Following President Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, the Sierra Club issued a call for the people to tell the Obama Administration “no new fracking on public lands.” Despite declaring the time for debate on climate change is over, and saying “Climate Change is a fact,” Obama bragged the U.S. is increasing its oil and natural gas production. Increasing fossil fuel production and consumption only worsens the conditions causing climate change, making Obama look like a hypocrite.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 28: U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill on January 28, 2014 in Washington, DC. In his fifth State of the Union address, Obama is expected to emphasize on healthcare, economic fairness and new initiatives designed to stimulate the U.S. economy with bipartisan cooperation. (Photo by Larry Downing-Pool/Getty Images)
Obama claimed “one of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back,” in other words the recent improvements in joblessness, is due to a “commitment to American energy” which has increased domestic oil and natural gas production, reducing dependence on foreign oil. This is, he claimed, thanks to the “all of the above” energy strategy pursued by his administration. That strategy has meant a large expansion of renewable energy resources, but it also meant continuing and expanding fossil fuel consumption and dependency. While this is good economically, fewer dollars are shipped overseas to buy oil, it is a disaster environmentally.
What is the true factor behind increased oil and natural gas production? Fracking, on a massive scale.
In the SOTU, Obama said “we have to act with more urgency” because climate change is already producing harm everywhere, such as the water supply emergency just declared by California Governor Brown. What tipped California into this emergency? The state depends on snow melt in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for water throughout the summer, but the last several years has seen little snowfall thanks to the changing weather patterns that have also socked other parts of the country with freezing cold. Less snow in the winter means less snow melt during the summer, and a short-fall in water supplies.
The Sierra Club’s response is to say “Mr. President, you can’t have it both ways. We applaud your leadership on vehicle fuel standards and dirty carbon pollution from coal plants, but drilling your way out of our energy and climate challenge is a recipe for disaster.”
You can send a letter to President Obama via the Sierra Club website.
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