--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can decide that the presence of…" description: "\"We can decide that the presence of cancer-causing substances in our air, water, and food is too expensive. A 2009 study, for example, has found that co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/sandra-steingraber-26626_air_we-can-decide-that-the-presence-of-cance_2856434.jpg" --- # We can decide that the presence of cancer-causing… ![“We can decide that the presence of cancer-causing substances in our air, water, and food is too expensive. A 2009 study, for example, has found that coal miners in Appalachia costs the region five times more in premature deaths, including from cancer, than it provides to the region in jobs, taxes…” quote by Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/sandra-steingraber-26626_air_we-can-decide-that-the-presence-of-cance_2856434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/sandra-steingraber-26626_air_we-can-decide-that-the-presence-of-cance_2856434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/sandra-steingraber-26626_air_we-can-decide-that-the-presence-of-cance_2856434.jpg) > “We can decide that the presence of cancer-causing substances in our air, water, and food is too expensive. A 2009 study, for example, has found that coal miners in Appalachia costs the region five times more in premature deaths, including from cancer, than it provides to the region in jobs, taxes, and economic benefits. In California, the production and use of hazardous chemicals cost the state $2.6 billion in 2004 alone in lost wages and health-care expenses to treat workers and children with pollution-linked diseases.” [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that the health costs of environmental pollutants far exceed the economic benefits of industries like coal mining, urging action against cancer‑causing substances. **In simple terms:** Pollution’s health costs outweigh its economic benefits. Key Takeaway Prioritize health over profit in environmental policy. Themes environment health economics Mood urgent concerned Type advocacy analytical When to use this quote - regulatory reform - community health initiatives - industrial accountability Key Concepts public health policy environmental science Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance jobs and health? - What policies reduce pollution costs? A Different Perspective Economic arguments may downplay job loss concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Appalachia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalachia/) [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Cancer Causing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer-causing-3830622/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Causing Substances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causing-substances-3830624/) [Chemicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemicals/) [Chemicals Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemicals-cost-3830621/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Coal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coal/) [Coal miners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coal-miners/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Expenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenses/) [Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Hazardous Chemicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hazardous-chemicals-3830623/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including/) [Including Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including-cancer-3830620/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Linked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linked/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Miners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miners/) [Pollution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pollution/) [Premature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/premature/) [Premature death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/premature-death/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Regions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regions/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Treats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treats/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Wages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wages/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [With regard to testimony from various experts, there was pro and con. 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You ever see a dead one?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-jack-miller/yeah-but-a-hellbender-never-dies-you-ever-see-a-dead-one/) [Jason Jack Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-jack-miller/) > [“What keeps a poor child in Appalachia poor is not what keeps a poor child in Chicago poor—even if from a distance, the outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ijeoma-oluo/what-keeps-a-poor-child-in-appalachia-poor-is-not-what-keeps-a-poor/) [Ijeoma Oluo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ijeoma-oluo/) > [“Religion played a major part in the history of the Appalachian pioneers. Their way of life was characterized by a strong sense of independence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-richmond/religion-played-a-major-part-in-the-history-of-the-appalachian/) [Nancy Richmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-richmond/) > [I grew up in southwestern Virginia. 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I definitely have that exposure to two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/yeah-i-spent-my-teen-years-in-west-virginia-and-when-i-was-a-kid-in/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [I don't really think the outburst is recent; there have always been writers in Appalachia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/i-don-t-really-think-the-outburst-is-recent-there-have-always-been/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) ## More by Sandra Steingraber > [In the world outside this glass room, songbirds are feeding and resting in the trees. Some will take off tonight and not land until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/in-the-world-outside-this-glass-room-songbirds-are-feeding-and/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [We can change our thinking. Rather than viewing the chemical adulteration of our environment and our bodies as the inevitable practice of convenience and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/we-can-change-our-thinking-rather-than-viewing-the-chemical/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [I have come to believe that extracting natural gas from shale using the newish technique called hydrofracking is the environmental issue of our time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/i-have-come-to-believe-that-extracting-natural-gas-from-shale-using/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [I have always been a big advocate of tap water-not because I think it harmless but because the idea of purchasing water extracted from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/i-have-always-been-a-big-advocate-of-tap-water-not-because-i-think-it/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Here in the United States, a study of nearly 700 women in California showed an increased risk of fetal death among babies whose mothers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/here-in-the-united-states-a-study-of-nearly-700-women-in-california/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Drink a bottle of French water and then step into the shower for ten minutes and you've just received the exposure equivalent of drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/drink-a-bottle-of-french-water-and-then-step-into-the-shower-for-ten/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [The study of how substances alter gene expression is part of the field of epigenetics. Some chemical exposures appear to turn on and turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/the-study-of-how-substances-alter-gene-expression-is-part-of-the/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [“Prenatal care means taking care of water, fish, and glaciers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/prenatal-care-means-taking-care-of-water-fish-and-glaciers/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [From the right to know and the duty to inquire flows the obligation to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/from-the-right-to-know-and-the-duty-to-inquire-flows-the-obligation/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [By 1990, the EPA had tallied up 32,645 sites of past chemical waste dumping in need of cleanup. Some of these are actual waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/by-1990-the-epa-had-tallied-up-32-645-sites-of-past-chemical-waste/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Industrialized countries have disproportionately more cancers than countries with little or no industry (after adjusting for age and population size). One half of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/industrialized-countries-have-disproportionately-more-cancers-than/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [We are all musicians in a great human orchestra, and it is now time to play the Save the World Symphony. 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It turns out that breathing, not drinking, constitutes our main route of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/besides-the-sense-of-safety-offered-by-bottled-water-is-a-mirage-it/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Between the late 1950s and the late 1980s, more than 750 million tons of chemical wastes were discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/between-the-late-1950s-and-the-late-1980s-more-than-750-million-tons/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) [Explore all 21 Sandra Steingraber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. 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