Streetsblog Capitol Hill » Obama: Climate Pessimism More Dangerous Than Climate Deniers

In a speech much anticipated by those tracking the D.C. environmental debate, President Obama today took on opponents of congressional action on climate change, decrying "naysayers" who "make cynical claims" that ignore scientific evidence of the harm caused by emissions.

But "far more dangerous" than the rhetoric of climate deniers or skeptics, Obama added, is the tendency towards cynicism about America's chances of ending its dependence on fossil fuels.

Sept '09 » Fly on the Wall Alert: Obama, LaHood, and [alarmist] Tom Friedman Tee Off

But if Friedman's tee time with the president -- said to be a fan of the columnist's latest book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded -- is truly a mark of increased influence, one supposes it's only a matter of time before Obama and LaHood reverse their strong opposition to a gas tax hike to pay for long-term infrastructure investment.

Capitol Briefing - Republicans may delay climate bill markup

Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee may block a markup on the Democrats' climate bill if they're not satisfied they've gotten a sufficient analysis time to review the text in detail, according to the panel's top Republican, Sen. James M. Inhofe (Okla.).

Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog: President Obama's MIT Speech

...the President is clearly not interested in addressing the interests of liberal Democrats on energy and climate change. Obviously the Administration reads polls. I heard the phrase "climate change" only 2 or 3 times and "cap and trade" was nowhere to be found. His endorsement of the Senate climate bill was pretty weak, spending about 20 (50?) times the effort discussing the stimulus package. I will be interested to see how advocates for cap and trade react to the speech.

Why didn't he talk at length about his plans to save the world from carbon dioxide at Copenhagen?