One of our worst traits in journalism is that when we have a narrative in our minds, we often plug in anecdotes that confirm it. Thus we managed to portray President Gerald Ford, a first-rate athlete, as a klutz.
Nicholas KristofRead
Climate change is hugely exacerbated by changing patterns of how we choose to live, often in danger zones such as extremely vulnerable coastal zones - from New Jersey to the Philippines. This enormously increases the economic and human costs of hurricanes, rising seas and changing weather patterns.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our lifestyle choices significantly impact climate change, especially in vulnerable areas.
This quote highlights the relationship between human activity, particularly in high-risk coastal areas, and climate change. It suggests that our choices directly contribute to more severe weather events, economic burdens, and human suffering, emphasizing the need for awareness and action in addressing environmental issues.
Themes
Climate ChangeEnvironmentLifestyleVulnerabilityCoastal Zones
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about sustainability, one might say, 'As Nicholas Kristof points out, our lifestyle choices have a profound impact on climate change, especially in vulnerable coastal areas.'
More from Nicholas Kristof
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Most moms and dads, they want to be good moms and dads. But it's an incredibly hard job when you are stressed out, when you are poor, when your life is in chaos. And giving them some of the tools to be better parents, to whittle away at that parenting gap, gives those kids a much better starting point in life.
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Since the end of the 1970s, something has gone profoundly wrong in America. Inequality has soared. Educational progress slowed. Incarceration rates quintupled. Family breakdown accelerated. Median household income stagnated.
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The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing.
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