--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These same forces now keep the U.S…" description: "\"“These same forces now keep the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from taking bold action to regulate carbon dioxide pollution as our planet heats t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/mary-christina-wood-34996_carbon-dioxide_these-same-forces-now-keep-the-u-s-envir_3178861.jpg" --- # These same forces now keep the U.S. Environmental… ![“These same forces now keep the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from taking bold action to regulate carbon dioxide pollution as our planet heats to dangerous levels. Most worrisome, these dynamics persist at all levels of government. And they do not disappear with changes in political…” quote by Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/mary-christina-wood-34996_carbon-dioxide_these-same-forces-now-keep-the-u-s-envir_3178861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/mary-christina-wood-34996_carbon-dioxide_these-same-forces-now-keep-the-u-s-envir_3178861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/mary-christina-wood-34996_carbon-dioxide_these-same-forces-now-keep-the-u-s-envir_3178861.jpg) > ““These same forces now keep the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from taking bold action to regulate carbon dioxide pollution as our planet heats to dangerous levels. Most worrisome, these dynamics persist at all levels of government. And they do not disappear with changes in political administrations – although some administrations produce far worse policy than others.”” [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regulatory inertia and entrenched interests block strong climate action despite rising danger. **In simple terms:** Powerful groups stop EPA from acting on carbon. Key Takeaway Address political and institutional barriers. Themes environment policy politics climate change regulation Mood frustrated urgent Type analytical critical When to use this quote - legislative hearings - environmental advocacy - corporate lobbying Key Concepts institutional inertia interest groups policy stagnation Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens overcome institutional inertia? - What reforms could reduce influence of special interests? A Different Perspective Even with new leadership, entrenched interests can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action Regulate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-regulate-5816864/) [Carbon dioxide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-dioxide/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Environmental protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-protection/) [Forces Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forces-environmental-5816862/) [Political Administrations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-administrations-5816863/) [Regulate Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regulate-carbon-5265891/) ## Related quotes > [The majority of America wants action on climate change. The majority of America thinks we should regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-haaland/the-majority-of-america-wants-action-on-climate-change-the-majority/) [Deb Haaland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-haaland/) > [Time after time we're told corporations should have freedom from pesky job safety regulations, environmental protections and labor standards - giving working people the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-trumka/time-after-time-we-re-told-corporations-should-have-freedom-from/) [Richard Trumka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-trumka/) > [“The root system supports the branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-root-system-supports-the-branches/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/a-tree-has-roots-in-the-soil-yet-reaches-to-the-sky-it-tells-us-that/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [To meditate for world peace, to pray for a better world, and to work for social justice and environmental protection while continuing to purchase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-tuttle/to-meditate-for-world-peace-to-pray-for-a-better-world-and-to-work/) [Will Tuttle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-tuttle/) > [“Humans should not think too much. Too much thinking creates short actions. Thinking far creates protection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rema-thankappan/humans-should-not-think-too-much-too-much-thinking-creates-short/) [Rema Thankappan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rema-thankappan/) > [“Without the earth, where can humankind live?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/without-the-earth-where-can-humankind-live/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We forced Richard Nixon and the Congress who established, and thanks to your leadership, we supported you and we got the Environmental Protection Act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/we-forced-richard-nixon-and-the-congress-who-established-and-thanks/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [On issue after issue, the polls - and these are not snapshot polls; these are polls over a consistent period of time - show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-vanden-heuvel/on-issue-after-issue-the-polls-and-these-are-not-snapshot-polls-these/) [Katrina vanden Heuvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-vanden-heuvel/) > [I attended law school, the progression into a career in corporate law was almost foreordained. I set about to craft a career reflective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-strock/i-attended-law-school-the-progression-into-a-career-in-corporate-law/) [James M Strock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-strock/) > [Forests are the lungs of our land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/forests-are-the-lungs-of-our-land/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [In the end, I think the majority of Romanian society will understand that if we respect environmental protection standards, if we have benefits in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-ponta/in-the-end-i-think-the-majority-of-romanian-society-will-understand/) [Victor Ponta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-ponta/) > [“To save our dying earth, any government which is not environmentalist must go because on earth there are thousands of governments but there in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/to-save-our-dying-earth-any-government-which-is-not-environmentalist/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“from nonprofit organizations to push Obamacare—the same organizations responsible for directly implementing Obamacare and therefore subject to HHS oversight. • At virtually the same time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/from-nonprofit-organizations-to-push-obamacare-the-same-organizations/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Over and over, we hear politicians say they can't spend our tax dollars on environmental protection when the economy is so fragile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/over-and-over-we-hear-politicians-say-they-can-t-spend-our-tax/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) ## More by Mary Christina Wood > [“The thing that you have to understand about nature and natural law is, there’s no mercy…. There’s only law. And if you don’t understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/the-thing-that-you-have-to-understand-about-nature-and-natural-law-is/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“You can’t negotiate with a beetle. You are now dealing with natural law. And if you don’t understand natural law, you will soon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/you-can-t-negotiate-with-a-beetle-you-are-now-dealing-with-natural/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“As James Gustave Speth wrote in his book A Bridge at the Edge of the World, if we continue business as usual, the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/as-james-gustave-speth-wrote-in-his-book-a-bridge-at-the-edge-of-the/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“old Indian proverb, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/old-indian-proverb-we-do-not-inherit-the-earth-from-our-ancestors-we/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Politics of abundance, by contrast, arise from an ethic of measured restraint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/politics-of-abundance-by-contrast-arise-from-an-ethic-of-measured/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Present levels have reached 400 parts per million,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/present-levels-have-reached-400-parts-per-million/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Climate crisis presents nearly unfathomable urgency because of what scientists call “tipping points” – climate tripwires, so to speak. These thresholds, caused by human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/climate-crisis-presents-nearly-unfathomable-urgency-because-of-what/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Government, deriving its authority from the people as a whole, must act as a fiduciary to protect the natural resources held in trust from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/government-deriving-its-authority-from-the-people-as-a-whole-must-act/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Scientists warn that only a narrow window of opportunity remains in which to address climate emergency and other environmental calamities before irrevocable tipping points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/scientists-warn-that-only-a-narrow-window-of-opportunity-remains-in/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Thomas Friedman captures the twin tasks when he says: “Avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/thomas-friedman-captures-the-twin-tasks-when-he-says-avoid-the/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Often it does not matter much what the law says; the politics will circumvent it. Every devastated watershed, every new mile of sprawl, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/often-it-does-not-matter-much-what-the-law-says-the-politics-will/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [“Deserving particular mention is Julia Olson, who is coordinating the worldwide atmospheric trust litigation campaign (through Our Children’s Trust) and whose perseverance and embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/deserving-particular-mention-is-julia-olson-who-is-coordinating-the/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) [Explore all 13 Mary Christina Wood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) ## More Carbon dioxide quotes > [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/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) [Marcel Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-williams/) > [We have to slow down the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from coal burning, oil and eventually natural gas... And the best ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-have-to-slow-down-the-emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-and-methane-from/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [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/) > [As we pump greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, making the seawater acidic and hostile for shellfish and corals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/as-we-pump-greenhouse-gases-into-our-atmosphere-the-ocean-absorbs/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [ \[The doctrine of air\] I was led into in consequence of inhabiting a house adjoining to a public brewery, where I at first amused… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-priestley/the-doctrine-of-air-i-was-led-into-in-consequence-of-inhabiting-a/) [Joseph Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-priestley/) > [“The discovery of an interaction among the four hemes made it obvious that they must be touching, but in science what is obvious is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-discovery-of-an-interaction-among-the-four-hemes-made-it-obvious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The instrument Keeling built, the gas chromatograph, works by passing infrared (IR) light through a sample of air and measuring the amount of IR…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/the-instrument-keeling-built-the-gas-chromatograph-works-by-passing/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-petrini/if-food-was-no-longer-obliged-to-make-intercontinental-journeys-but/) [Carlo Petrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-petrini/) > [I know that nuclear is better than fossil fuels when it comes to carbon dioxide, but nuclear energy is by no means clean. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-know-that-nuclear-is-better-than-fossil-fuels-when-it-comes-to/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [Centuries-old habitats such as coral gardens are destroyed in an instant by bottom trawls, pulverized by weighted nets into barren plains. And global carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/centuries-old-habitats-such-as-coral-gardens-are-destroyed-in-an/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-over-26-billion/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Carbon dioxide pollution is transforming the chemistry of the ocean, rapidly making the water more acidic. In decades, rising ocean acidity may challenge life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/carbon-dioxide-pollution-is-transforming-the-chemistry-of-the-ocean/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [It’s time to move the debate past the dogmatic view that carbon dioxide is evil and toward a world view that accepts the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bryce/it-s-time-to-move-the-debate-past-the-dogmatic-view-that-carbon/) [Robert Bryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bryce/) [Browse all 263 Carbon dioxide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-dioxide/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“These same forces now keep the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from taking bold action to regulate carbon dioxide pollution as our planet heats to dangerous levels. Most worrisome, these dynamics persist at all levels of government. 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