President Obama spreads global warming fears as Alaska gets summer snow ahead of his appearance on Bear Gryllis show
President Obama challenged the world on Monday to act boldly on climate change or “condemn our children to a world they will no longer have the capacity to repair.” The weather in Alaska met the President with a “summer snow,” but isn’t seen as a hinder to his planned appearance on an NBC reality show. Alaskans are petitioning the President to allow more oil drilling as the state’s economy is on a downturn.
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,” adding that the US “recognizes our role in creating this problem and embraces our role in solving it.”
He then 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.”
photo/ donkeyhotey
Obama then listed off the global warming risks: “…entire nations will find themselves under severe, severe problems: More drought. More floods. Rising sea levels. Greater migration. More refugees. More scarcity. More conflict.”
“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 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.”
Alaskans are asking him to allow more oil and gas extraction of Alaska’s soil and waters. Alaska faces a roughly $3.5 billion deficit this year as a result of falling oil prices, forcing state budget cuts that have wreaked havoc on rural services.
“History has shown us that the responsible energy development which is the lifeblood of our economy can exist in tandem with, and significantly enhance, our traditional way of life,” leaders of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, which represents Inupiat Eskimo shareholders, wrote Monday in a letter to Obama.
Despite a warm summer, Alaska was getting between two and seven inches of snow as the President rolls through with his global warming fears. More here.
