--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans long thought that nature could…" description: "\"Americans long thought that nature could take care of itself-or that if it did not, the consequences were someone else's problem. As we know now, that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jimmy-carter-479_assumption_americans-long-thought-that-nature-could_2811692.jpg" --- # Americans long thought that nature could take care of… ![“Americans long thought that nature could take care of itself-or that if it did not, the consequences were someone else's problem. As we know now, that assumption was wrong; none of us is a stranger to environmental problems.” quote by Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jimmy-carter-479_assumption_americans-long-thought-that-nature-could_2811692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jimmy-carter-479_assumption_americans-long-thought-that-nature-could_2811692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jimmy-carter-479_assumption_americans-long-thought-that-nature-could_2811692.jpg) > “Americans long thought that nature could take care of itself-or that if it did not, the consequences were someone else's problem. As we know now, that assumption was wrong; none of us is a stranger to environmental problems.” [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing that environmental issues affect everyone, not just others. **In simple terms:** Everyone shares responsibility for the environment. Key Takeaway Act locally, think globally. Themes environment responsibility collective action Mood concerned motivated Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community projects - education programs Key Concepts sustainability interdependence Questions to Reflect On - How can personal choices impact larger ecosystems? - What policies best support shared environmental stewardship? A Different Perspective Individual actions may feel insignificant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Environmental problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-problems/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) ## Related quotes > [I made the assumption, wrong of course, that conceptual analysis was a brief preliminary on the road to finding out about the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-churchland/i-made-the-assumption-wrong-of-course-that-conceptual-analysis-was-a/) [Patricia Churchland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-churchland/) > [Never ASSUME that someone loves you. What have they done that PROVES that they're in love with you? If nothing, your assumption is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/never-assume-that-someone-loves-you-what-have-they-done-that-proves/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I am impressed with the natural health programs at Nature Care College. Their dedication to quality education is truly inspiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/i-am-impressed-with-the-natural-health-programs-at-nature-care/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Art quickens nature; care will make a face; Neglected beauty perisheth apace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/art-quickens-nature-care-will-make-a-face-neglected-beauty-perisheth/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [Make other comfortable and you will see that nature will take care of your comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/make-other-comfortable-and-you-will-see-that-nature-will-take-care-of/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Its our nature to care for the one we love and its our responsibility care for those who love us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/its-our-nature-to-care-for-the-one-we-love-and-its-our-responsibility/) Myself > [By nature, I'm very care-taking. There's something really beautiful about cooking for someone and feeding them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-balfour/by-nature-i-m-very-care-taking-there-s-something-really-beautiful/) [Eric Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-balfour/) > [If man can take care of man, nature can take care of the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/if-man-can-take-care-of-man-nature-can-take-care-of-the-rest/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [It used to be that artists thought of nature as their environment. Now media is our environment. It has been for the past 50,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hell/it-used-to-be-that-artists-thought-of-nature-as-their-environment-now/) [Richard Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hell/) > [Man was born to be rich, or to inevitably grow rich, by the use of his faculties: by the union of thought with nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/man-was-born-to-be-rich-or-to-inevitably-grow-rich-by-the-use-of-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“All this, grassy paddock, cows, trees - he had thought it was Nature. But now he could see that that was ignorance, or lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-grenville/all-this-grassy-paddock-cows-trees-he-had-thought-it-was-nature-but/) [Kate Grenville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-grenville/) > [Critical (i.e., separating) methods apply only to the world-as-nature. It would be easier to break up a theme of Beethoven with dissecting knife or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/critical-i-e-separating-methods-apply-only-to-the-world-as-nature-it/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [I have thought about the nature of this creative process and have reached a somewhat aberrant conclusion. I don't understand it and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beck/i-have-thought-about-the-nature-of-this-creative-process-and-have/) William Beck > [All the dignity of man consists in thought. Thought is therefore by its nature a wonderful and incomparable thing. It must have strange defects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/all-the-dignity-of-man-consists-in-thought-thought-is-therefore-by/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“I feel the need to fall in love with the world, to forge that relationship ever more strongly. But maybe I don’t have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharman-apt-russell/i-feel-the-need-to-fall-in-love-with-the-world-to-forge-that/) [Sharman Apt Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharman-apt-russell/) ## More by Jimmy Carter > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I think politicians really go with the tide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-think-politicians-really-go-with-the-tide/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [There's no way to have a peace agreement unless the mediator or negotiator looks at both sides from an equal basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/there-s-no-way-to-have-a-peace-agreement-unless-the-mediator-or/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things - he never said that gay people should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/jesus-never-said-a-word-about-homosexuality-in-all-of-his-teachings/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself, and where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/penalties-against-possession-of-a-drug-should-not-be-more-damaging-to/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [No poor, rural, weak, or black person should ever again have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/no-poor-rural-weak-or-black-person-should-ever-again-have-to-bear-the/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Our individual fates are linked our futures intertwined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/our-individual-fates-are-linked-our-futures-intertwined/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I think the most challenging thing for me in my life and in the Bible is that we worship Jesus as the Prince of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-think-the-most-challenging-thing-for-me-in-my-life-and-in-the-bible/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Faith implies a continuing search, not necessarily a final answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/faith-implies-a-continuing-search-not-necessarily-a-final-answer/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I don't want to tell President Obama how to make a speech. He's a much better speech maker than I am. But I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-don-t-want-to-tell-president-obama-how-to-make-a-speech-he-s-a-much/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [We must make it clear that a platform of 'I hate gay men and women' is not a way to become president of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/we-must-make-it-clear-that-a-platform-of-i-hate-gay-men-and-women-is/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I have a very real political awareness that at least on a transient basis the more drastic action taken by the president, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-have-a-very-real-political-awareness-that-at-least-on-a-transient/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Everyone has a right to peaceful coexistence, the basic personal freedoms, the alleviation of suffering, and the opportunity to lead a productive life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/everyone-has-a-right-to-peaceful-coexistence-the-basic-personal/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this Nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/energy-will-be-the-immediate-test-of-our-ability-to-unite-this-nation/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) [Explore all 532 Jimmy Carter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/) Philip Selznick > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Americans long thought that nature could take care of itself-or that if it did not, the consequences were someone else's problem. 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