Obama on Climate Change: Act Now or Condemn World to a Nightmare

The effects of climate change – rising seas, depleted water supplies, burned landscapes and volatile weather patterns that contribute to mass migration, refugees and conflict – won’t be easy for future generations to repair. Foreign ministers of key Arctic and non-Arctic nations with an interest met in Alaska for a three-day conference intended to drive political will and momentum to stem reliance on fossil fuels before the December meeting on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. NBC News reports that US President Barack Obama opened the conference by declaring no nation is moving fast enough: “In language unusual for a diplomatic setting, Obama contended, ‘Any leader willing to take a gamble on a future like that, any leader who refuses to take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke, is not fit to lead.’”– YaleGlobal