Obama on Climate: Is He Even Trying?

Mother Jones by Bill McKibben | Sep. 24, 2009 (Opinion)

For those of us who care desperately about the climate, President Obama’s speech on Tuesday—the first to the world body by this most admired of world leaders—was a dud, a towering disappointment. Coming at the beginning of what the UN has dubbed “climate week,” the speech marked the beginning of a three-month push towards the global climate conference at Copenhagen. Obama used it mostly to downplay expectations. And it’s those downplayed ... Full Story »

Posted by Derek Hawkins - via Mother Jones, NewsRack (Energy)

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Kristine Trickey
4.4
 by Kristine Trickey - Sep. 23, 2009

I personally really liked this article. I enjoyed the author's voice. He was insightful yet witty, which made the article a bit easier to read. It is very clear to me that McKibben is passionate about the global climate crisis. However, while I did like the writing, I wished that there was more linking. For instance, while quoting President Obama, why not add a link to a video clip of his speech. I did like the embedded clip of President Nasheed's clip, but since the bulk of the article was about Obama, I believe some outside resources including him are necessary.

I am not an activist for the climate crisis, but after reading this article I feel I should. President Nasheed's quote really stuck with me. It was very powerful.

“By 2050 he’s talking about 80 percent reductions—but 2050 is so far away as to be almost meaningless without strong interim targets. By 2020 the bill he’s backing aims for something on the order of 17 percent reductions, though the legislation is so shot through with weird weird loopholes that that’s probably a meaningless number too.”

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