Former Vice President Al Gore had huge for President Obama’s speech on climate change today. Gore said that Obama’s speech was the best by any president ever.
Video of the president’s speech:
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After the speech former VP Al Gore praised President Obama:
This was a terrific and historic speech, by far the best address on climate by any president ever.
I applaud the new measures announced by President Barack Obama this afternoon to help solve the climate crisis – particularly the decision to limit global warming pollution from existing as well as new power plants.
Following the important pledges he made in both his inaugural address and State of the Union speech earlier this year, and the historic gains in renewable energy and fuel efficiency that the President delivered in his first term, the policy changes he announced today represent important steps forward in the battle to halt catastrophic climate disruption. Most importantly, President Obama has directed the Environmental Protection Agency to establish regulations on the amount of global warming pollution existing fossil fuel plants can pour into our atmosphere.
This action – if followed by skillful and thorough execution of the plan – has the potential to fundamentally alter the course of our nation’s energy infrastructure development and help to promote a sustainable future. On the international front, this action will bolster U.S. credibility and moral authority in negotiations with other countries.
After the country’s hottest year on record, the record melting of the arctic ice cap and disruption of the Northern Hemisphere jet stream and storm track, a crippling drought and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage from climate-related extreme weather events over just the past two years, we are already paying the price of carbon pollution. It is clear that bold and comprehensive action is needed now.
President Obama’s proposals are in keeping with the current political reality; inaction and denial have consumed Congress. But the climate crisis requires a new political reality: one marked by a willingness to accept solutions commensurate with the challenge.
This president showed the kind of forward thinking that we have come to expect from him. The president’s remarks were based in the reality that this country can’t stop using fossil fuels, but that green energy will be critical to the future of the US economy.
Two years ago, Gore criticized President Obama for lacking leadership on climate change, “President Obama has never presented to the American people the magnitude of the climate crisis,” he wrote. “He has simply not made the case for action. He has not defended the science against the ongoing, withering and dishonest attacks. Nor has he provided a presidential venue for the scientific community — including our own National Academy — to bring the reality of the science before the public.”
Gore seemed to take back much of his sharp critique, and was deeply impressed by Obama’s leadership on the issue during his speech today. It was important for former vice president Gore to acknowledge the political realities of our times. He wasn’t comparing Obama’s speech to the ideal of what should be, but he was holding the president to the realistic standard of what could be done.
The historic significance of President Obama’s speech is being buried by the Supreme Court’s equally historic attack on the Voting Rights Act, but importance of what the president said today can’t be diminished.
President Obama has laid out the problem, and the solution better than any other president has before. Now, it’s time to do something about climate change.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
