By RTCC Staff
Obama hits back saying climate change will not just go away if we deny it (Source: Pete Souza/White House)
Hitting back at criticism from the Republican election campaign, President Obama has told an audience of students that “denying climate change won’t make it stop.”
Speaking to a crowd at Iowa State University, just 10 weeks before voters go to the polls on 6 November; Obama asked students what energy future they would prefer.
He said: “Will this be a country that keeps moving away from foreign oil and towards renewable sources of energy like wind and solar and biofuels. Energy that makes our economy more secure, but also makes our planet more secure?
“You believed four years ago that we could use less foreign oil and reduce the carbon pollution that threatens our planet. And in just four years, we’ve doubled the generation of clean, renewable energy like wind and solar.”
Referring to the latest changes to fuels standards announced by his administration this week, Obama added: “We developed new fuel standards so that your car will get nearly 55 miles per gallon by the middle of the next decade. That’s going to save you money at the pump.
“That will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a level roughly equivalent to a year’s worth of emissions from all the cars in the world.”
While energy remains a priority topic for the candidates going into the election, the latest comments from Obama follow criticism that not enough emphasis is being placed on climate change in the election campaign.
While Obama has used several high profile interviews to mention the topic, the climate does not appear to be a top priority for his election, while Romney has claimed he does not know what is causing global warming.
For many environmentalists neither candidate has placed enough emphasis on the topic in the election build up. This week, the League of Conservation Voters launched an online petition urging PBS’s Jim Lehrer – the moderator of the first presidential TV debate – to ask a climate-related question.
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