California Gov. Jerry Brown says the unprecedented steps taken to protect Lake Tahoe over the last 20 years proves that “beauty transcends politics”. Harry Reid convinced President Bill Clinton to attend the first summit.
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This was the president’s first visit to Tahoe.
“Harry is tough”, Obama said. “This is really nice”. “It’s OK. I mean, I’m still going to – I’m going to be coming around, I told you”. It has been a sacred place for the Washoe Tribe for thousands of years and should be held sacred by all Americans.
Obama, who is racing to cement his legacy on climate before his presidency ends on January 20, will showcase both progress on climate and looming threats in stops at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Honolulu, and an ocean refuge in the remote Midway Atoll.
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.
“The fact is that it’s man-made”, he said.
“He is somebody who has been unrelenting in recognising that climate change is not a scientific hoax”, Reid said in an interview.
Obama pointed out each year in recent times has become the warmest year in history. “We do it because when most of the 4.5 million people who come to Lake Tahoe every year are tourists, economies like this one live or die by the health of our natural resources”.
“For 14 months in a row, the earth has broken global temperature records”, he said.
Later on Wednesday, Obama will speak with leaders of Pacific Island nations at risk from climate change and a congress of conservation leaders in Honolulu. Many listening to the president’s message moved to Tahoe from the Bay Area.
Obama, who is racing to cement his legacy on climate change before his presidency ends on January 20, will make a rare visit to Midway Atoll on Thursday, deep inside the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument where he expanded protections last week. Wrapping up his speech, President Obama concluded: “The most important office in a democracy is the office of Citizen”.
Protecting and preserving Lake Tahoe – it’s the goal of the annual Lake Tahoe Summit.
Obama will be the first sitting president to attend the summit since Bill Clinton held a Presidential Forum in 1997, inspiring almost $2 billion in federal, state, local and private investment over the past 20 years.
The White House has not confirmed reports that he’s hoping to announce there that he will formally sign onto the Paris agreement. “I think it’s fair to say that climate change is the largest factor impacting Lake Tahoe – more than any other factor”, Schladow said.
She credited in part the Southern Nevada lands act that takes money from the sale of public lands surrounding Las Vegas and uses the cash for conservation. It would provide $415 million and has been unanimously approved by the Environment and Public Works Committee.
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Brown told the thousands of people crowded into an outdoor arena in a casino parking lot that they are standing next to the most attractive lake in the world.
