Quotessence
Home / Authors / Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben Quotes

Environmentalist

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleWorldThinkingClimateIfsYearsFuelClimate ChangeFossil FuelFossils

Famous Bill McKibben Quotes

“Speaking for me, I think the odds of bankrupting Exxon are pretty small, but I think the odds of politically bankrupting them are higher. I think if we can use this as a vehicle to get out the analysis that these guys have 3-5 times as much carbon in the ground as the most conservative government thinks would be safe to burn, then that politically stigmatises them, makes them into the rogue industry that they are.”

IfsThinkingUseGovernmentWould BeGuyIndustryHigherSafeConservativeAnalysisVehicleOddsCarbonRogues
Author:Bill McKibben
Create image

“The irony is that one of the things people want to solve climate change is more market - more price on carbon so that markets have something to chew on when they think about climate change instead of the complete monopoly, the absurdity of allowing these guys to own the sky for free - socialise all of the costs and privatise all of the profits.”

PeopleThinkingWantGuySkyCostClimateClimate ChangeProfitSolveIronyAllowingCarbonAbsurdityMonopoly
Author:Bill McKibben
Create image

“I've got no advice. You guys know where you are and what will work. Just know that there are people all over the place working on this and that there's a great deal of solidarity around the world and we should try to build this big, sprawling movement that looks like the kind of energy system that we want - building lots of solar panels on lots of rooftops that are all interconnected.”

PeopleKnowsWorldWantShouldTryingLooksKindBigsGuyEnergyDealsAdviceMovementBuildingAround The WorldWhere You AreSolidarityInterconnectedRooftopsSolar Panels
Author:Bill McKibben
Create image

“We'd already lost the possibility of stopping global warming entirely. That hasn't been in the cards for a long time. The triumph of Trump probably means that we're not going to be able to stop it at the two-degree mark that the world had been aiming for. That's very bad news, mostly because the planet seems to be more sensitive than we thought to even small increases in temperature.”

WorldMeanLongTwoSeemsAbleLostPossibilityPlanetsTrumpDegreesNewsLong TimeIncreaseMarkCardsTriumphSensitiveGlobal WarmingStoppingTemperatureBad News
Author:Bill McKibben
Create image

“We've lost half the summer sea ice in the Arctic. We've wiped out an enormous percentage of the world's coral reefs. We see huge changes in the planet's hydrology already, the cycles of drought and flood both amped up because warm air holds more water vapor than cold. These things are happening with a one-degree increase and going to two degrees won't be twice as bad, the increase in damage won't be linear, it most certainly will be exponential. So it was precisely the wrong moment to elect Trump.”

WorldTwoMomentsLostWaterHalfAirSeaPlanetsHugeColdTrumpDegreesSummerHappeningsIncreaseWarmEnormousIceDamageCyclesFloodPercentagesLinearDroughtArcticReefsVaporCoral ReefsHuge Changes
Author:Bill McKibben
Create image

“We're mathematically past the point where the accumulation of individual actions can add up quickly enough to make a difference. The individual action that actually matters is not being an individual. It's joining together with other people in groups large enough to change the political dynamic around climate change.”

PeopleMatterEnoughActionTogetherPastPoliticalIndividualDifferencesGroupsAddClimateClimate ChangeMaking A DifferenceAccumulationJoiningJoining Together
Author:Bill McKibben
Create image