Obama’s climate change speech: Choosing fear over hope
Via Fox News:
President Obama promised the United Nations Tuesday that his administration is “determined” to do more to address the nation’s climate change obligations.
But left out of the speech to the General Assembly special session on climate change was the political reality the president faces in trying to keep that promise.
While the House passed a sweeping climate change bill this year, it has stalled in the Senate as health care reform dominates the domestic agenda.
Yet Obama asserted Tuesday that, while the United States was slow to respond to the global warming threat, his administration is doing more to combat climate change than any in history.
He touted progress that has been made during his term, including new standards for fuel efficiency in automobiles and the House version of the so-called cap-and-trade bill — which he called the most important part of U.S. efforts.
“We understand the gravity of the climate threat. We are determined to act. And we will meet our responsibility to future generations,” he said.
Obama warned that a failure to address the problem could create an “irreversible catastrophe.” Obama said time is “running out” to fix the problem but that, “we can reverse it.”
What was that you said last year about “choosing hope over fear,” Mr. President? And does he even have a clue about how arrogant it is to state that human beings have the power to completely “reverse” climate change?
And speaking of climate change arrogance, I wonder if Prince Charles will be giving up his Audis and Jags?
The Prince, who has two Jaguars, two Audis, a Range Rover and still drives an Aston Martin given to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday, said developers had a duty to put public transport and the pedestrian at the heart of their housing schemes.
Speaking about the “domination of the car over the pedestrian”, the future King said: “We must surely be able to organise ourselves… in ways in which we are not dependent on it to such a great extent for our daily needs.”
The Prince said the principle of “elevating the pedestrian above the car” was one of the guiding factors of Poundbury – his model development in Dorset. The importance of “pedestrian friendly public space” is central to the Poundbury ethos.
This kind of public transport-oriented development is fundamental to achieving the ultimate goal of a low carbon community, and it is very likely that such communities, far from being austere, will actually become the sought-after places where people will choose to live and spend their time.”
We anxiously wait for the Prince to lead by setting an example instead of continuing to be another one in a long line of climate change hypocrites (more here).