Obama: "No greater threat" than climate change
Sunday, April 19, 2015, 4:45 PM - President Obama didn't mince words when it comes to climate change during his weekly address to the people of the U.S.
"Wednesday is Earth Day, a day to appreciate and protect this precious planet we call home," Obama said. "And today there's no greater threat to our planet than climate change.
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The U.S. president went on to talk about the warm-up our planet has been facing. With 2014 being the warmest year on record and fourteen of the fifteen hottest years have all occurred in the last 15 years. Obama even addressed skeptics that think the latest winter didn't agree with global warming.
"This winter was cold in parts of our country—as some folks in Congress like to point out—but around the world, it was the warmest ever recorded."
President Obama is set to visit the Florida Everglades on Earth Day to discuss the economic effect that climate change is having on the U.S. The location was described as fragile in the speech and under threat by the rising sea levels.
Obama talked about the urgency that the matter required.
"Climate change can no longer be denied—or ignored. The world is looking to the United States to lead," he said. "We're taking steps to waste less energy, with more fuel-efficient cars that save us money at the pump, and more energy efficient buildings that save us money on our electricity bills."
He added that carbon pollution has fallen by 10 per cent since 2007.
The speech came at the right time as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the period from January to March was the warmest on record.
Experts say greenhouse gases being released by the consumption of fossil fuel are responsible for the increased temperatures as well as the melting of polar ice and glaciers.
Not the first time
President Obama also addressed the problem in 2013 in a speech at Georgetown University.
"We know that no single weather event is caused solely by climate change. Droughts and fires and floods, they go back to ancient times. But we also know that in a world that's warmer than it used to be, all weather events are affected by a warmer planet.
The U.S. contributes roughly 15.5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions being released to the atmosphere.
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