Originally published on the CGS blog on June 25, 2013.
I grew up in the Rocky Mountains – in Aspen, Telluride, and most recently Jackson Hole. Many places I haven’t lived, I’ve visited. Out of the entire Rocky Mountain range, one of my favorite places is Glacier National Park. I went hiking there one summer and found the glacier-covered scenery absolutely breathtaking. For one week I was surrounded by a view so beautiful I thought it could only exist in photographs, but there I was, taking it in with my own eyes.
Tragically, this view will soon only exist in photographs. In 2003 the U.S. Geological Survey determined that all the glaciers in Glacier National Park will melt by 2030. Today, however, scientists predict the glaciers will disappear as early as 2020.
This news is one of the haunting realities of climate change – an ever-present issue that never seems to get addressed. In 2012, networks only covered climate change 12 times on the nightly news. Congress has remained deadlocked on the issue, and in fact, there are several dozen Congressmen and women who still deny that climate change even exists.
It is in this context that I applaud President Obama’s efforts to take action. His climate change speech made today at Georgetown University at 1:35 EST was a big step in the right direction. As frustrating as it is that Congress has failed to act on this issue that affects us today and will affect future generations even more, it is encouraging that the President is determined to do what he can through executive and regulatory actions that do not require congressional approval.
President Obama outlined his plan of action in his speech. The plan includes developing clean energy, increasing fuel efficiency standards, cutting energy wastes in families and businesses, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and preparing for the effects of climate change.
While these are encouraging first steps, these unilateral actions will do little to slow the global phenomenon of climate change. For example, it is China that currently emits the greatest share of greenhouse gases in the world, and India’s emissions are increasing drastically. Our domestic policy does nothing to address these threats, though we will be just as affected by China and India’s emissions as by our own.
For this reason, it is also encouraging that the President recognized the need for international action and for the U.S. to play a leading role in this action. It is evident that a global agreement is needed to address the threat of climate change. Promoting a global agreement requires a national conversation, and this is difficult to have when the media doesn’t even cover climate change. I hope that President Obama’s speech today will be a turning point, but whether it leads to new climate legislation and global accords – or even a national dialogue – remains to be seen.
In the mean time, I encourage everyone to sign our petition asking the media to cover climate change more often. Oh, and go visit Glacier National Park before it’s too late!
