--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're facing growing climate change, more…" description: "\"We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the twentieth cen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/margaret-atwood-40_big-problem_we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more_78025.jpg" --- # We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more… ![“We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the twentieth century are just not going to work. We've run out of stuff. Our big problems are going to be energy supplies and food supplies. This is not a…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/margaret-atwood-40_big-problem_we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more_78025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/margaret-atwood-40_big-problem_we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more_78025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/margaret-atwood-40_big-problem_we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more_78025.jpg) > “We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the twentieth century are just not going to work. We've run out of stuff. Our big problems are going to be energy supplies and food supplies. This is not a right-left issue.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that 20th‑century infrastructures cannot meet escalating climate‑driven crises, emphasizing that resource scarcity and energy‑food insecurity transcend political divisions. **In simple terms:** Outdated systems can’t handle climate emergencies. Key Takeaway Modernize infrastructure for climate resilience. Themes climate change resource scarcity political polarization systemic risk energy security food security Mood urgent cautious determined Type warning call to action When to use this quote - government planning - urban development - agricultural strategy - energy sector - public discourse Key Concepts infrastructure policy sustainability geopolitics Practical Applications - policy reform - technological innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can we redesign systems to be climate‑proof? - What policies can bridge partisan divides on resource security? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-problem/) [Big problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-problems/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Drought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drought/) [Droughts Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/droughts-crisis-1003358/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Food supply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-supply/) [Going to work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-to-work/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-climate-1003356/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left Issue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-issue-1003357/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Supplies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplies/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) ## Related quotes > [We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more-floods-more-droughts-more-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Quickly capping 363 oil well fires in a war zone is impossible. The fires would burn out of control until they put themselves out...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/quickly-capping-363-oil-well-fires-in-a-war-zone-is-impossible-the/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Some bioengineering is good, especially if it results in plants that are more drought-resistant or perennial food crops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/some-bioengineering-is-good-especially-if-it-results-in-plants-that/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [People in my neighborhood are so disconnected from the fresh food supply that kids don't know an eggplant from a sweet potato. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-finley/people-in-my-neighborhood-are-so-disconnected-from-the-fresh-food/) [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) > [The air that people breathe in many Chinese cities has become dangerously polluted. Their food supply is subject to constant contamination scandals. Now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fallows/the-air-that-people-breathe-in-many-chinese-cities-has-become/) [James Fallows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fallows/) > [I didn't marry. I didn't have children. I followed the food supply for jobs. I kept writing at night. And that kept me moving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-didn-t-marry-i-didn-t-have-children-i-followed-the-food-supply-for/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [The United States has taken pride in maintaining the 'safest food supply in the world.' And we can still have it, as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/the-united-states-has-taken-pride-in-maintaining-the-safest-food/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [Environmental science is telling us a lot about our future and what it could look like, whether we're talking about global warming (the current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/environmental-science-is-telling-us-a-lot-about-our-future-and-what/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [The pet food recall, which was after all just about pets, and treated as if it were an inconsequential matter, was an absolute forerunner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/the-pet-food-recall-which-was-after-all-just-about-pets-and-treated/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [The fight to save family farms isn't just about farmers. It's about making sure that there is a safe and healthy food supply for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/the-fight-to-save-family-farms-isn-t-just-about-farmers-it-s-about/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [There is one thing that very reliably try to trumps the food supply and that is food demand. At the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-katz/there-is-one-thing-that-very-reliably-try-to-trumps-the-food-supply/) [David Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-katz/) > [“Almost two hundred years ago, during the War of 2062, back when the world was inhabited exclusively by humans, a war between North American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-martucci/almost-two-hundred-years-ago-during-the-war-of-2062-back-when-the/) [Jennifer Martucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-martucci/) > [I'm confident that we have measures in place. And the additional measures that we announced yesterday will be even more protective of our food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-veneman/i-m-confident-that-we-have-measures-in-place-and-the-additional/) [Ann Veneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-veneman/) > [We use competitive markets to arrange for delivery of our food supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lay/we-use-competitive-markets-to-arrange-for-delivery-of-our-food-supply/) [Kenneth Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lay/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Big problem quotes > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [The big problem for comic art is you don't want to overwork it. If a drawing is overworked it isn't funny. It's the spontaneity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sorel/the-big-problem-for-comic-art-is-you-don-t-want-to-overwork-it-if-a/) [Edward Sorel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sorel/) > [“For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/for-me-for-pretty-much-every-writer-the-big-problem-isn-t-piracy-it-s/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Nerves are always a big problem for me, which is why I loved doing American sitcoms. Because you know when you do the take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/nerves-are-always-a-big-problem-for-me-which-is-why-i-loved-doing/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [The big problem retailers are facing is the world is moving to mobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schulman/the-big-problem-retailers-are-facing-is-the-world-is-moving-to-mobile/) [Dan Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schulman/) > [It was lonely on the hill, and cold. And all you could do was keep going. You could scream, cry, and stamp your feet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-was-lonely-on-the-hill-and-cold-and-all-you-could-do-was-keep/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Its a big problem for American movies that all their movies are produced to be global.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-a-big-problem-for-american-movies-that-all-their-movies-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“answer. Donald’s dysfunctional belief was related to Janine’s, but he’d held on to it for much longer—a life of responsible and successful work should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burnett/answer-donald-s-dysfunctional-belief-was-related-to-janine-s-but-he-d/) [Bill Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burnett/) > [The big problem is just this kind of gigantic piece, of kids reading less and liking it less and so getting worse at it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/the-big-problem-is-just-this-kind-of-gigantic-piece-of-kids-reading/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [I do have a very, very big problem with someone who saw me coming and exploited me as a mascot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-vine/i-do-have-a-very-very-big-problem-with-someone-who-saw-me-coming-and/) [Stella Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-vine/) > [Don't tell GOD that u have a Big Problem,Tell your Problem that u have a Big GOD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/don-t-tell-god-that-u-have-a-big-problem-tell-your-problem-that-u/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“That's my big problem. That's it! Before the Arrival,guys like Evan Walker never looked twice at me, much less shot wild game for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/that-s-my-big-problem-that-s-it-before-the-arrival-guys-like-evan/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Well, capitalism is a big problem, because with capitalism you're just going to keep buying and selling things until there's nothing else to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/well-capitalism-is-a-big-problem-because-with-capitalism-you-re-just/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Every one is doing their own thing, fighting their own battles, surviving their lifes, but people just need to stop worrying. Youre making little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-salazar/every-one-is-doing-their-own-thing-fighting-their-own-battles/) [Rachel Salazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-salazar/) [Browse all 430 Big problem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-problem/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the twentieth century are just not going to work. We've run out of stuff. Our big problems are going to be energy supplies and food supplies. 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