This is a guest post by Brandon Baker, originally published on EcoWatch.
You’re not the only one who gets frustrated when John Boehner, Marco Rubio and others in Congress turn a blind eye to devastating, scientific evidence regarding climate change.
In an interview with Thomas L. Friedman scheduled to air tonight as part of the final episode of Years of Living Dangerously, President Barack Obama revealed that he’s really no different than many of us when it comes to climate deniers.
Does he ever just want to “go off” on those who ignore extreme weather, rainforests getting steadily less green and more, Friedman, an author and New York Times columnist, asked. Does he ever feel like asking, “What is wrong with you people?”
“Absolutely,” Obama said with a smile. “Look, it’s frustrating when the science is right in front of us.”
The president went on to challenge the leadership of deniers because they overlook reality.
“If you profess leadership in this country at this moment in our history, then you’ve got to recognize this is going to be one of the most significant long-term challenges, if not the most significant long-term challenge, that this country faces and that the planet faces,” he said.
The full interview will include Obama’s views on why we “won’t be able to burn it all” when it comes to fossil fuels and what we can learn about climate change from incidents in Syria.
Friedman visited with Obama weeks ago, before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rolled out his proposal to decrease carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
While on a visit to Bejing, U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday announced with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping a new bilateral agreement on hard reduction targets for climate change pollution in those two countries.
The United States agrees to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 per cent from 2005 levels by the year 2025 and China commits to levelling off its carbon emissions by 2030.
When China or the...
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