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 Obama has said he sees addressing climate change as an urgent
national security issue. With less than two years left in his
presidency, he wants to finalize U.S. rules to curb greenhouse gas
emissions from power plants, and marshal support for a global deal
to limit climate-changing carbon pollution.
The Everglades will give Obama a vivid backdrop for talking about
his goals, the White House said, noting rising sea levels and
shrinking freshwater in the unique ecosystem are killing grasses and
threatening groundwater supplies for a third of the people who live
in the state.
"This is really ground zero," said Christy Goldfuss, a top
environmental adviser to Obama, in a briefing with reporters.
The day trip also gives Obama a chance to draw a contrast with
Republicans fighting his plans.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has warned other
countries that a future Republican president could reverse Obama's
regulations.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has entered the race to be the
Republican presidential nominee in 2016, has said humans are not
responsible for climate change.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who also is considering a 2016
run, has said his concerns about the economy outweigh his concerns
about climate.
Many Americans are "psychologically distant" from climate change,
seeing it as a far-off problem affecting distant lands, and do not
share Obama's sense of urgency, said Anthony Leiserowitz, director
of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, which surveys
Americans on their climate views.
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"It's like a famine in Africa: people basically say, 'I don't like
it, I wish somebody would do something about it, but I don't see
what I can do and how it directly relates to my life,'" he said.
To try to bring the issue closer, the White House has started a
social media campaign, encouraging people to post photos of parks
and nature they care about.
The idea could be effective, Leiserowitz said, noting only four
percent of Americans say they hear people they know talking about
climate change.
"We don't talk about it. No wonder it's a low priority," he said,
explaining people place more trust in what they hear from family and
friends than what politicians say.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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