious. They stem from pressure on energy supplies, food, water and other natural resources. And they will be aggravated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/some-global-hazards-are-insidious-they-stem-from-pressure-on-energy/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [You are part of the first generation of officers to begin your service in a world where the effects of climate change are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-are-part-of-the-first-generation-of-officers-to-begin-your/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“What is certain is that there will be increasing numbers of refugees if rapid climate change continues. People have to live somewhere. High-income countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-a-moo/what-is-certain-is-that-there-will-be-increasing-numbers-of-refugees/) Jonathan A. Moo > [...the world needs to face up to the challenge of climate change, and to do so now. It is clear that climate change poses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/the-world-needs-to-face-up-to-the-challenge-of-climate-change-and-to/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The media when it focuses on climate change at all, does so in terms of carbon emissions and how to reduce them. Only rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/the-media-when-it-focuses-on-climate-change-at-all-does-so-in-terms/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [The fact that communities that are relatively powerless often are exposed to more dangerous pollution and the worst effects of climate change: a society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/the-fact-that-communities-that-are-relatively-powerless-often-are/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [I had hoped all of Congress would recognize that it is imperative for our health, economy, and national security that we address the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pocan/i-had-hoped-all-of-congress-would-recognize-that-it-is-imperative-for/) [Mark Pocan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pocan/) > [The effects of climate change are real and only getting worse. I would like to build on the promises of the Paris Climate Agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-schakowsky/the-effects-of-climate-change-are-real-and-only-getting-worse-i-would/) [Jan Schakowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-schakowsky/) > [If we have to save the world from the adverse effects of climate change, then developed nations must lift the deprived with financial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushma-swaraj/if-we-have-to-save-the-world-from-the-adverse-effects-of-climate/) [Sushma Swaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushma-swaraj/) > [Those who are already feeling the effects of climate change don't have time to deny it - they're busy dealing with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/those-who-are-already-feeling-the-effects-of-climate-change-don-t/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In Congress, I am focused on the effects of climate change, including ocean acidification and sea-level rise - both of which are threats to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-peters/in-congress-i-am-focused-on-the-effects-of-climate-change-including/) [Scott Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-peters/) > [The effects of climate change are real and must be acted on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/the-effects-of-climate-change-are-real-and-must-be-acted-on/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) ## More by Dale Jamieson > [People with long memories and a vivid sense of the past have an immediate understanding of politicians like Donald Trump. They are not surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/people-with-long-memories-and-a-vivid-sense-of-the-past-have-an/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [On my reading of history people who want to bring us the best are usually the people we ought to be afraid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/on-my-reading-of-history-people-who-want-to-bring-us-the-best-are/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [We know the "great men" and a handful of heavily cited papers in our specialization. When there is a historical frame around a paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/we-know-the-great-men-and-a-handful-of-heavily-cited-papers-in-our/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [The very essence of civilized culture is that we deliberately institute, in advance of the happening of various contingencies and emergencies of life, devices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/the-very-essence-of-civilized-culture-is-that-we-deliberately/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-retrospectively-prospectively/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [In this era of globalization we are witnessing struggles within individual states about what their identity and interests consist in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/in-this-era-of-globalization-we-are-witnessing-struggles-within/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [You can't imagine anything like nature as we know it without predators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/you-can-t-imagine-anything-like-nature-as-we-know-it-without-predators/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Climate change involves fundamental choices about how we want to live and what kind of world we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/climate-change-involves-fundamental-choices-about-how-we-want-to-live/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Acts are right in virtue of the goodness of their consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/acts-are-right-in-virtue-of-the-goodness-of-their-consequences/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Our traditional systems of decision-making are just not up to preventing changes in fundamental earth systems that are driven by a constant barrage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/our-traditional-systems-of-decision-making-are-just-not-up-to/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [One of the real dangers of our time is people's indifference to history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/one-of-the-real-dangers-of-our-time-is-people-s-indifference-to/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [We're not good at noticing slow, steady changes in our environments, our senses are not very acute compared to those of many animals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/we-re-not-good-at-noticing-slow-steady-changes-in-our-environments/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Philosophers are smart, analytical, and skeptical. For these reasons they are relatively unbiased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/philosophers-are-smart-analytical-and-skeptical-for-these-reasons/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [The millennium development goals are important, both morally and economically, because much of the world's population maybe is as much as a third of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/the-millennium-development-goals-are-important-both-morally-and/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) [Explore all 116 Dale Jamieson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) ## More Accustomed quotes > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. 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There is less information, there's less investigation, there's less analysis, there's less accountability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-greenspon/democracy-is-not-being-well-served-as-we-re-accustomed-to-there-is/) Edward Greenspon > [To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-one-who-is-accustomed-to-thinking-a-lot-every-new-thought-that-he/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I have been in relatively high-risk businesses all of my adult life. 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