---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal…"
description: "\"Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole\" — Nnimmo Bassey"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg"
---

#  Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole

![“Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole” quote by Nnimmo Bassey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg)

> “Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole”

Nnimmo Bassey

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Advocating for keeping fossil fuels underground to protect the environment.

**In simple terms:** Keep oil and coal underground for ecological health.

Key Takeaway

Support renewable energy and conservation.

Themes

environment energy conservation

Mood

concerned urgent

Type

activist policy

When to use this quote

- policy advocacy
- education
- personal lifestyle choices
- corporate responsibility

Key Concepts

climate change resource management

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies balance energy needs with environmental protection?
- What incentives encourage fossil fuel reduction?

A Different Perspective

Transitioning to clean energy is costly and politically challenging.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/)

## Related quotes

> [We should not cling to crude down to the last drop - we should leave oil before it leaves us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatih-birol/we-should-not-cling-to-crude-down-to-the-last-drop-we-should-leave/)

[Fatih Birol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatih-birol/)

> [We need to replace coal with gas. We need to leave oil in the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-kocher/we-need-to-replace-coal-with-gas-we-need-to-leave-oil-in-the-ground/)

[Isabelle Kocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-kocher/)

> [We are on the brink of a new energy order. Over the next few decades, our reserves of oil will start to run out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatih-birol/we-are-on-the-brink-of-a-new-energy-order-over-the-next-few-decades/)

[Fatih Birol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatih-birol/)

> [Fertile soil, level plains, easy passage across the mountains, coal, iron, and other metals imbedded in the rocks, and a stimulating climate, all shower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-huntington/fertile-soil-level-plains-easy-passage-across-the-mountains-coal-iron/)

[Ellsworth Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-huntington/)

> [In Kentucky, we're destroying mountains, including their soils and forests, in order to get at the coal. In other words, we're destroying a permanent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-kentucky-we-re-destroying-mountains-including-their-soils-and/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [I remember being very influenced by 'Taxi Driver', and also Tommy Lee Jones in 'Coal Miner's Daughter' a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-rockwell/i-remember-being-very-influenced-by-taxi-driver-and-also-tommy-lee/)

[Sam Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-rockwell/)

> [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/)

[Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/)

> [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/)

Marc Morano

> [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/)

Mother Jones

> [Dusty, dark, cold, and hard, coal has no beauty of its own, but when it is consummated by fire it is beautiful and becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederica-mathewes-green/dusty-dark-cold-and-hard-coal-has-no-beauty-of-its-own-but-when-it-is/)

[Frederica Mathewes-Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederica-mathewes-green/)

> [In that sense, I became politicized because the people in the coal mining villages who were involved in the struggle knew why they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/in-that-sense-i-became-politicized-because-the-people-in-the-coal/)

[Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/)

> [The only difference between black coal and a precious diamond is the amount of pressure it endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/the-only-difference-between-black-coal-and-a-precious-diamond-is-the/)

[Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/)

> [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/)

[Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/)

## More by Nnimmo Bassey

> [Biotech crops are not a solution to solve hunger in Africa or elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnimmo-bassey/biotech-crops-are-not-a-solution-to-solve-hunger-in-africa-or/)

Nnimmo Bassey

> [The Niger Delta is an occupied territory. Citizens raise their hands in the creeks each time they see the military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnimmo-bassey/the-niger-delta-is-an-occupied-territory-citizens-raise-their-hands/)

Nnimmo Bassey

Explore all 3 Nnimmo Bassey quotes

## More Climate quotes

> [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/)

[Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/)

> [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/)

[Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/)

> [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/)

[Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/)

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [There are many more traits that the climate deniers share with the creationists and Holocaust deniers and others who distort the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-r-prothero/there-are-many-more-traits-that-the-climate-deniers-share-with-the/)

[Donald R. Prothero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-r-prothero/)

> [Some would call me an environmentalist. I don't know why. I reuse the water that falls in my backyard in the winter. I reuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/some-would-call-me-an-environmentalist-i-don-t-know-why-i-reuse-the/)

[Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/)

> [I talk to fashion designers and say I want some money to save the rainforest, and they say, 'Oh, I agree with you completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-talk-to-fashion-designers-and-say-i-want-some-money-to-save-the/)

[Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/)

> [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/)

[Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/)

> [Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/climate-change-poses-clear-catastrophic-threats-we-may-not-agree-on/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [Fossil fuels, including oil, are running out and supplies are getting harder to find. If we do nothing, prices will continue to rise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-powell/fossil-fuels-including-oil-are-running-out-and-supplies-are-getting/)

[Lucy Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-powell/)

> [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/)

[Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/)

> [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/)

[John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/)

> [We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/we-live-in-a-state-with-a-wonderful-climate-and-plenty-of-natural/)

[Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/)

> [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/)

[Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/)

> [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/)

[Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/)

[Browse all 8,549 Climate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nnimmo Bassey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnimmo-bassey/leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal-in-the-hole/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Climate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnimmo-bassey/leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal-in-the-hole/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ed/nnimmo-bassey-78322_climate_leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal_3154049.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole” — Nnimmo Bassey",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Nnimmo Bassey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nnimmo-bassey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Leave the oil in the soil,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnimmo-bassey/leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal-in-the-hole/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnimmo-bassey/leave-the-oil-in-the-soil-leave-the-coal-in-the-hole/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
