I’ve realized that a lot of my preliminary topics for this blog (including the ones not yet published) involve criticizing Obama. It’s not because it is a fun thing to do; on the contrary, I had great hopes for his presidency circa 2008-09. Instead, it’s that the progressive issues that are already getting some support from the Obama administration -- equal pay for equal work between men and women, the right of same-sex couples to marry, a raise in the minimum wage -- necessitate less attention from people that are trying to effect positive change. (Although Obama’s proposed minimum wage -- $10.10 -- is still way too low.) In other words, the issues that get the administration's focus create a void on other issues, including ones I believe they are trying to obfuscate and that not enough progressives are thinking about.
Therefore, we move on from Obama’s latest foreign policy blunder (see the previous two blog posts for info on the ISIS War) to climate change. On this topic, Obama talks tough. He is all about curbing the effects of this anthropological disaster. The problem is, talk is cheap, and his actions are lacking.
On Tuesday, the same day that he gave a speech about his recent air strikes in Syria, Obama spoke to the U.N. about the responsibility as one of the two major superpowers to lead on climate change, all the while chiding China for not doing more.
The truth is, China has been progressing faster than the US lately. Solar panel production there is skyrocketing. Forbes states that they are the leading investor in renewable energy. Perhaps Obama should look in the mirror before he starts in with the speech.
And there were other parts of the speech that were very questionable. Here’s a transcript; check it out for yourself. I find this line very curious:
...there should be no question that the United States of America is stepping up to the plate.
I get he’s speaking to other countries’ leaders and can’t exactly admit the truth there, but come on. The United States’ efforts have been painfully slow on this issue.
And the media couldn’t care less about covering this issue. They’d rather focus on the Latte Salute (no, I won’t link to it), perhaps the dumbest thing I’ve seen them fixate on since he was re-elected. So, in a week that began with Obama addressing the U.N. and the biggest climate change protest in history, what effect has it had now that this week is at its end?
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| 300,000 people, folks. |
I doubt it’s had much effect at all, and that can really cripple your spirit. The stakes have never been higher. Anybody that has children has to wonder exactly what shape we will be leaving the 21st century in. (Not to omit the childless, of course they can be equally concerned over the fate of humanity, too.) Suddenly colonizing on space stations and other planets seems less whimsical and more urgent.
As Leonardo DiCaprio* said in his fantastic speech at that very summit, we are past the point of the individual responsibility of replacing light bulbs. We can only do so much. We now need to do what governments do: massive interactive initiatives that address the greatest crisis since… ever. Yes, humankind has never faced a problem as great as dealing with the effects of climate change that we have created in the first place.
[*A digression: I was at a political event a few months ago where an attendee was opining, Why is it that we have celebrities in politics so much? Why do they get special privilege, just because they’ve acted or they’re famous?
This is a classic example of trying to wish the world was something other than it is. The reality is celebrities get shit done. Just look at The Angelina Jolie Effect on breast cancer awareness. I am glad DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and other celebrities are locked into the biggest political fight of all time.]
No matter what the media says, the debate is over. As you’ve probably heard (but somehow always seems to bear repeating to some people), 97% of climatologists agree that climate change is real and that it’s man-made. Somehow, the 3% get an awful lot of air time (that’s a lie, we know exactly how: the monied interests that put them on screen).
So while Obama’s framing was less than truthful, I don’t blame him for the overall lack of action of the United States government. Sure, there are things he could be doing that he isn’t. He does not seem particularly interested in leading on the great idea of letting the EPA have more control over regulating carbon emissions. He is dithering over his Keystone XL decision. And he has fully embraced fracking, which is dangerous in its extraction and pumps large amounts of methane -- wait, I do blame him! I blame him very much! But, the reality is that Republicans love all that stuff and want to do even more damage.
So, tomorrow, it’s a trip to GOP-Land and their purported take on climate science.
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