--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To say that climate change will be…" description: "\"To say that climate change will be catastrophic hides a cascade of value-laden assumptions that do not emerge from empirical science.\" — Richard Lindzen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg" --- # To say that climate change will be catastrophic hides a… ![“To say that climate change will be catastrophic hides a cascade of value-laden assumptions that do not emerge from empirical science.” quote by Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg) > “To say that climate change will be catastrophic hides a cascade of value-laden assumptions that do not emerge from empirical science.” [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claiming climate change will be catastrophic embeds value judgments not derived from data, obscuring objective analysis. **In simple terms:** Science vs. value‑laden claims about climate disaster. Key Takeaway Separate data from moral framing. Themes science policy communication uncertainty ethics Mood analytical critical Type debate informative When to use this quote - environmental regulation - media reporting - educational curricula Key Concepts risk assessment public discourse policy making Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your view of climate risk? - How can we balance scientific evidence with ethical concerns? A Different Perspective Risk assessments can be politicized; may downplay real threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Assumptions Emerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumptions-emerge-3612485/) [Cascade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cascade/) [Catastrophic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophic/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Catastrophic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-catastrophic-3612483/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Laden Assumptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laden-assumptions-3612484/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [The ability to reach a catastrophic forest fire quickly can not only save millions in fire suppression costs, it can save structures and, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-zinke/the-ability-to-reach-a-catastrophic-forest-fire-quickly-can-not-only/) [Ryan Zinke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-zinke/) > [“Sadly, it seems that I have the proclivity to create plenty of devils, but most of the time I don’t even go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/sadly-it-seems-that-i-have-the-proclivity-to-create-plenty-of-devils/) [Craig D. 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The consequences of doing nothing will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/we-must-act-now-to-make-sure-fresh-water-is-available-to-everyone-no/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [Lawsuits are rare and catastrophic experiences for the vast majority of men, and even when the catastrophe ensues, the controversy relates most often not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/lawsuits-are-rare-and-catastrophic-experiences-for-the-vast-majority/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [There's always a possibility that you can have a catastrophic failure, of course. 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It's really how you handle the rough stuff that defines you, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-berg/i-ve-had-great-success-and-i-ve-had-catastrophic-failure-it-s-really/) [Peter Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-berg/) > [Back up everything! You are not invulnerable. Catastrophic data loss can happen to you - one worm or Trojan is all it takes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/back-up-everything-you-are-not-invulnerable-catastrophic-data-loss/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [“When a single professional makes almost all the decisions, mistakes can be catastrophic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-a-single-professional-makes-almost-all-the-decisions-mistakes/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? 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Rather, it is part of political discourse where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/the-public-discourse-on-global-warming-has-little-in-common-with-the/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [In brief, we have the new paradigm where simulation and programs have replaced theory and observation, where government largely determines the nature of scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/in-brief-we-have-the-new-paradigm-where-simulation-and-programs-have/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their grant funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves libeled as industry stooges, scientific hacks or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/scientists-who-dissent-from-the-alarmism-have-seen-their-grant-funds/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [Climate science has been targeted by a major political movement, environmentalism, as the focus of their efforts, wherein the natural disasters of the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/climate-science-has-been-targeted-by-a-major-political-movement/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [According to any textbook on dynamic meteorology, one may reasonably conclude that in a warmer world, extratropical storminess and weather variability will actually decrease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/according-to-any-textbook-on-dynamic-meteorology-one-may-reasonably/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early 21st century's developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally averaged temperature increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/future-generations-will-wonder-in-bemused-amazement-that-the-early/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [When an issue becomes a vital part of a political agenda, as is the case with climate, then the politically desired position becomes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/when-an-issue-becomes-a-vital-part-of-a-political-agenda-as-is-the/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [In the long run, the replacement of the precise and disciplined language of science by the misleading language of litigation and advocacy may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/in-the-long-run-the-replacement-of-the-precise-and-disciplined/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [The primary role of professional societies is the lobbying of the government for special advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/the-primary-role-of-professional-societies-is-the-lobbying-of-the/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [...there is no substantive basis for predictions of sizeable global warming due to observed increases in minor greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/there-is-no-substantive-basis-for-predictions-of-sizeable-global/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [The influence of mankind on climate is trivially true and numerically insignificant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/the-influence-of-mankind-on-climate-is-trivially-true-and-numerically/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/what-historians-will-definitely-wonder-about-in-future-centuries-is/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) > [Under true peer-review...a panel of reviewers must accept a study before it can be published in a scientific journal. If the reviewers have objections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/under-true-peer-review-a-panel-of-reviewers-must-accept-a-study/) [Richard Lindzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) [Explore all 15 Richard Lindzen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. 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That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To say that climate change will be catastrophic hides a cascade of value-laden assumptions that do not emerge from empirical science.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Lindzen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catastrophic-hides-a-cascade-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assumption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catastrophic-hides-a-cascade-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/richard-lindzen-32864_assumption_to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catas_1202494.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To say that climate change will be catastrophic hides a cascade of value-laden assumptions that do not…” — Richard Lindzen", "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": "Richard Lindzen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lindzen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To say that climate change will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catastrophic-hides-a-cascade-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lindzen/to-say-that-climate-change-will-be-catastrophic-hides-a-cascade-of/#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 } } ] } ```