“These aren’t “photo ops” – I think these are real opportunities to help the American people understand”, said Carol Browner, a former head of the Environmental Protection Agency who advised Obama on climate issues in his first term.
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President Barack Obama bows as he greets workers and volunteers on the tarmac as he arrives on Air Force one at Henderson Field on Midway Atoll in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016.
The announcement comes as President Obama makes a two-day swing through Hawaii and Midway Atoll on his way to an global climate-focused summit in China. More albatrosses live on Midway than anywhere else in the world.
The Pacific announcement on Thursday “shows the administration’s ongoing commitment to not only working with the large emitters ― the world’s largest, in the case of China ― but also importance of working with some of the smallest and most vulnerable in the world”, a White House official, speaking on background ahead of the announcements, told The Huffington Post.
The governor said he strongly believes that the island governments can “work together and find solutions to the most pressing problems facing our earth”.
Hopping to Midway on a morning flight from Honolulu, Obama was to land on an airstrip that gained prominence half a century ago, when the Battle of Midway became a turning point in World War II.
Thank to President Obama for creating a safe zone for tuna, sea turtles, and a myriad of other species by quadrupling in size the Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii, which was created by President George W. Bush.
Obama’s decision to expand the monument was the subject of fierce debate within Hawaii, with both sides invoking Native Hawaiian culture to argue why it should or shouldn’t be expanded.
During his 11th trip to Asia as president, Mr Obama plans to coordinate with Asian leaders on maintaining peace and “lowering tensions” on the South China Sea at the subsequent US-ASEAN and East Asia Summits at Laos.
The US president gave two major speeches on climate change in the space of a day, one in Nevada and another in Hawaii, after Air Force One managed to safely dodge two hurricanes lurking in the Pacific.
After departing China, Obama will take part in the ASEAN summit in Laos September 6-8, attended by major regional powers such as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Russian Federation.
In June 1942, US forces, tipped by code-breakers that the Japanese navy was planning an attack, sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser in a giant air-sea battle.
Kevin Foerster, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refuge chief for the region, said the agency would like to be able to open the island to visitors again, but budget constraints and the island’s remote location mean its beauty can only be accessed by the internet for now. “Pacific Island nations greatly appreciate the support that President Obama extends to our people and we look forward to furthering these discussions”.
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