This week President Barack Obama delivered his eighth and final State of the Union (SOTU) in Washington, D.C. Among the topics covered in the speech were the economy, ISIL, cancer and global warming. He called on technology and innovation to work for Americans, rather than against, in helping to resolve the pressing issue of climate change.
In the speech he declared that, “if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You’ll be pretty lonely…” adding that denying the facts of climate change would be contrary to the scientific research proving its impacts. Research that has been acknowledged by the United States Military, American business leaders, the scientific community and the 200 countries that promised to combat it at the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris.
Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either.
He provided a list of results to support actions taken by his administration regarding climate change. Included in this list were wind energy as a cheaper alternative to “dirtier, conventional power” and he also noted that solar energy is saving the American public tens of millions of dollars, yearly. He added that the solar industry employs more Americans than the coal industry. He comment further to say that the United States has cut its foreign oil imports by nearly sixty percent and is leading the world in cutting carbon pollution. “Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either” he said.
According to The Washington Post, the President and members of his cabinet are now on the road visiting cities throughout the country to drive key messages from the State of the Union Address home to the American public. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, for example, will be in Denver, Colo., on Friday to discuss climate change and its impacts on the economy.
The Los Angeles Times, wrote that Obama acknowledged his part in creating the current divide between the two major political parties in Washington, the Republicans and Democrats. He stated that was one of his “few regrets” as President and that the divide had “gotten worse”.
