--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We tend to think of environmental…" description: "\"“We tend to think of environmental catastrophes—such as the recent Exxon Valdez oil-spill disaster in the Bay of Alaska—as \"accidents\": isolated phenom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/murray-bookchin-2587_catastrophes_we-tend-to-think-of-environmental-catast_1383322.jpg" --- # We tend to think of environmental catastrophes—such as the… ![“We tend to think of environmental catastrophes—such as the recent Exxon Valdez oil-spill disaster in the Bay of Alaska—as "accidents": isolated phenomena that erupt without notice or warning. But when does the word accident become inappropriate? When are such occurrences inevitable rather than…” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/murray-bookchin-2587_catastrophes_we-tend-to-think-of-environmental-catast_1383322.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/murray-bookchin-2587_catastrophes_we-tend-to-think-of-environmental-catast_1383322.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/murray-bookchin-2587_catastrophes_we-tend-to-think-of-environmental-catast_1383322.jpg) > ““We tend to think of environmental catastrophes—such as the recent Exxon Valdez oil-spill disaster in the Bay of Alaska—as "accidents": isolated phenomena that erupt without notice or warning. But when does the word accident become inappropriate? When are such occurrences inevitable rather than accidental? And when does a consistent pattern of inevitable disasters point to a deep-seated crisis that is not only environmental but profoundly social?”” [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accidents are often mischaracterized; repeated disasters reveal systemic social and ecological failures. **In simple terms:** Repeated disasters show deeper systemic problems. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns, address root causes. Themes environment social justice systemic risk ecology policy Mood concerned urgent reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - urban planning - environmental regulation - community activism - education campaigns Key Concepts ecosystem collapse social inequality industrial negligence Questions to Reflect On - What systemic changes could prevent future "accidents"? - How do social structures amplify environmental risks? A Different Perspective Labeling each event as an accident can obscure accountability and prevent preventive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catastrophes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophes/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Oil spill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil-spill/) [Pollution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pollution/) ## Related quotes > [The environmental catastrophes we're presently seeing are considered "normal" though they're horrific. Fracking has made drinking water flammable, families are dying from planned lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/the-environmental-catastrophes-we-re-presently-seeing-are-considered/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [“Once you know that there are no purposes, you also know that there is no accident; for it is only beside a world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/once-you-know-that-there-are-no-purposes-you-also-know-that-there-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Let us guard against saying that there are laws in nature. There are merely necessities: there is no one who commands, no one whoobeys,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/let-us-guard-against-saying-that-there-are-laws-in-nature-there-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The Orientals have another word for accident; it is "kismet,"--fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-orientals-have-another-word-for-accident-it-is-kismet-fate/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [How can government reduce the frequency and the severity of future catastrophes? Companies that have the potential to create significant harm must be required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-thaler/how-can-government-reduce-the-frequency-and-the-severity-of-future/) [Richard Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-thaler/) > [One of the things government should be around for is to deal with catastrophes. It should do that well. To me, that's a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/one-of-the-things-government-should-be-around-for-is-to-deal-with/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [The worst thing that will probably happen-in fact is already well underway-is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happen-in-fact-is-already-well/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Probably most catastrophes end this way without an ending, the dead not even knowing how they died...,those who loved them forever questioning "this unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/probably-most-catastrophes-end-this-way-without-an-ending-the-dead/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Catastrophes come when some dominant institution, swollen like a soap-bubble and still standing without foundations, suddenly crumbles at the touch of what may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/catastrophes-come-when-some-dominant-institution-swollen-like-a-soap/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [One of the strangest catastrophes that is in any history. A great king, with strong armies and mighty fleets, a great treasure and powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-burnet/one-of-the-strangest-catastrophes-that-is-in-any-history-a-great-king/) [Gilbert Burnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-burnet/) > [“In the history of art, late works are the catastrophes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adorno-theodor-w/in-the-history-of-art-late-works-are-the-catastrophes/) Adorno, Theodor W > [“Is the destruction not, rather, irrefutable proof that the catastrophes which develop, so to speak, in our hands and seem to break out suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/is-the-destruction-not-rather-irrefutable-proof-that-the-catastrophes/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [“-only human beings can recognize catastrophes, provided they survive them; Nature recognizes no catastrophes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/only-human-beings-can-recognize-catastrophes-provided-they-survive/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) ## More by Murray Bookchin > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I regard individuality as the most precious trait we have, because without it there is no creativity, there is no consciousness, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-regard-individuality-as-the-most-precious-trait-we-have-because/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In the 60s there were a lot of things which were anarchistic. May-June '68 was riddled by anarchistic sentiments, dreams and ideals, but insofar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/in-the-60s-there-were-a-lot-of-things-which-were-anarchistic-may-june/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Capitalism has created a situation called scarcity. And that scarcity is not natural, it's socially induced. Along with that sense of scarcity, or feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-has-created-a-situation-called-scarcity-and-that-scarcity/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [You see something very important is happening. Personality is being eaten out, and with that the idealism that always motivated an anarchist movement -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/you-see-something-very-important-is-happening-personality-is-being/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ “\[The\] term 'libertarian' itself, to be sure, raises a problem, notably, the specious identification of an anti-authoritarian ideology with a straggling movement for 'pure… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-term-libertarian-itself-to-be-sure-raises-a-problem-notably-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Wherever people defend the rights of the individual, I stand with them above all, over and beyond any wishes relating to how an economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/wherever-people-defend-the-rights-of-the-individual-i-stand-with-them/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I'm convinced more than ever that capitalism, with its technological development, has not been an advance toward freedom but has been an enormous setback…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-m-convinced-more-than-ever-that-capitalism-with-its-technological/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“The phrase "consumer society" complements the description of the present social order as an "industrial society." Needs are tailored by the mass media to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-phrase-consumer-society-complements-the-description-of-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I believe in a libertarian communist society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-believe-in-a-libertarian-communist-society/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ “\[W\]ithout changing the most molecular relationships in society — notably, those between men and women, adults and children, whites and other ethnic groups, heterosexuals… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/w-ithout-changing-the-most-molecular-relationships-in-society-notably/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [ The most important thing \[anarchists\] can do is educate themselves, develop a propaganda machinery in the form of books and periodicals, a literature, engage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-most-important-thing-anarchists-can-do-is-educate-themselves/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I was a Stalinist in the '30s. I had come from a Russian revolutionary family who simply were elated by the fact that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-was-a-stalinist-in-the-30s-i-had-come-from-a-russian-revolutionary/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“Capitalism, far from affording "privileges" to the middle classes, tends to degrade them more abjectly than any other stratum in society. The system deploys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-far-from-affording-privileges-to-the-middle-classes-tends/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“Finally, “industrial society,” to use a genteel euphemism for capitalism, has also become an easy explanation for the environmental ills that afflict our time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/finally-industrial-society-to-use-a-genteel-euphemism-for-capitalism/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) [Explore all 159 Murray Bookchin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) ## More Catastrophes quotes > [“-only human beings can recognize catastrophes, provided they survive them; Nature recognizes no catastrophes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/only-human-beings-can-recognize-catastrophes-provided-they-survive/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [“Is the destruction not, rather, irrefutable proof that the catastrophes which develop, so to speak, in our hands and seem to break out suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/is-the-destruction-not-rather-irrefutable-proof-that-the-catastrophes/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“In the history of art, late works are the catastrophes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adorno-theodor-w/in-the-history-of-art-late-works-are-the-catastrophes/) Adorno, Theodor W > [One of the strangest catastrophes that is in any history. A great king, with strong armies and mighty fleets, a great treasure and powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-burnet/one-of-the-strangest-catastrophes-that-is-in-any-history-a-great-king/) [Gilbert Burnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-burnet/) > [Catastrophes come when some dominant institution, swollen like a soap-bubble and still standing without foundations, suddenly crumbles at the touch of what may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/catastrophes-come-when-some-dominant-institution-swollen-like-a-soap/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Probably most catastrophes end this way without an ending, the dead not even knowing how they died...,those who loved them forever questioning "this unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/probably-most-catastrophes-end-this-way-without-an-ending-the-dead/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [The worst thing that will probably happen-in fact is already well underway-is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happen-in-fact-is-already-well/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [One of the things government should be around for is to deal with catastrophes. It should do that well. To me, that's a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/one-of-the-things-government-should-be-around-for-is-to-deal-with/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [How can government reduce the frequency and the severity of future catastrophes? Companies that have the potential to create significant harm must be required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-thaler/how-can-government-reduce-the-frequency-and-the-severity-of-future/) [Richard Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-thaler/) > [War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/war-is-a-series-of-catastrophes-which-result-in-victory/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [Unless we are willing to escape into sentimentality or fantasy, often the best we can do with catastrophes, even our own, is to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/unless-we-are-willing-to-escape-into-sentimentality-or-fantasy-often/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [I'm not a fan of public school at all; I think it's one of the greatest catastrophes of American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-m-not-a-fan-of-public-school-at-all-i-think-it-s-one-of-the/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I think I'm still chewing on my years as a foreign correspondent. I found myself covering catastrophes - war, uprising, famine, refugee crises -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/i-think-i-m-still-chewing-on-my-years-as-a-foreign-correspondent-i/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) [Browse all 81 Catastrophes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We tend to think of environmental catastrophes—such as the recent Exxon Valdez oil-spill disaster in the Bay of Alaska—as \"accidents\": isolated phenomena that erupt without notice or warning. But when does the word accident become inappropriate? When are such occurrences inevitable rather than accidental? 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