--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is wrong with California that a…" description: "\"Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.\" — Ross Macdonald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg" --- # Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean… ![“Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.” quote by Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg) > “Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.” [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even serious environmental issues like rising seas can be dismissed as insignificant in some narratives. **In simple terms:** Some problems are overlooked despite their impact. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden threats in everyday contexts. Themes environment denial irony critique perception Mood cynical thought‑provoking ironic Type satirical critical observational When to use this quote - urban planning - policy making - public health - climate activism - media reporting Key Concepts social commentary environmental awareness literary satire Questions to Reflect On - What risks are ignored in your community? - How can satire inspire real change? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay urgency, reducing motivation to act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [California Rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california-rise-1274747/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Ocean Level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean-level-1274748/) [Rise Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-ocean-1274749/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) [Wrong California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-california-3160472/) ## Related quotes > [“There was nothing wrong with Southern California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/there-was-nothing-wrong-with-southern-california-that-a-rise-in-the/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [There's nothing wrong with Southern California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-southern-california-that-a-rise-in-the/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [We all drink from one water We all breathe from one air We rise from one ocean And we live under one sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-fazal/we-all-drink-from-one-water-we-all-breathe-from-one-air-we-rise-from/) [Anwar Fazal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-fazal/) > [No Matter Your Trouble: The sun will still rise, the ocean will still have waves, and life will still go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/no-matter-your-trouble-the-sun-will-still-rise-the-ocean-will-still/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In the history of man it has been very generally the case that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/in-the-history-of-man-it-has-been-very-generally-the-case-that-when/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [Being single isnt the cause of loneliness, and marriage is not necessarily the cure. There are many lonely married people as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-jones/being-single-isnt-the-cause-of-loneliness-and-marriage-is-not/) [Renee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-jones/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Jesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/jesus-never-met-a-disease-he-could-not-cure-a-birth-defect-he-could/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More by Ross Macdonald > [Money costs too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/money-costs-too-much/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“The sea was surging among the pilings like the blithe mindless forces of dissolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-sea-was-surging-among-the-pilings-like-the-blithe-mindless-forces/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I knew how it was with drunks. They ran out of generosity, even for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-knew-how-it-was-with-drunks-they-ran-out-of-generosity-even-for/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“She didn't look like any motel manager I had ever seen. More likely an actress who hadn't quite made the grade down south, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/she-didn-t-look-like-any-motel-manager-i-had-ever-seen-more-likely-an/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“In wine was truth, perhaps, but in whisky, the way Hoffman sluiced it down, was an army of imaginary rats climbing your legs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/in-wine-was-truth-perhaps-but-in-whisky-the-way-hoffman-sluiced-it/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-like-a-silver-hatchet/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“A cockroach stepped out from behind the ketchup, gave me a quick impassive once-over, decided that I was of the Brahmin faith, and walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-cockroach-stepped-out-from-behind-the-ketchup-gave-me-a-quick/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“No more guns for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/no-more-guns-for-you/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I have a secret passion for mercy. . . but justice is what keeps happening to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-have-a-secret-passion-for-mercy-but-justice-is-what-keeps-happening/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“I found myself wishing that we could live like the birds and move through nature without hurting it ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-myself-wishing-that-we-could-live-like-the-birds-and-move/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [An ugly woman with a gun is a terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/an-ugly-woman-with-a-gun-is-a-terrible-thing/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I like a little danger. Tame danger, controlled by me. It gives me a sense of power, I guess, to take my life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-like-a-little-danger-tame-danger-controlled-by-me-it-gives-me-a/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I had reached the point when I could not see anything clearly ahead, I needed help, and I got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-had-reached-the-point-when-i-could-not-see-anything-clearly-ahead-i/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [How can a man help breaking the law when he don't have money to live on?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/how-can-a-man-help-breaking-the-law-when-he-don-t-have-money-to-live/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [The smell of the sea, of kelp and fish and bitter moving water, rose stronger in my nostrils. It flooded my consciousness like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-smell-of-the-sea-of-kelp-and-fish-and-bitter-moving-water-rose/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) [Explore all 62 Ross Macdonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) ## More California quotes > [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) [Sam Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hinton/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Many militarists would like to see California's votes vanish from the national electoral system, which would then become more Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swanson/many-militarists-would-like-to-see-california-s-votes-vanish-from-the/) [David Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swanson/) > [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/) [Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/) > [Take one round-trip flight between New York and California, and you've generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/take-one-round-trip-flight-between-new-york-and-california-and-you-ve/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [These French-style caramels are handmade in California. It's always hard to give them away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/these-french-style-caramels-are-handmade-in-california-it-s-always/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [The D.C. playbook is obsolete. It's time for the people of California to bring the agenda to Washington, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/the-d-c-playbook-is-obsolete-it-s-time-for-the-people-of-california/) [Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/) > [While there is an attempt by the Trump people to say that California isn't really America. California certainly seems like America to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/while-there-is-an-attempt-by-the-trump-people-to-say-that-california/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [“God will break California from the surface of the continent like someone breaking off a piece of chocolate. It will become its own floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ruby/god-will-break-california-from-the-surface-of-the-continent-like/) [Laura Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ruby/) > [You could have a hit in California that no one had heard of in Oklahoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-jackson/you-could-have-a-hit-in-california-that-no-one-had-heard-of-in/) [Wanda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-jackson/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) [Browse all 2,036 California quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Macdonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a-rise-in-the-ocean-level/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "California" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a-rise-in-the-ocean-level/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ross-macdonald-10904_california_nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a_1950318.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.” — Ross Macdonald", "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": "Ross Macdonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing is wrong with California that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a-rise-in-the-ocean-level/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/nothing-is-wrong-with-california-that-a-rise-in-the-ocean-level/#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 } } ] } ```