Obama's Weekly Address - Climate Change

dont forget COAL, mr obama. it's oil AND coal.

but please, invest more in wind and solar than in clean coal, which according to James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Space Center, is only 1/3 clean. the technology is not there and this is an emergency.

I'm glad you'll be our next president. I know you'll do a hell of a lot more than BUSH, who should, by the way, be hung by his fucking neck for censoring the science and stupifying the american public.

"denial is no longer an acceptable response."
Hear Hear!

"My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process.

That will start with a federal cap and trade system. We will establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them an additional 80% by 2050.

Further, we will invest $15 billion each year to catalyze private sector efforts to build a clean energy future. We will invest in solar power, wind power, and next generation biofuels. We will tap nuclear power, while making sure it's safe. And we will develop clean coal technologies.

This investment will not only help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, making the United States more secure. And it will not only help us bring about a clean energy future, saving our planet. It will also help us transform our industries and steer our country out of this economic crisis by generating five million new green jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced."
____

If people keep using Bush as a barometer of progress, we will only be continuing to applaud mediocrity.This is the same spiel from the campaign trail. I thought he embraced Al Gore's challenge for 100% renewable energy in 10 years? Oh well, too bold and brave even for him I suppose. It is obvious he must not be reading the scientific reports coming out or he would know that 80% by 20'50' is not good enough now. And he is still shilling for the coal and nuclear ( just how will he 'make sure' it is safe?) industries. Amazing how he keeps talking about "clean coal" tecnhnologies when it doesn't exist. And '15' billion a year is NOT ENOUGH if you want to truly make the break with fossil fuels. I can bet with certainty as well that nuclear and coal will get a hell of a lot more in subsidies from Congress of our money than that. And cap and trade is a corporate scheme to keep polluters polluting. Disappointing.

You are the MAN!!!!

No such thing as "clean" coal, so forget it.

man. i didn't vote for him, but he does inspire confidence. he's not exactly the redeemer of humanity, but america's reputation? good enough for the moment.

Did Obama make another promise? awesome! This world is going to be so great in a couple of months. yeah right. I wonder if people will believe his excuses as much as his promises.

yawn. Sorry. I mean good job.

Is Obama ignoring the the importance of renewable energy, to try to win over the environmentalists?
The expectation of his plan of green energy is not really working out the way everyone thinks its going to be.....i hope he become influenced by Mr. Al Gore, to actually accomplish such a task, it will be quite interesting to communicate upon Barack Obama with his plan with renewable energy..

For all those who are whinning that Obama has done nothing to fulfill his promise of change:

He was only voted in two weeks ago. He has yet to pick his cabinet. He will not be president for months. Yet, he already has a weekly address! He already has addressed some of the most pressing problems facing the world and the country. He has already met with dozens of world leaders and party members. This man has already mended fences with his political rivals.

Very impressive.

But this coal thing has got to go. I would like to see a massive push to renewables, and serious investments towards long-term solutions that create jobs and save the environment permanently.

We (U.S.) should always behave responsible, but every effort we make to push-back the clock will be meaningless if CHINA/INDIA/RUSSIA are not doing their part. And how can we force other countries to be responsible, when we cannot force our own citizens.

The oceans will rise, and not by a mere 20-30 feet. There is no doubt about that. And while we in the U.S. should continue to reduce OUR contribution to GW, we should be looking for ways to survive the certainty of an additional 3+ degrees over the next few decades.

Instead of just spending trillions trying to develop new technologies, we should also be moving our populations and our resources inland and into the higher and northern elevations.

We (NOT Russia) should be "helping" Greenland during this environmental transition period, with expectations of inhabiting the newly recovered land as our 51st state. (Canada should become the 52nd.)

The U.S. must understand, despite our efforts, the population and aspirations of those people living in India and China alone are enough to dramatically change the face of our planet.

The time to prepare is running out.