--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ordinary Americans can't pollute for…" description: "\"Ordinary Americans can't pollute for free. You can't dump your trash on the sidewalk or throw all your refuse into your neighbor's yard. I don't unders..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/van-jones-984_atmosphere_ordinary-americans-can-t-pollute-for-fre_1865331.png" --- # Ordinary Americans can't pollute for free. You can't dump… ![“Ordinary Americans can't pollute for free. You can't dump your trash on the sidewalk or throw all your refuse into your neighbor's yard. I don't understand why corporate polluters should be allowed to dump megatons of carbon, the most dangerous pollution in the history of the world, into our thin…” quote by Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/van-jones-984_atmosphere_ordinary-americans-can-t-pollute-for-fre_1865331.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/van-jones-984_atmosphere_ordinary-americans-can-t-pollute-for-fre_1865331.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/van-jones-984_atmosphere_ordinary-americans-can-t-pollute-for-fre_1865331.png) > “Ordinary Americans can't pollute for free. You can't dump your trash on the sidewalk or throw all your refuse into your neighbor's yard. I don't understand why corporate polluters should be allowed to dump megatons of carbon, the most dangerous pollution in the history of the world, into our thin shell of an atmosphere, and not pay a penny to do it.” [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that ordinary citizens cannot pollute without cost, yet corporations evade responsibility for massive carbon emissions, demanding accountability. **In simple terms:** People pay for waste, corporations should pay for carbon. Key Takeaway Demand corporate accountability for environmental damage. Themes environment justice corporate responsibility pollution economics Mood urgent determined Type activist persuasive When to use this quote - policy debates - public protests - corporate lobbying Key Concepts externalities climate change regulation equity Questions to Reflect On - What policies could ensure corporations pay for carbon? - How can individuals influence corporate behavior? A Different Perspective The claim oversimplifies complex economic and regulatory factors affecting emissions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Corporate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporate/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Pollution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pollution/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-history/) ## Related quotes > [Too many members of Congress seem willing to give corporate polluters, many of whom happen to be major political donors, a free pass to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/too-many-members-of-congress-seem-willing-to-give-corporate-polluters/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [The main obstacle is the entrenched power of the legacy polluters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-main-obstacle-is-the-entrenched-power-of-the-legacy-polluters/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the chief litigator for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dean-anderson/i-ve-been-working-with-them-for-a-couple-years-and-a-couple-of/) [Richard Dean Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dean-anderson/) > [Corporate polluters, their phony think tanks and political toadies like to marginalize environmentalists as tree huggers, or radicals. But there is nothing radical about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/corporate-polluters-their-phony-think-tanks-and-political-toadies/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further, and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/we-do-not-wish-to-impoverish-the-environment-any-further-and-yet-we/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [I did a filmstrip on pollution in the Davison area as my Eagle Scout project and showed it around town. Businesses who were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/i-did-a-filmstrip-on-pollution-in-the-davison-area-as-my-eagle-scout/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [Imagine if Congress always put the interests of polluters ahead of the health of our families. Our rivers and lakes would be choked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-merkley/imagine-if-congress-always-put-the-interests-of-polluters-ahead-of/) [Jeff Merkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-merkley/) > [The existence of the EPA regulation will require large carbon polluters to look at their hole cards, and some of them have decided that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-existence-of-the-epa-regulation-will-require-large-carbon/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [I don't even consider myself an environmentalist anymore. I'm a free-marketer. I go out into the marketplace and I catch the polluters who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/i-don-t-even-consider-myself-an-environmentalist-anymore-i-m-a-free/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [What polluters do is raise the standards of living for themselves, while lowering the quality of living for everybody else, and they do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/what-polluters-do-is-raise-the-standards-of-living-for-themselves/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [The Environmental Protection Agency rarely follows up prosecuting coal companies and their fellow polluters, even when the evidence is clear-cut that they are dumping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-shuster/the-environmental-protection-agency-rarely-follows-up-prosecuting/) [Suzy Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-shuster/) > [I don't hang with polluters; I prosecute them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-pruitt/i-don-t-hang-with-polluters-i-prosecute-them/) [Scott Pruitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-pruitt/) > [What Donald Trump is doing is serving the polluters and serving a narrow group of ideological interests. That's not leadership. That's abdication of responsibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/what-donald-trump-is-doing-is-serving-the-polluters-and-serving-a/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Prediction is a mug's game, but taking the side of water polluters has not been a winning political strategy for 50 years. Presidents Reagan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/prediction-is-a-mug-s-game-but-taking-the-side-of-water-polluters-has/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [There are skeptics who do not come to their view because they have a source of income from carbon polluters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/there-are-skeptics-who-do-not-come-to-their-view-because-they-have-a/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) ## More by Van Jones > [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/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [America should be leading the world in green and clean solutions, and human rights. We shouldn't be leading the world in wars and incarceration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/america-should-be-leading-the-world-in-green-and-clean-solutions-and/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ I learned more in those six months \[ in the White House\] than in the prior six years. I don't think that anybody who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-learned-more-in-those-six-months-in-the-white-house-than-in-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Most green-collar jobs are middle-skill jobs. That means they require more education that a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/most-green-collar-jobs-are-middle-skill-jobs-that-means-they-require/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ \[Donald Trump\] is a horrible human being, but he ain't worse than Bull Connor. Fannie Lou loved Bull Connor and beat Bull Connor because… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/donald-trump-is-a-horrible-human-being-but-he-ain-t-worse-than-bull/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The government built the grid to favor one industry over others. But I don't hear any conservatives screaming about that. Folks don't understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-built-the-grid-to-favor-one-industry-over-others-but-i/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Keith Ellison is an organizer's organizer.He's one of the only Muslims in Congress, so you have a big statement there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/keith-ellison-is-an-organizer-s-organizer-he-s-one-of-the-only/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Everybody should be mad but anger only takes you so far. At some point, you'll have outrage fatigue and burn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/everybody-should-be-mad-but-anger-only-takes-you-so-far-at-some-point/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We have to accept that some very toxic stuff was marbled into the Trump phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-have-to-accept-that-some-very-toxic-stuff-was-marbled-into-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [All the big ideas for getting us onto a lower carbon trajectory involve a lot of people doing a lot of work, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/all-the-big-ideas-for-getting-us-onto-a-lower-carbon-trajectory/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I'm the guy that's trying to break up that monopoly to introduce free enterprise and competition to the energy sector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-m-the-guy-that-s-trying-to-break-up-that-monopoly-to-introduce-free/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I think that America could not become America until it dealt with the disenfranchisement of women and African Americans in the last century. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-think-that-america-could-not-become-america-until-it-dealt-with-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I'm learning and changing all the time, and I expect to continue doing so my entire life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-m-learning-and-changing-all-the-time-and-i-expect-to-continue-doing/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) [Explore all 314 Van Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. A lot of people say it's their favorite Joy Division song, but it's not mine; it reminds me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/atmosphere-is-a-massive-song-a-lot-of-people-say-it-s-their-favorite/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere at any point could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/bjerknes-had-come-up-with-equations-capable-of-describing-the/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ordinary Americans can't pollute for free. You can't dump your trash on the sidewalk or throw all your refuse into your neighbor's yard. 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