Earth Equity News

Obama Addressed U.N. on Climate Change. By Josh Gerstein, Politico, September 22, 2009. "President Barack Obama urged world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday to act swiftly to address climate change, but did not offer a plan, or timetable, to get stalled cap-and-trade climate legislation through the U.S. Senate. 'After too many years of inaction and denial, there is finally widespread recognition of the urgency of the challenge before us. We know what needs to be done,' Obama told fellow heads of state gathered for a climate change summit called by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. 'The journey is long. The journey is hard,' Obama added. 'We don't have much time left to make that journey... Obama also reminded his international audience that his administration's support for action on the issue was a break with that of his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, whose appointees were often openly skeptical about the urgency of the climate-change problem. 'It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well. We recognize that,' Obama said. 'But this is a new day. It is a new era.'"