There’s been a lot of criticism of President Obama’s remarks at the 2014 West Point graduation on 28 May. Among the more controversial statements he made were his remarks on “climate change.”
Here are his full remarks about the subject;
“That spirit of cooperation needs to energize the global effort to combat climate change, a creeping national security crisis that will help shape your time in uniform, as we are called on to respond to refugee flows and natural disasters, and conflicts over water and food, which is why, next year, I intend to make sure America is out front in putting together a global framework to preserve our planet.”
“You see, American influence is always stronger when we lead by example. We cannot exempt ourselves from the rules that apply to everyone else. We can’t call on others to make commitments to combat climate change if a whole lot of our political leaders deny that it is taking place.”
President Obama – like most of the Left – refers to “climate change” (formerly “global warming” if you prefer) as “settled science.” It is most certainly NOT “settled science.” In fact it is an EXTREMELY controversial topic and there are as many “scientists” and “experts” on one side of this argument as the other.
Many of these unsupportive experts lead me to believe that the Sun has a tremendous influence on Earth’s weather – an influence far greater than all of our cars, coal and industry. But this isn’t a scientific assessment of this very controversial subject nor am I qualified to make such technical assessments.
I can tell you that there are a great many universities and research organizations across the United States that are raking in millions in government grants (ah, that’s taxpayer dollars)… as long as they support the position of “climate change.”
The measurable, verifiable FACTS about carbon emissions tell us that China is the world’s worst offender producing 23% of those emissions. According to the EPA’s own figures (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html) the U.S. accounts for 19% of carbon emissions globally.
Want more truth? The truth is that while ALL other regions of the world are INCREASING their emissions – China’s emissions are skyrocketing. The U.S. is the only region where emissions are FALLING!
The United Nations is all over this issue as well, but the only mandates there that are likely to succeed are those to which President Obama referred in his speech yesterday – those that will cripple U.S. industry. Do you honestly believe that countries like China – the world’s worst (and ever worsening) polluter will adhere to U.N. restrictions?
My position is this; I do not deny that the Earth’s climate is changing. There is a long history of climate change here on the Earth – thousands of years of change… as far back as we are able to measure. The question is not whether the climate is changing but why.
Neither do I deny that the activities of Man – our cars, our coal-fired power plants, and our industrial activities are a contributing factor. I believe that these certainly must have been – and continue to be – contributing factors. The question is what to do about those factors.
In the end, however, what the President or the enviro-Nazis on the Left believe about “climate change” is not the issue. They’re entitled to their opinion, and to their own assessment of the facts pertaining to a very complex equation. The issue is what they choose to DO about it… and our President has already demonstrated that he has no compunction about circumnavigating Congress through Executive Orders and new “regulations” and “policy” imposed by our EPA.
The key comment Obama made about this subject is contained in the sentence “I intend to make sure America is out front in putting together a global framework to preserve our planet.” Holy crap! Does he still believe that anybody in the world gives a shit about where the U.S. under Obama leads, especially when that leadership mandates radical increases in the costs of industrialization and energy production?
The President, his EPA and the ecology zealots on the Left propose to cripple the U.S. economy by following a course that will make us less capable of competing in world energy and industrial markets while the worst offenders – nations like China – will do nothing to curtail their pollutants.
At Obama’s EPA officials are already passing and enforcing new emission control “regulations” and “policy” not mandated or vetted by Congress and Obama has every intention of using his remaining years in office to push America into a series of treaties with the United Nations to further those initiatives. Whether those treaties will be ratified is another issue, but the attempt will be made, and in the meantime American industry will be made to suffer, jobs will be lost and costs will increase further across the board.
Like so many of the pet projects of the Left these may be born of good intentions, but the measures they propose are unworkable.
I’ll end this post by expressing one of my long-held opinions; the Left tend to consider each problem we face as a nation in a vacuum – concocting a “solution” in the most direct manner possible, without considering how that “solution” may be impacted by / will impact the myriad of other extant factors and considerations. The push to raise the minimum wage is an example of this tendency, and the Left’s knee-jerk response to “climate change” is another.
It reminds me of the old saying “If you can remain calm while all those around you are losing their minds then you simply don’t understand the situation.” I understand the situation. My position is that we need to remain calm, continue to decrease our own emissions as we have done for decades in a manner, and at a pace tolerable to American economic competitiveness and wait to see what the rest of the world does… because no matter what the U.S. does if the rest of the world continues to pump out pollutants dropping our own emissions to zero will be meaningless.
I understand the situation Mr. President. “Climate change” is NOT settled science, and your proposals concerning what we should do about this “problem” will not solve anything other than the challenge countries like China and our other adversaries face – how to best the U.S. economically in global markets. Like your lack of effective and predictable foreign policy, your radical beliefs with regard to “climate change” will only further weaken America on the global stage.
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The full text of Obama’s speech can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/full-text-of-president-obamas-commencement-address-at-west-point/2014/05/28/cfbcdcaa-e670-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html
