'It might interest you to know that our state is tired of being used as a chemical toilet so that people in Utah can have plastic lawn furniture.' 'I can't believe an assistant attorney general came right out and said that.' 'Well, I wouldn't say it in public.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Political figures privately admit to environmental exploitation despite public denials.
- In plain terms
- Officials admit in private that they use states for waste disposal.
- What can you take from it?
- Public statements often hide private environmental compromises.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do leaders say in private?
- How much transparency should there be?
Another view
Public officials may face genuine constraints not visible to outsiders.
More from Neal Stephenson
Talking to cancer victims never makes me feel righteous, never vindicated. It makes me slightly ill and for some reason, guilty. If people like me would just k…
Permalink to quote #21 The intern had also discovered a vague little article from the late Sixties saying that Basco had put some 'junk machinery' on the floor of the Harbor, giving …
Permalink to quote #23 I don't like sewing machines. I don't understand how a needle with a thread going through the tip of it can interlock the thread by jamming itself into a littl…
Permalink to quote #20
Related quotes
The corporate scandals of the last two years have shown us that we need to bring a new standard of openness to government and to business. I believe Wes Clark …
Wesley ClarkWesley Clark quote #46 From the union of power and money, from the union of power and secrecy, from the union of government and science, from the union of government and art, from th…
Wendell BerryWendell Berry quote #64 The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other subversives. We intend to clean them out, even if it means rounding up every bird watche…
John MitchellJohn Mitchell quote #1