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. During Wednesday’s remarks Obama said humans are to blame for the change our climate has experienced. It has been a sacred place for the Washoe Tribe for thousands of years and should be held sacred by all Americans. The number was about $230 million at the beginning of the Obama’s first term and is estimated to hit at least $1 billion this year.
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Brown called Tahoe the most attractive lake in the world.
Earlier on Wednesday, Obama stopped in to a summit about the health of Lake Tahoe, the deep alpine lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the Nevada-California border whose average surface temperature reached an all-time recorded high previous year.
President Barack Obama touted new conservation efforts as integral to combating climate change August 31, as he unveiled new funds to fight wildfires on public lands and a strategy to ramp up private and philanthropic support for USA conservation.
“There is no contradiction between being smart on the environment and having a strong economy”.
Reid says that thanks to the almost $2 billion that has been spent to reverse a loss of clarity since 1997, Lake Tahoe is now “more pristine than it has been in decades”.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., praised Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, for his work on Lake Tahoe restoration, and California Gov.
“… it’s not like I didn’t want to come”, he said.
Scientists believe an array of factors such as storm-water runoff, vehicle 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.
The atmosphere was part rock concert complete with long food and beer lines (although the Drink Tahoe Tap line was almost as long), and part environmental summit as nonprofits worked to inform guests on everything from the plight of the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout to lake clarity and state parks.
“These investments that help drive down the cost of clean power, so it’s finally cheaper than a lot of dirty power in some places”, Obama said, noting that the effects of global warming have the potential to devastate serene natural environments, like Lake Tahoe. Then he’ll travel to Honolulu to address leaders of island nations. Warmer temperatures also increase the surface water temperature; a recent UC Davis report found that the lake is warming faster than ever recorded. “You have to read, or listen to scientists to know that the overwhelming body of scientific evidence shows us that climate change is caused by human activity”.
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.
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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. Harry Reid convinced President Bill Clinton to attend the first summit.
