--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know that the warming rising seas will…" description: "\"We know that the warming rising seas will swallow entire island nations that are about 25 percent of the UN vote and perhaps at the end, even our civil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/graciela-chichilnisky-19212_civilization_we-know-that-the-warming-rising-seas-wil_2216829.jpg" --- # We know that the warming rising seas will swallow entire… ![“We know that the warming rising seas will swallow entire island nations that are about 25 percent of the UN vote and perhaps at the end, even our civilization. This realization is traumatic and the first reaction to trauma is denial. Since there is some remaining scientific uncertainty, a natural…” quote by Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/graciela-chichilnisky-19212_civilization_we-know-that-the-warming-rising-seas-wil_2216829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/graciela-chichilnisky-19212_civilization_we-know-that-the-warming-rising-seas-wil_2216829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b4/graciela-chichilnisky-19212_civilization_we-know-that-the-warming-rising-seas-wil_2216829.jpg) > “We know that the warming rising seas will swallow entire island nations that are about 25 percent of the UN vote and perhaps at the end, even our civilization. This realization is traumatic and the first reaction to trauma is denial. Since there is some remaining scientific uncertainty, a natural response is to deny that change is occurring. This is natural but it is very dangerous.” [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) ## 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 highlights how denial of climate threats, fueled by uncertainty, endangers vulnerable nations and humanity. **In simple terms:** Denial of climate risk is dangerous. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on climate evidence. Themes climate change denial vulnerability politics Mood anxious urgent Type warning call to action When to use this quote - government negotiations - public awareness campaigns - community resilience planning Key Concepts risk perception psychology policy environmental justice Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty fuel denial? - What actions can break the denial cycle? A Different Perspective Denial can stall necessary mitigation and adaptation measures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warming/) ## Related quotes > [The first reaction to trauma is denial, then comes anger and finally, acceptance. I think the US is still between denial and anger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/the-first-reaction-to-trauma-is-denial-then-comes-anger-and-finally/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [Railing at scientists for massaging tree-ring statistics won't stop the globe from warming if the globe is actually, you know, warming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/railing-at-scientists-for-massaging-tree-ring-statistics-won-t-stop/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Worldwide, our oceans are warming, rising, and becoming dangerously acidic as a result of carbon pollution and climate change - endangering much that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/worldwide-our-oceans-are-warming-rising-and-becoming-dangerously/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [“Denial is our very real, personal response to our own trauma. But denial is the normative response to trauma—by everyone. Society may deny that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-spring/denial-is-our-very-real-personal-response-to-our-own-trauma-but/) [Carolyn Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-spring/) > [“A blanket could be used to keep an iceberg warm. People are so selfish and want to stop global warming. Well, if you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-keep-an-iceberg-warm-people-are-so-selfish/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Thousands of people die every year of cold, so if we had global warming it would save lives ... We ought to look out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-hunter/thousands-of-people-die-every-year-of-cold-so-if-we-had-global/) [Duncan Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-hunter/) > [The right response to the non-problem of global warming is to have the courage to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-right-response-to-the-non-problem-of-global-warming-is-to-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-want-our-children-to-live-in-an-america-that-isn-t-burdened-by/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Every day, we're learning about what's happened with global warming and what's happening all around the world, and our employees and our customers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lauren/every-day-we-re-learning-about-what-s-happened-with-global-warming/) [David Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lauren/) > [...warming of the climate system is unequivocal...most of the global average warming over the past 50 years is very likely due to anthropogenic greenhouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajendra-k-pachauri/warming-of-the-climate-system-is-unequivocal-most-of-the-global/) [Rajendra K. Pachauri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajendra-k-pachauri/) > [Experts say this global warming is serious, and they are predicting now that by the year 2050, we will be out of party ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/experts-say-this-global-warming-is-serious-and-they-are-predicting/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Global Warming Snowstorm Algore, paralyzing the upper Midwest two weeks before winter. Every time he shows up someplace, every time, it's almost comical, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/global-warming-snowstorm-algore-paralyzing-the-upper-midwest-two/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“These partisan beliefs can upset the equation in which more information will bring us closer to the truth. A recent study in Nature found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/these-partisan-beliefs-can-upset-the-equation-in-which-more/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [“If a blanket could be used to keep one person warm, then it stands to reason that all the blankets in the world are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-a-blanket-could-be-used-to-keep-one-person-warm-then-it-stands-to/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Graciela Chichilnisky > [As difficult as it is to eliminate the risk of nuclear warfare, it requires fewer changes to the global economy than does averting or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/as-difficult-as-it-is-to-eliminate-the-risk-of-nuclear-warfare-it/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [Geoengineering means changing the Earth's fundamental large-scale processes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/geoengineering-means-changing-the-earth-s-fundamental-large-scale/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [Climate change is new and complex. We don't have all the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/climate-change-is-new-and-complex-we-don-t-have-all-the-answers/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [The change in economic values created by the new markets for global public goods will reorient our global economy and under the right conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/the-change-in-economic-values-created-by-the-new-markets-for-global/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [We need to support our future instead of undermining human survival. Let's do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/we-need-to-support-our-future-instead-of-undermining-human-survival/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [We need a transformation of the world economy and of how we use and share the Earth's resources. We are running out of time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/we-need-a-transformation-of-the-world-economy-and-of-how-we-use-and/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [Even if we planted a tree on every square yard available in the planet by the end of the century we would only capture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/even-if-we-planted-a-tree-on-every-square-yard-available-in-the/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [The consensus is that climate change ranks along with nuclear warfare as the top two risks facing human civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/the-consensus-is-that-climate-change-ranks-along-with-nuclear-warfare/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [The sun is the source of all energy on planet Earth and we cannot experiment with our only energy source.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/the-sun-is-the-source-of-all-energy-on-planet-earth-and-we-cannot/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [We know little of the consequences of the geoengineering process, such as spraying particles into the atmosphere that shade the planet from the sun's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/we-know-little-of-the-consequences-of-the-geoengineering-process-such/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [We have to remove the CO2 that the industrial economy has already emitted, which otherwise will remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/we-have-to-remove-the-co2-that-the-industrial-economy-has-already/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [Signs of a poorly understood but treatable house fire requires action, not inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/signs-of-a-poorly-understood-but-treatable-house-fire-requires-action/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [The "can do" logic, by its own nature, does not accept limits. And an empire does not have a graceful way to evolve out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/the-can-do-logic-by-its-own-nature-does-not-accept-limits-and-an/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [The new markets that arise from ecological constraints will dominate the 21st century economy, and so will markets for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/the-new-markets-that-arise-from-ecological-constraints-will-dominate/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [CO2 from air can replace petroleum: it can produce plastics and acetate, it can produce carbon fibers that replace metals and clean hydrocarbons, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/co2-from-air-can-replace-petroleum-it-can-produce-plastics-and/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) [Explore all 33 Graciela Chichilnisky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We know that the warming rising seas will swallow entire island nations that are about 25 percent of the UN vote and perhaps at the end, even our civilization. This realization is traumatic and the first reaction to trauma is denial. Since there is some remaining scientific uncertainty, a natural response is to deny that change is occurring. 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