--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We line up and make a lot of noise about…" description: "\"“We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental problems like incinerators, waste dumps, acid rain, global warming and pollution. But we do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/joseph-c-jenkins-44879_acid-rain_we-line-up-and-make-a-lot-of-noise-about_94837.jpg" --- # We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental… ![“We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental problems like incinerators, waste dumps, acid rain, global warming and pollution. But we don't understand that when we add up all the tiny environmental problems each of us creates, we end up with those big environmental dilemmas. Humans…” quote by Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/joseph-c-jenkins-44879_acid-rain_we-line-up-and-make-a-lot-of-noise-about_94837.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/joseph-c-jenkins-44879_acid-rain_we-line-up-and-make-a-lot-of-noise-about_94837.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/joseph-c-jenkins-44879_acid-rain_we-line-up-and-make-a-lot-of-noise-about_94837.jpg) > ““We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental problems like incinerators, waste dumps, acid rain, global warming and pollution. But we don't understand that when we add up all the tiny environmental problems each of us creates, we end up with those big environmental dilemmas. Humans are content to blame someone else, like government or corporations, for the messes we create, and yet we each continue doing the same things, day in and day out, that have created the problems. Sure, corporations create pollution. If they do, don't buy their products. If you have to buy their products (gasoline for example), keep it to a minimum. Sure, municipal waste incinerators pollute the air. Stop throwing trash away. Minimize your production of waste. Recycle. Buy food in bulk and avoid packaging waste. Simplify. Turn off your TV. Grow your own food. Make compost. Plant a garden. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If you don't, who will?”” [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Small, everyday environmental choices accumulate into large-scale crises; personal responsibility and minimalism are essential to systemic change. **In simple terms:** Aggregate impact of minor actions. Key Takeaway Individual habits shape global outcomes. Themes environmental ethics personal responsibility consumerism sustainability behavioral change activism Mood motivational urgent hopeful Type call to action persuasive When to use this quote - household waste management - shopping habits - energy use - food sourcing - media consumption Key Concepts cumulative impact consumer choices waste reduction collective action Practical Applications - promoting zero-waste lifestyles - educating on low-impact consumption Questions to Reflect On - What tiny habit could you drop today to reduce your footprint? - How can community norms shift toward minimalism? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Environmental problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-problems/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) ## Related quotes > [I'm very sceptical about the prospects for 'big' environmental causes - 'saving the planet', halving the world's population, ending the exploitation of animals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/i-m-very-sceptical-about-the-prospects-for-big-environmental-causes/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [“Thermophilic composting requires no electricity and therefore no coal combustion, no acid rain, no nuclear power plants, no nuclear waste, no petrochemicals and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/thermophilic-composting-requires-no-electricity-and-therefore-no-coal/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [Overfishing, global warming and pollution are destroying the ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-crown-princess-of-sweden/overfishing-global-warming-and-pollution-are-destroying-the-ocean/) [Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-crown-princess-of-sweden/) > [Have we failed to slow global warming pollution in part because climate and environmental activists have been too polite and well behaved?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/have-we-failed-to-slow-global-warming-pollution-in-part-because/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) > [Global warming pollution, indeed all pollution, is now described by economists as an "externality." This absurd label means, in essence: we don't to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/global-warming-pollution-indeed-all-pollution-is-now-described-by/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Unless we stop dumping 70 million tons of global warming pollution into the atmosphere every 24 hours, which we are doing right now ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/unless-we-stop-dumping-70-million-tons-of-global-warming-pollution/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [ The crisis is a concrete threatening reality today. It stands to get catastrophically worse unless we take action before the accumulation \[of\] this global… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-crisis-is-a-concrete-threatening-reality-today-it-stands-to-get/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Science is warning us that if we do not quickly reduce the global warming pollution that is trapping so much of the heat our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/science-is-warning-us-that-if-we-do-not-quickly-reduce-the-global/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Every day we put another 110 million tons of global warming pollution into the sky as if it's an open sewer, and it's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/every-day-we-put-another-110-million-tons-of-global-warming-pollution/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [The misconception that there is serious disagreement among scientists about global warming is actually an illusion that has been deliberately fostered by a relatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-misconception-that-there-is-serious-disagreement-among-scientists/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Today we're dumping 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the environment, and tomorrow we will dump more, and there is no effective worldwide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/today-we-re-dumping-70-million-tons-of-global-warming-pollution-into/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [If there is no cost to be paid for the indiscriminate dumping of pollution into the earth's atmosphere, then it should be a surprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/if-there-is-no-cost-to-be-paid-for-the-indiscriminate-dumping-of/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Our planet is warming due to pollution from human activities. And a warming climate increases the likelihood of extreme weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-reuben/our-planet-is-warming-due-to-pollution-from-human-activities-and-a/) [Gloria Reuben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-reuben/) > [When you see that charger in the wall, you have to now say okay that's, that's contributing to global-warming pollution, I have to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-david/when-you-see-that-charger-in-the-wall-you-have-to-now-say-okay-that-s/) [Laurie David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-david/) > [And by the way, the United States is the biggest cause in global warming pollution. And we're doing the least about it. I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-david/and-by-the-way-the-united-states-is-the-biggest-cause-in-global/) [Laurie David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-david/) ## More by Joseph C. Jenkins > [“The "old school" of wastewater treatment, still embraced by most government regulators and many academics, considers water to be a vehicle for the routine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/the-old-school-of-wastewater-treatment-still-embraced-by-most/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“A young English couple was visiting with me one summer after I had been composting humanure for about six years. One evening, as dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/a-young-english-couple-was-visiting-with-me-one-summer-after-i-had/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“Humans began to show their pathogenic potential toward the planet during the 1950s, ravenously devouring natural resources and discarding waste into the environment with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/humans-began-to-show-their-pathogenic-potential-toward-the-planet/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“The world is divided into two categories of people: those who shit in drinking water and those who don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/the-world-is-divided-into-two-categories-of-people-those-who-shit-in/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“When viewed at the next quantum level of perspective, from which the Earth is seen as an organism and humans are seen as microorganisms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/when-viewed-at-the-next-quantum-level-of-perspective-from-which-the/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“What did happen to Mars, anyway? Our next door neighbor, the Red Planet, apparently was once covered with flowing rivers. What happened to them?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/what-did-happen-to-mars-anyway-our-next-door-neighbor-the-red-planet/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“Thermophilic composting requires no electricity and therefore no coal combustion, no acid rain, no nuclear power plants, no nuclear waste, no petrochemicals and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/thermophilic-composting-requires-no-electricity-and-therefore-no-coal/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“Suppose we humans are, as a species, exhibiting disease behavior: we’re multiplying with no regard for limits, consuming natural resources as if there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/suppose-we-humans-are-as-a-species-exhibiting-disease-behavior-we-re/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) [Explore all 9 Joseph C. Jenkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) ## More Acid rain quotes > [Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/canada-is-a-country-whose-main-exports-are-hockey-players-and-cold/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [“If you believed in capitalism, you had to attack science, because science had revealed the hazards that capitalism had brought in its wake. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-oreskes/if-you-believed-in-capitalism-you-had-to-attack-science-because/) [Naomi Oreskes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-oreskes/) > [Lyrically, 'Planets' is the precursor to 'Acid Rain'; it's about a meteoric, intergalactic war that results in an apocalypse and the human species aligning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/synyster-gates/lyrically-planets-is-the-precursor-to-acid-rain-it-s-about-a-meteoric/) [Synyster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/synyster-gates/) > [First deal with your own tears; tomorrow do something about acid rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jane-wylie/first-deal-with-your-own-tears-tomorrow-do-something-about-acid-rain/) [Betty Jane Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jane-wylie/) > [Take back your insurance, baby, nothing is guaranteed. Take back your acid rain, let your TV bleed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/take-back-your-insurance-baby-nothing-is-guaranteed-take-back-your/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [Bring down Mike Mann and we can bring down the IPCC, they reckoned. It is a classic technique for the deniers movement, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-mann/bring-down-mike-mann-and-we-can-bring-down-the-ipcc-they-reckoned-it/) [Michael E. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-mann/) > [“Imagine you are a member of a tour visiting Greece. The group goes to the Parthenon. It is a bore. Few people even bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/imagine-you-are-a-member-of-a-tour-visiting-greece-the-group-goes-to/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [Increasingly, our leaders must deal with dangers that threaten the entire world, where an understanding of those dangers and the possible solutions depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/increasingly-our-leaders-must-deal-with-dangers-that-threaten-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [From the cranberry cancer scare of the 1950s to the Alar-in-apples hysteria of the 1980s, from the "new ice age" of the 1960s to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/from-the-cranberry-cancer-scare-of-the-1950s-to-the-alar-in-apples/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [It is personal - deep in my bones and my flesh - the knowledge that we squandered our chance to avoid the climate emergency;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/it-is-personal-deep-in-my-bones-and-my-flesh-the-knowledge-that-we/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [We can drift along as though there were still a cold war, wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons that will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/we-can-drift-along-as-though-there-were-still-a-cold-war-wasting/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“Sabrina surely had one dead ex-boyfriend on her record. But did Martina have a deceased ex-boyfriend in her past too? Biggie’s words swirled in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-adam-nyapi/sabrina-surely-had-one-dead-ex-boyfriend-on-her-record-but-did/) [Tomas Adam Nyapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-adam-nyapi/) > [And your words burned my skin like acid rain, leaving holes and dripping to the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-reichl/and-your-words-burned-my-skin-like-acid-rain-leaving-holes-and/) [Katy Reichl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-reichl/) > [“I flip ahead in the textbook. There's an interesting chapter about acid rain. Nothing about sex. We aren't scheduled to learn about that until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-flip-ahead-in-the-textbook-there-s-an-interesting-chapter-about/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“She thought it funny how the poor environment had been raped just fine until there was a sufficient excess of the people who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/she-thought-it-funny-how-the-poor-environment-had-been-raped-just/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) Browse all 43 Acid rain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental problems like incinerators, waste dumps, acid rain, global warming and pollution. But we don't understand that when we add up all the tiny environmental problems each of us creates, we end up with those big environmental dilemmas. 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