--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shortly after Bush took office, a…" description: "\"“Shortly after Bush took office, a government scientist prepared testimony for a Congressional committee on the dangerous effects of industrial uses of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg" --- # Shortly after Bush took office, a government scientist… ![“Shortly after Bush took office, a government scientist prepared testimony for a Congressional committee on the dangerous effects of industrial uses of coal and other fossil fuels in contributing to “global warming,” a depletion of the earth’s protective ozone layer. The White House changed the…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg) > ““Shortly after Bush took office, a government scientist prepared testimony for a Congressional committee on the dangerous effects of industrial uses of coal and other fossil fuels in contributing to “global warming,” a depletion of the earth’s protective ozone layer. The White House changed the testimony, over the scientist’s objections, to minimize the danger (Boston Globe, October 29, 1990). Again, business worries about regulation seemed to override the safety of the public. The ecological crisis in the world had become so obviously serious that Pope John Paul II felt the need to rebuke the wealthy classes of the industrialized nations for creating that crisis: “Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness, both individual and collective, are contrary to the order of creation.”” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Pope warned that greed and selfishness cause ecological breakdown, urging moral responsibility over industrial interests. **In simple terms:** Greed harms the environment; moral action needed. Key Takeaway Prioritize ecological stewardship over profit. Themes environment ethics greed spirituality Mood reflective urgent Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community education - personal lifestyle changes Key Concepts moral responsibility climate change social justice Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits reflect greed? - How can societies balance growth and ecology? A Different Perspective Economic pressures often outweigh environmental concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Depletion Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depletion-earth-2320881/) [Ecological Breakdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecological-breakdown-2320880/) [Ecological crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecological-crisis/) [Fossil fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossil-fuel/) [Fossil fuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossil-fuels/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Greed And Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-and-selfishness/) [John paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-paul/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Ozone layer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ozone-layer/) [Pope John Paul Ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope-john-paul-ii/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Threat Ecological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat-ecological-2320879/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) ## Related quotes > [The dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness are contrary to the order of creation. ...A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-dramatic-threat-of-ecological-breakdown-is-teaching-us-the-extent/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Technological progress has made clean energy a profitable investment, and growing popular pressure has forced politicians to respond to the threat of ecological disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-deese/technological-progress-has-made-clean-energy-a-profitable-investment/) [Brian Deese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-deese/) > [“... Mother Nature is punishing us, ..., for our greed and selfishness. We torture her at all hours by iron and wood, fire and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/mother-nature-is-punishing-us-for-our-greed-and-selfishness-we/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [A real smile is a gift from god ! don't fall for the phoney ones from the salesman which are from hell ! greed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-bosley/a-real-smile-is-a-gift-from-god-don-t-fall-for-the-phoney-ones-from/) [Wallace Bosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-bosley/) > [As time goes on we get closer to that American Dream of there being a pie cut up and shared. 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Glorious legends of revolutionaries, bound only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-morse/the-sands-of-time-blew-into-a-storm-of-images-images-in-sequence-to/) [Scott Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-morse/) > [One of the most painful things in the Western States and Territories is the extinction of childhood. I have never seen any children -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/one-of-the-most-painful-things-in-the-western-states-and-territories/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [“We’re giving Our Book to Earth so that All Earth Souls will Open up to the Universe and be aware of Our Existence. Through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara/we-re-giving-our-book-to-earth-so-that-all-earth-souls-will-open-up/) [Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara/) > [“motives for greed and selfishness are often attributed to toil and source of riches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/motives-for-greed-and-selfishness-are-often-attributed-to-toil-and/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Sometimes people who want more than they can handle end up losing everything altogether. Greed and selfishness will get you nowhere in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/sometimes-people-who-want-more-than-they-can-handle-end-up-losing/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [People's lives are filled with vice and the trappings of it. Ambition, greed and selfishness all have to do with vice. Sooner or later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/people-s-lives-are-filled-with-vice-and-the-trappings-of-it-ambition/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“and do. They want people to steal and cheat and lie because then they can feed off the evil. 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The ecological crisis in the world had become so obviously serious that Pope John Paul II felt the need to rebuke the wealthy classes of the industrialized nations for creating that crisis: “Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness, both individual and collective, are contrary to the order of creation.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-government-scientist-prepared/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Climate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-government-scientist-prepared/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/howard-zinn-576_fossil-fuel_shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-governm_1026612.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Shortly after Bush took office, a government scientist prepared testimony for a Congressional committee on…” — Howard Zinn", "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": "Howard Zinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Shortly after Bush took office, a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-government-scientist-prepared/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/shortly-after-bush-took-office-a-government-scientist-prepared/#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 } } ] } ```