Obama Wants His Alaska Trip To Be The 'Punctuation Mark' On His Climate Legacy

[sheshe2]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sets off for a three-day tour of Alaska on Monday, aiming to shine a spotlight on how the United States is being affected by warming temperatures and rising oceans.

With 16 months left in office, Obama is trying to build support for tough new rules on carbon emissions from power plants ahead of a hoped-for international climate deal later this year that could cement his legacy on the issue.

The White House has said Obama will announce new policies to help communities adapt to climate change and deploy renewable energy. But the main purpose of his trip is to use the media attention on his tour - amplified by an aggressive social media campaign - to convince Americans to take action.

"It's a really important punctuation mark on what he's saying is a top priority for him," said Sharon Burke, a former Pentagon official who worked on energy issues for Obama.

Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-wants-his-alaska-trip-to-be-the-punctuation-mark-on-his-climate-legacy_55e46f5ce4b0c818f6187092

Video at link as well.

[Hekate]

1. KnR. Our POTUS is doing good work. I wish he could run for a third term, like Roosevelt.

[haikugal]

2. I'm sorry...

Where does the arctic drilling come in?

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Mixed message

You are allowing drilling in the Arctic and you haven't come out against the Keystone pipeline. Those will be your real legacies, especially if Shell fucks up again.