--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no excuse-and we should call a…" description: "\"There is no excuse-and we should call a spade a spade-for chemical companies and oil refineries using our major rivers as pipelines for toxic waste. Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/lyndon-b-johnson-684_chemicals_there-is-no-excuse-and-we-should-call-a_1581656.png" --- # There is no excuse-and we should call a spade a spade-for… ![“There is no excuse-and we should call a spade a spade-for chemical companies and oil refineries using our major rivers as pipelines for toxic waste. There is no excuse for communities to use other people's rivers as a dump for their raw sewage.” quote by Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/lyndon-b-johnson-684_chemicals_there-is-no-excuse-and-we-should-call-a_1581656.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/lyndon-b-johnson-684_chemicals_there-is-no-excuse-and-we-should-call-a_1581656.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/lyndon-b-johnson-684_chemicals_there-is-no-excuse-and-we-should-call-a_1581656.png) > “There is no excuse-and we should call a spade a spade-for chemical companies and oil refineries using our major rivers as pipelines for toxic waste. There is no excuse for communities to use other people's rivers as a dump for their raw sewage.” [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Industrial polluters treat rivers as waste conduits, while communities dump sewage, showing a double standard of environmental injustice. **In simple terms:** Both polluters and communities misuse rivers for waste. Key Takeaway Demand stricter regulation and community stewardship. Themes environmental justice pollution public health corporate responsibility Mood concerned determined urgent Type critical policy When to use this quote - river management - urban planning - community activism - industrial regulation Key Concepts externalities ethical stewardship policy failure Questions to Reflect On - How can we hold both corporations and communities accountable? - What policies ensure equitable river protection? A Different Perspective Addressing one side without the other leaves systemic harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chemicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemicals/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Dump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dump/) [Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eco/) [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majors/) [No excuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-excuses/) [Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pipeline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pipeline/) [Pipelines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pipelines-764588/) [Pipelines Toxic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pipelines-toxic-5976656/) [Refinery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refinery/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Rivers Dump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers-dump-5976657/) [Rivers Pipelines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers-pipelines-5976658/) [Sewage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sewage/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Spades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spades/) [Toxic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toxic/) [Toxic waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toxic-waste/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Waste Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste-excuse-5976659/) ## Related quotes > [We have authorized the construction, one day, of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. And issued a new rule.American steel. If they want a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-have-authorized-the-construction-one-day-of-the-keystone-and/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We're actually able to approve pipelines at a time when everyone wants protection of the environment. We're being able to show that we get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/we-re-actually-able-to-approve-pipelines-at-a-time-when-everyone/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [We are importing Russian natural gas which is not produced in an environmentally conscious manner. If the states that are blocking the pipelines were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-r-wheeler/we-are-importing-russian-natural-gas-which-is-not-produced-in-an/) [Andrew R. Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-r-wheeler/) > [Owning pipelines, people, products, or even intellectual property is no longer the key to success. Openness is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-jarvis/owning-pipelines-people-products-or-even-intellectual-property-is-no/) [Jeff Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-jarvis/) > [The government itself is running exactly like the Sopranos and they sit back and they make deals. And they say okay, 'I'm going do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-government-itself-is-running-exactly-like-the-sopranos-and-they/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [We need fuel diversity as far as the generation of electricity because you can only get so much natural gas through the pipelines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-pruitt/we-need-fuel-diversity-as-far-as-the-generation-of-electricity/) [Scott Pruitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-pruitt/) > [That's one component: rather than creating job-training pipelines that put these kids at the back of the line for the last century's pollution-based jobs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/that-s-one-component-rather-than-creating-job-training-pipelines-that/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [“Even though the sewer pipelines reach far into our houses with their tentacles, they are carefully hidden from view and we are happily ignorant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/even-though-the-sewer-pipelines-reach-far-into-our-houses-with-their/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [It's a dangerous thing to build pipelines underground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-studi/it-s-a-dangerous-thing-to-build-pipelines-underground/) [Wes Studi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-studi/) > [I don't oppose pipelines - I like infrastructure - but I heard that the Keystone XL pipeline was going to carry tar sands oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/i-don-t-oppose-pipelines-i-like-infrastructure-but-i-heard-that-the/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [I mean, our primary businesses in wholesale pipelines, utilities, retail, were all doing extremely well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lay/i-mean-our-primary-businesses-in-wholesale-pipelines-utilities-retail/) [Kenneth Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lay/) > [... for nearly 40 years, while producing the now-banned industrial coolants known as PCBs at a local factory, Monsanto Co. routinely discharged toxic waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grunwald/for-nearly-40-years-while-producing-the-now-banned-industrial/) [Michael Grunwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grunwald/) > [I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/i-think-the-economic-logic-behind-dumping-a-load-of-toxic-waste-in/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [You know how gossip is. It's the toxic waste of small town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-know-how-gossip-is-it-s-the-toxic-waste-of-small-town/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) ## More by Lyndon B. Johnson > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject itself, or know where to find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/knowledge-is-of-two-kinds-we-know-a-subject-itself-or-know-where-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [We come to reason, not to dominate. We do not seek to have our way, but to find a common way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/we-come-to-reason-not-to-dominate-we-do-not-seek-to-have-our-way-but/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-have-learned-that-only-two-things-are-necessary-to-keep-one-s-wife/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/for-me-it-is-a-deep-personal-tragedy-i-know-that-the-world-shares-the/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Today, 8 million adult Americans, more than the entire population of Michigan, have not finished 5 years of school. Nearly 20 million have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/today-8-million-adult-americans-more-than-the-entire-population-of/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Republicans simply don't know how to manage the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/republicans-simply-don-t-know-how-to-manage-the-economy/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-don-t-believe-i-ll-ever-get-credit-for-anything-i-do-in-foreign/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-are-no-favorites-in-my-office-i-treat-them-all-with-the-same/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I'm the only president you've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-m-the-only-president-you-ve-got/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I am afraid, ... that health begins, after seventy, and often long before, to have a meaning different from that which it had at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-am-afraid-that-health-begins-after-seventy-and-often-long-before-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The family is the corner stone of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/the-family-is-the-corner-stone-of-our-society/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Never make a speech at a country dance or a football game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/never-make-a-speech-at-a-country-dance-or-a-football-game/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Our society is illuminated by the spiritual insights of the Hebrew prophets. America and Israel have a common love of human freedom and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/our-society-is-illuminated-by-the-spiritual-insights-of-the-hebrew/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) [Explore all 411 Lyndon B. Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More Chemicals quotes > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I believe that we have a huge problem with the water in America. 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He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/strange-isn-t-it-that-no-chemical-will-give-a-human-being-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [There's a good case to be made that having fun is a key evolutionary advantage right next to opposable thumbs in terms of importance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raph-koster/there-s-a-good-case-to-be-made-that-having-fun-is-a-key-evolutionary/) [Raph Koster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raph-koster/) > [It is time to end the discrimination against people who need treatment for chemical addiction. It is time for Congress to deal with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ramstad/it-is-time-to-end-the-discrimination-against-people-who-need/) [Jim Ramstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ramstad/) > [This formula of Love is universal; all the laws of Nature are its servitors. Thus, gravitation, chemical affinity, electrical potential, and the rest -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/this-formula-of-love-is-universal-all-the-laws-of-nature-are-its/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Israel has a couple of hundred nuclear weapons and also chemical and biological weapons. This stockpile is not only a threat in itself but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/israel-has-a-couple-of-hundred-nuclear-weapons-and-also-chemical-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't worry about chemicals. There are enough chemicals entering my body through all the fizzy drinks I consume to worry if my lip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-campbell/i-don-t-worry-about-chemicals-there-are-enough-chemicals-entering-my/) [Edie Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-campbell/) > [I come to this debate, Mr. Speaker, as one at the end of 10 years in office on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/i-come-to-this-debate-mr-speaker-as-one-at-the-end-of-10-years-in/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [Those are the things that, in the wrong hands - and certainly in our war on terrorism we also must attack proliferation and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-shelton/those-are-the-things-that-in-the-wrong-hands-and-certainly-in-our-war/) [Hugh Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-shelton/) > [Managing our emotions increases intuition and clarity. 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