TOMapleLaughs Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 President Barack Obama challenged fellow world leaders in unusually blunt language Monday to act boldly on climate change or "condemn our children to a world they will no longer have the capacity to repair." In a forceful address, Obama opened the "GLACIER" conference in Anchorage, Alaska, by declaring: "We are not moving fast enough. None of the nations represented here are moving fast enough." (Glacier-speed, perhaps?)That includes the U.S., which Obama said "recognizes our role in creating this problem and embraces our role in solving it." Obama is using the three-day GLACIER conference it stands for Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience as a way both to highlight the perils of global warming and to cement his environmental legacy. He directly attacked politicians who argue that climate change isn't real, saying they "are on their own shrinking island." "The time to heed the critics and the cynics and the deniers is past," the president said. Unless the world acts more aggressively and more quickly, he said, "entire nations will find themselves under severe, severe problems: More drought. More floods. Rising sea levels. Greater migration. More refugees. More scarcity. More conflict." In language unusual for a diplomatic setting, Obama contended, "Any leader willing to take a gamble on a future like that, any leader who refuses to take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke, is not fit to lead." "It's not enough to just have conferences," he said. "It's not enough to just talk the talk. We've got to walk the walk." The setting was carefully chosen opening the first visit by a sitting president to the Alaska Arctic on the day North America's tallest peak, Mount McKinley, was officially renamed to its original name, Mount Denali. The high-profile three-day journey will include viewing melting glaciers and eroding coastlines and chats with salmon fishermen whose livelihoods are being affected as well as an appearance on an episode of NBC's "Running Wild With Bear Grylls." The episode is set to air later this year. The Obama administration has tried a variety of methods and used a number of venues to move the issue of climate change from the periphery to the fore. Over the past several years, the president and members of his administration have woven the theme of climate change into speeches on troop readiness, health and the ecosystem of the Everglades. And those efforts have included making the case to address climate change by connecting the science behind global warming to a moral imperative for future generations. The administration has also increasingly used a regulatory approach to address carbon pollution setting the first national standards to cut carbon emissions from power plants. Internationally, the White House checked a huge box last year by securing an agreement with China to cut carbon emissions drastically by 2030 and a deal with Brazil to increase renewable energy production. However, the administration's efforts have also rankled environmentalists, as well as conservatives who argue that he has gone too far. Just weeks ago, Obama gave final approval to Shell Oil's drilling in the Alaskan Arctic for the first time in 20 years a move that raised the hackles of environmentalists, who accused his administration of hypocrisy. And indeed, just moments after he finished speaking Monday, Greenpeace shot out a statement saying, "It's time for the president to stop talking about urgency, and stop approving extreme fossil fuel projects like Shell's Arctic drilling plans." Meanwhile, amid concerns that the U.S. has ceded influence to Russia in strategic Arctic waters, the White House announced Tuesday that it would ask Congress to speed up construction of new icebreakers to protect U.S. interests and natural resources. The U.S. currently has two working icebreakers, compared to Russia's 40. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-use-alaska-backdrop-address-climate-change-n419071 It's interesting to see this announcement being coupled with arctic drilling and a boost in arctic exploration, but it is what it is. Arctic ice is on a set path of going away, so that means it's wide open for exploration and exploitation. Don't be surprised when our Canadian northern islands are annexed. Meanwhile,Harper commits to stopping fossil-fuel use in Canada by end of the 21st century http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/harper-catches-a-break-when-g7-discussion-on-climate-change-reduced-to-half-an-hour-isil-discussed-instead Ooooh, bold move. Basically the absolute minimum we could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baer. Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Ending fossil fuel consumption by 2100? Cool. Only 900 years after all oil is ridden of the earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baer. Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Funny how Obama is the one to come out and say this, while the United States consumes more resources than any other nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalky Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Obama is getting the good at speaking from both sides of his mouth. When the current ice age ends, or the current inter-glacial period ends (whichever is the case), it is unclear what will happen. No one can really say for certain. Climate change is unavoidable, we can definitely avoid accelerating the process, but in order to do that the world leaders need to do more than talk about it...while acting in a contradictory manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Standing_Tall#37 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Ending fossil fuel consumption by 2100? Cool. Only 900 years after all oil is ridden of the earth. Sooooo oil was ridden from the earth in 1200? Very confusing indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 INB4 the thread gets hijacked with comments of hypocrisy rather than discussion on the merits of the actual message.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 INB4 the thread gets hijacked with comments of hypocrisy rather than discussion on the merits of the actual message....The thread was already about this before your post -- but wouldn't what you want be something that Christians would like in the threads about their religion?Anyways, in spirit of following where the thread left off before JR's post: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 INB4 the thread gets hijacked with comments of hypocrisy rather than discussion on the merits of the actual message.... Too late... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Sooooo oil was ridden from the earth in 1200? Very confusing indeed. LOL! Was just going to post this. Must be that new fangled math they're teaching in school these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 LOL! Was just going to post this. Must be that new fangled math they're teaching in school these days. Common core Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-use-alaska-backdrop-address-climate-change-n419071 It's interesting to see this announcement being coupled with arctic drilling and a boost in arctic exploration, but it is what it is. Arctic ice is on a set path of going away, so that means it's wide open for exploration and exploitation. Don't be surprised when our Canadian northern islands are annexed. Meanwhile,http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/harper-catches-a-break-when-g7-discussion-on-climate-change-reduced-to-half-an-hour-isil-discussed-instead Ooooh, bold move. Basically the absolute minimum we could do. It's simply politicking. This is a direct shot at Trump, nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I've said it before and I'll say it again, capitalism as we know it and the climate agenda cannot coexist. Taking climate change seriously means that we must seriously change everything — our way of life and our economic structures. Doing what needs to be done means drastic government intervention on a global scale because the very habitability of the planet depends on it. This is of course, anathema to the climate denier crowd. Those folks know that the global economy is created by and fully reliant upon the burning of fossil fuels and that this dependency can't be changed with a few minor market changes here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baer. Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Sooooo oil was ridden from the earth in 1200? Very confusing indeed. Oops. Mixed century with millenia. Imagine I put "50" instead of "900" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalky Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 INB4 the thread gets hijacked with comments of hypocrisy rather than discussion on the merits of the actual message.... How is the message not hypocrisy? It's an article about Obama saying the world needs to do more while the country he is the President of acts utterly contradictory. If the thread title didn't start with "Obama on..." I'd say you have a point....plus I already hinted at hypocrisy before your comment, so you were technically too late anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 inb4 posts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 inb4 posts2L8t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Thanks Obama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 INB4 the thread gets hijacked with comments of hypocrisy rather than discussion on the merits of the actual message.... Thing is, everyone and his dog already knows the message... Instead, all we hear from our so called leaders is no different than: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Jet fuel can't melt steel beams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyBoy44 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I guess we could just purge a percentage of the human race. Pretty sure we are at an all time high in population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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