---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think about the impact of climate…"
description: "\"If you think about the impact of climate change, it should be how a doctor would deal with the problem. A scientific hypothesis is tested to absolute d..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg"
---

#  If you think about the impact of climate change, it should…

![“If you think about the impact of climate change, it should be how a doctor would deal with the problem. A scientific hypothesis is tested to absolute destruction, but medicine can't wait. If a doctor sees a child with a fever, he can't wait for endless tests. He has to act on what is there. The…” quote by Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg)

> “If you think about the impact of climate change, it should be how a doctor would deal with the problem. A scientific hypothesis is tested to absolute destruction, but medicine can't wait. If a doctor sees a child with a fever, he can't wait for endless tests. He has to act on what is there. The risk of delay is so enormous that we can't wait until we are absolutely sure the patient is dying.”

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

## About This Quote

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

Urgent action is needed on climate change because waiting for absolute certainty can cause catastrophic harm, similar to a doctor treating a feverish child without endless tests.

**In simple terms:** Act now on climate risks.

Key Takeaway

Don't wait for perfect data.

Themes

environment urgency policy health science

Mood

concerned determined

Type

advocacy policy

When to use this quote

- government policy
- public health campaigns
- corporate sustainability strategies

Key Concepts

risk management precautionary principle systems thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies balance scientific uncertainty with urgent action?
- What mechanisms can accelerate climate response?

A Different Perspective

Delay can cause irreversible damage and may be politically challenging.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Delay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delay/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Endless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endless/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Fever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fever/) [Fever Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fever-wait-695563/) [Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Impact Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact-climate-475138/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Scientific Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-hypothesis-1281588/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Tested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tested/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Think Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-impact-677125/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/)

## Related quotes

> [A child gets a fever in the United States and it's high enough and sustainable enough, all of us can bring a child to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-penn/a-child-gets-a-fever-in-the-united-states-and-it-s-high-enough-and/)

[Sean Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-penn/)

> [But I should be very sorry if an interpretation founded on a most conjectural scientific hypothesis were to get fastened to the text in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/but-i-should-be-very-sorry-if-an-interpretation-founded-on-a-most/)

[James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/)

> [“Both, business expectation and scientific hypothesis serve the same purpose; both reflect an attempt at cognition and orientation in an imperfectly known world, both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-lachmann/both-business-expectation-and-scientific-hypothesis-serve-the-same/)

[Ludwig Lachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-lachmann/)

> [“One reader of an early draft of this chapter complained at this point, saying that by treating the hypothesis of God as just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/one-reader-of-an-early-draft-of-this-chapter-complained-at-this-point/)

[Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/)

> [It appears, then, to be a condition of a genuinely scientific hypothesis, that it be not destined always to remain an hypothesis, but be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/it-appears-then-to-be-a-condition-of-a-genuinely-scientific/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [The newspapers of the twenty-first century will give a mere 'stick' in the back pages to accounts of crime or political controversies, but will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/the-newspapers-of-the-twenty-first-century-will-give-a-mere-stick-in/)

[Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/)

> [I think I have made an impact in the workplace and I do believe that will prevail over any of the other things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-jones/i-think-i-have-made-an-impact-in-the-workplace-and-i-do-believe-that/)

[Paula Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-jones/)

> [I think most of the impact I have over time most people will not actually know about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-johansson/i-think-most-of-the-impact-i-have-over-time-most-people-will-not/)

[Scarlett Johansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-johansson/)

> [I think those who have impact and influence over us are often unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-think-those-who-have-impact-and-influence-over-us-are-often-unaware/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [Your life matters. You can't live through a day without making an impact on the world. And what's most important is to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/your-life-matters-you-can-t-live-through-a-day-without-making-an/)

[Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/)

> [“Think about the impact you have on the people around you every day. How do you interact with them? Is your presence uplifting or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/think-about-the-impact-you-have-on-the-people-around-you-every-day/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [I don't think you could function on set if you think like that. I think once you start to think of the impact, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-don-t-think-you-could-function-on-set-if-you-think-like-that-i/)

[David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/)

> [I believe man has an impact on the climate. But what is not completely understood is what the impact is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-r-wheeler/i-believe-man-has-an-impact-on-the-climate-but-what-is-not-completely/)

[Andrew R. Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-r-wheeler/)

> [Once the impact of climate change becomes visible, politics will react quickly and forcefully. We saw that in Germany in 2002 during the floods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-e-ott/once-the-impact-of-climate-change-becomes-visible-politics-will-react/)

[Hermann E. Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-e-ott/)

> [The first and most important impact of climate change on human civilisation will be an acute and permanent crisis of food supply. Eating regularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwynne-dyer/the-first-and-most-important-impact-of-climate-change-on-human/)

[Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwynne-dyer/)

## More by Prince Charles

> [I believe passionately that everyone has a particular God-given ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/i-believe-passionately-that-everyone-has-a-particular-god-given/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [Fast food may appear to be cheap food and, in the literal sense it often is, but that is because huge social and environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/fast-food-may-appear-to-be-cheap-food-and-in-the-literal-sense-it/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [While the demand for organic food outstrips supply, we happen to know that 77 percent of consumers don't want genetically engineered crops grown in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/while-the-demand-for-organic-food-outstrips-supply-we-happen-to-know/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [. . . a jostling scrum of office buildings so mediocre that the only way you ever remember them is by the frustration they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/a-jostling-scrum-of-office-buildings-so-mediocre-that-the-only-way/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [Forests ... are in fact the world's air-conditioning system-the very lungs of the planet-and help to store the largest body of freshwater on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/forests-are-in-fact-the-world-s-air-conditioning-system-the-very/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [The whole of the 20th century has always put the car at the center. So by putting the pedestrian first, you create these livable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/the-whole-of-the-20th-century-has-always-put-the-car-at-the-center-so/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [I'm not very good at being a performing monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/i-m-not-very-good-at-being-a-performing-monkey/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [On an increasingly crowded planet, humanity faces many threats - but none is greater than climate change. It magnifies every hazard and tension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/on-an-increasingly-crowded-planet-humanity-faces-many-threats-but/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [The medieval Islamic world, from Central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/the-medieval-islamic-world-from-central-asia-to-the-shores-of-the/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [Business is recognizing the role it can play in combatting climate change. Thank God, is all I can say, for there is a desperately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/business-is-recognizing-the-role-it-can-play-in-combatting-climate/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [Conservation must become before recreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/conservation-must-become-before-recreation/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [I think we'd be very foolish to expect that we can just import everything from somewhere else and imagine that that's going to last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/i-think-we-d-be-very-foolish-to-expect-that-we-can-just-import/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [There are now more TV's in British households than there are people - which is a bit of a worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/there-are-now-more-tv-s-in-british-households-than-there-are-people/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [All I'm saying is that there is a price to be paid at the sharp end.. environmentally and everywhere else.. for the food that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-is-a-price-to-be-paid-at-the-sharp-end/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

> [There's nothing like a jolly good disaster to get people to start doing something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/there-s-nothing-like-a-jolly-good-disaster-to-get-people-to-start/)

[Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

[Explore all 105 Prince Charles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/)

## More Absolutes quotes

> [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/)

[Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/)

> [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/)

[Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/)

> [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/)

[Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/)

> [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/)

[Christy Nockels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-nockels/)

> [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/)

[Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/)

> [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/)

[Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/)

> [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/)

[Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/)

> [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you think about the impact of climate change, it should be how a doctor would deal with the problem. A scientific hypothesis is tested to absolute destruction, but medicine can't wait. If a doctor sees a child with a fever, he can't wait for endless tests. He has to act on what is there. The risk of delay is so enormous that we can't wait until we are absolutely sure the patient is dying.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Prince Charles"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate-change-it-should-be-how-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absolutes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate-change-it-should-be-how-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/prince-charles-4903_absolutes_if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate_2053466.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you think about the impact of climate change, it should be how a doctor would deal with the problem. A…” — Prince Charles",
                "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": "Prince Charles",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you think about the impact...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate-change-it-should-be-how-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/if-you-think-about-the-impact-of-climate-change-it-should-be-how-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
