--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The carbon emissions from tar shale and…" description: "\"The carbon emissions from tar shale and tar sands would initiate a continual unfolding of climate disasters over the course of this century. We would b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/james-hansen-7143_carbon_the-carbon-emissions-from-tar-shale-and_3069680.jpg" --- # The carbon emissions from tar shale and tar sands would… ![“The carbon emissions from tar shale and tar sands would initiate a continual unfolding of climate disasters over the course of this century. We would be miserable stewards of creation. We would rob our own children and grandchildren.” quote by James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/james-hansen-7143_carbon_the-carbon-emissions-from-tar-shale-and_3069680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/james-hansen-7143_carbon_the-carbon-emissions-from-tar-shale-and_3069680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/james-hansen-7143_carbon_the-carbon-emissions-from-tar-shale-and_3069680.jpg) > “The carbon emissions from tar shale and tar sands would initiate a continual unfolding of climate disasters over the course of this century. We would be miserable stewards of creation. We would rob our own children and grandchildren.” [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Continual fossil fuel extraction from tar resources will cause escalating climate catastrophes, harming future generations. **In simple terms:** Extracting tar fuels drives ongoing climate disaster harming our children. Key Takeaway Reduce reliance on tar-based fuels now. Themes environment climate future responsibility Mood urgent somber Type activist educational When to use this quote - activism - education - legislation - personal lifestyle Key Concepts sustainability intergenerational ethics policy Questions to Reflect On - What policies can accelerate the shift away from tar extraction? - How can individuals influence systemic change? A Different Perspective Economic dependence on tar fuels complicates transition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon emissions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-emissions/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children and grandchildren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-and-grandchildren/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Emissions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emissions/) [Grandchildren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandchildren/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) ## Related quotes > [Goals and caps on carbon emissions are practically worthless, if coal emissions continue, because of the exceedingly long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/goals-and-caps-on-carbon-emissions-are-practically-worthless-if-coal/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The greatest danger hanging over our children and grandchildren is initiation of changes that will be irreversible on any time scale that humans can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-greatest-danger-hanging-over-our-children-and-grandchildren-is/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [We need a firm cap on carbon emissions from fossil fuels. No coal, oil, or gas could enter the economy until the buyer had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/we-need-a-firm-cap-on-carbon-emissions-from-fossil-fuels-no-coal-oil/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [In the absence of federal leadership, Coloradans should take our rightful role as leaders seriously and work with other states and countries to reduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/in-the-absence-of-federal-leadership-coloradans-should-take-our/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [...if we all turned down the thermostat in our house by just one degree, we would save over £650 million worth of energy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/if-we-all-turned-down-the-thermostat-in-our-house-by-just-one-degree/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [If there's one thing I would like to see, it'd be for us to be able to price the cost of carbon emissions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/if-there-s-one-thing-i-would-like-to-see-it-d-be-for-us-to-be-able-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [With our abundance of wind, solar, and geothermal energy, Nevada has been a leader in moving away from carbon emissions and embracing a clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-cortez-masto-2/with-our-abundance-of-wind-solar-and-geothermal-energy-nevada-has/) [Catherine Cortez Masto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-cortez-masto-2/) > [Achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, identifying treatments to diseases like cancer, and harnessing the power of robotics and artificial intelligence to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alok-sharma/achieving-net-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2050-identifying-treatments-to/) [Alok Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alok-sharma/) > [“by 2008 the arithmetic of climate change presented an almost unimaginable challenge. If the world were to stay within the range of carbon emissions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/by-2008-the-arithmetic-of-climate-change-presented-an-almost/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [The best scientific evidence suggests temperatures are rising, and the best scientific evidence suggests man-made anthropogenic carbon emissions have some substantial thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-best-scientific-evidence-suggests-temperatures-are-rising-and-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The press heralded this as a major accomplishment. The rush from the press as soon as it was announced suggested a high level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erick-erickson/the-press-heralded-this-as-a-major-accomplishment-the-rush-from-the/) [Erick Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erick-erickson/) > [While the leading environmental alarmists burn fossil fuels like they're going out of style, the United States under President Trump has led the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/while-the-leading-environmental-alarmists-burn-fossil-fuels-like-they/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) > [Our carbon emissions have to eventually go to zero. We have to. Otherwise we're never going to have a stable climate and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/our-carbon-emissions-have-to-eventually-go-to-zero-we-have-to/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [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 talking about should we increase taxes? Why not put a tax on carbon emissions. It would raise a lot of money, it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-engle/we-re-talking-about-should-we-increase-taxes-why-not-put-a-tax-on/) [Robert F. Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-engle/) ## More by James Hansen > [Talking nice about sun and wind and green jobs is just greenwash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/talking-nice-about-sun-and-wind-and-green-jobs-is-just-greenwash/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/what-is-frustrating-people-me-included-is-that-democratic-action/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The five-year mean global temperature has been flat for the last decade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-five-year-mean-global-temperature-has-been-flat-for-the-last/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [What makes tar sands particularly odious is that the energy you get out in the end, per unit carbon dioxide, is poor. It's equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/what-makes-tar-sands-particularly-odious-is-that-the-energy-you-get/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [We are on the precipice of climate system tipping points beyond which there is no redemption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/we-are-on-the-precipice-of-climate-system-tipping-points-beyond-which/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Jail threats did not dissuade Martin Luther King - and intergenerational justice is a moral issue of comparable magnitude to civil rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/jail-threats-did-not-dissuade-martin-luther-king-and/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The United States did not sign Kyoto, yet its emissions are not that different from the countries that did sign it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-united-states-did-not-sign-kyoto-yet-its-emissions-are-not-that/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The five-year mean global temperature has been flat for the last decade, which we interpret as a combination of natural variability and a slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-five-year-mean-global-temperature-has-been-flat-for-the-last-2/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Rising carbon price is essential to 'decarbonize' the economy - to remove the nation towards the era beyond fossil fuels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/rising-carbon-price-is-essential-to-decarbonize-the-economy-to-remove/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Policy decisions on climate change are being deliberated every day by those without full knowledge of the science, and often with intentional misinformation spawned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/policy-decisions-on-climate-change-are-being-deliberated-every-day-by/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [ Imagine a giant asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. That is the equivalent of what we face now \[with climate change\], yet… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/imagine-a-giant-asteroid-on-a-direct-collision-course-with-earth-that/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The most difficult task, phase-out over the next 20-25 years of coal use that does not capture COâ‚‚, is Herculean, yet feasible when compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-most-difficult-task-phase-out-over-the-next-20-25-years-of-coal/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting-climate-zones-ecosystems-can/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [I think we have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change... no longer than a decade, at the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/i-think-we-have-a-very-brief-window-of-opportunity-to-deal-with/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The climate system is being pushed hard enough that change will become obvious to the man in the street in the next decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-climate-system-is-being-pushed-hard-enough-that-change-will/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) [Explore all 94 James Hansen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) ## 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 > [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 > [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? 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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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The carbon emissions from tar shale and tar sands would initiate a continual unfolding of climate disasters over the course of this century. We would be miserable stewards of creation. 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