Twenty-two miles long and 12 miles wide, picturesque Lake Tahoe would cover all of California with more than a foot of water if it were emptied. The setting provides Obama a chance to emphasize a theme he’s returned to frequently in his climate campaign: that remote areas like small islands are the most vulnerable to rising sea levels and should help lead the fight to slow global warming.
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Scientists believe an array of factors such as storm-water runoff, auto traffic and nearby construction have fueled the loss of clarity in the alpine lake, leading to major investments over the last 20 years by Congress, private groups, local authorities and the states of California and Nevada.
President Obama says the extraordinary efforts that have been put into healing Lake Tahoe the past two decades prove it is possible to pass on the nation’s greatest natural treasures to future generations.
“One need only gaze in these emerald blue waters to see the progress we’ve made to keep Tahoe blue”, Reid said.
The president says the bipartisan cooperation that has attacked threats to the alpine lake’s famous clarity is evidence there’s “no contradiction between being smart on the environment and having a strong economy”.
It has been a sacred place for the Washoe Tribe for thousands of years and should be held sacred by all Americans.
Rep. Tom McClintock, a Republican from Elk Grove whose district includes the California side of the lake and who has called for less-expansive Tahoe funding, and is focused primarily on fire prevention, said he was not invited. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who like Obama is in his final year in office, has hosted the summit for 20 years and asked Obama to attend.
It was Obama’s first and last visit to Tahoe as president. Jerry Brown and assistant U.S. Interior Secretary Janice Schneider.
“Unlike other lakes in the world that become nothing but dumps and dead zones, this is still a pristine wonder”, Brown said.
Obama spoke on the first of a two-day environmental tour at an annual summit created to keep the health of Lake Tahoe a priority for the federal government and the states it borders, Nevada and California.
“B$3 ecause climate and conservation are challenges that go hand in hand, our conservation mission is more urgent than ever”, the president said, building up to a case for more money to be spent on Lake Tahoe, on top of billion already spent on it.
Obama never named Republican members in Congress or GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who have questioned whether climate change is real and opposed worldwide efforts to address the issue, but the president’s pointed critique left no doubt of his targets. After visiting Tahoe, Obama travels to Honolulu to address leaders of island nations.
He will venture deep into the monument on Thursday during a rare presidential stop at Midway Atoll, where climate advocates hope the pictures tell the story.
Congressional Republicans and the energy industry have resisted Obama’s climate plans at every step, including through numerous lawsuits and legislation that he has vetoed.
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Obama’s brief stop along the Nevada-California border came at the start of an 11-day global tour that will take the president to Asia for his final time as president.
